We often come across many people who throw away their entire lives after making silly mistakes and go down the path of self-destruction, a place from where they never come back. However, when we see people who were down into ashes rising up again like a phoenix, that’s a story we would like to hear, read and tell others about it too. These stories give people the motivation to stand tall and take the reins of their lives in their hands, no matter how harsh the circumstances become for them. This is the story of Michael Nunez, popularly known by his stage name L-OH-L, who went through a dark phase in his life but found light at the end of the tunnel.
Michal Nunez is an Army Veteran turned rapper who made a name for himself in this competitive music industry, especially rap. He got disabled during the war in Iraq, and when he returned home, he was an entirely different man. After experiencing such trauma and witnessing war from so close, he drifted towards a life of crime, including theft and drugs. “I was in gangs, drugs, and even experienced homelessness. I went through many shootouts, deaths, overdoses, etc. just to finally figure out who I am. I used to rob just for a couple of dollars to go gamble it at casinos and to buy a room and enough food. I was a horrible human being with money being my only motivator in life,” Michael shared. “After incarceration in 2018, I became a single father until I got married in April of 2022. It was during my time in prison that God found me in a cell and changed my heart. I am proof that the gospel is real and that God can save anybody. I am a product of Grace. Today, I am part of a prison ministry called Convicted to Conquer, helping others like me find the real purpose in life.”
Music has always been his passion. Even when he was a kid, he used to sing at home with a brush in his hand, pretending it to be a mic. He often told his mother he would grow up to be a rapper. L-OH-L used to donate plasma to pay for his studio time and performed in small gigs during his time as an addict. He always wanted to create music that was organic, relatable and close to peoples’ hearts. Of course, rap is the genre that brings out your real emotions in peppy and heart-racing tunes.
Inspired by Xay Hill, Aha Gazelle, and Dee-1, Michael Nunez turned towards music to share his life experiences and help others to not make the mistakes he made in life. Due to the originality of his rap, he went from an unknown rapper to a thousand streams on the first day of his song release. As a rapper, as well, he transformed drastically. “When I was a secular artist, I made really violent music. I called it expression but really it was trash. Nevertheless, everything I touched always turned successful. One of my first 5 singles I ever made ended up on FM radio. I was getting gmajor play in clubs and venues. My issue was, I just couldn’t stay clean. I would get full of pride and go broke or get hooked on drugs and disappear,” Michael informed. He further shared, “Now I make healing and peaceful music. Songs about leaving the streets and leaving drugs behind to start life afresh. I love seeing people connect with my music and heal in the process. I believe if you have enough and you don’t give back to society, you are a coward.”
Michael Nunez’s music is for lost souls. If you are in the church but you never really lived that rough life, then you probably won’t understand his rap. It is for gangsters, prostitutes, killers, and addicts, who have wavered away from the right path and going down the path of self-destruction. The purpose of his music is to help these lost souls find new meaning in life and persuade them to become better. The life of crime or drugs is very short; you will not just lose your standing in society both financially and morally but in the process you will also lose all your loved ones. But it is not worth it. And it’s never too late to transform yourself and start afresh.
With such an inspirational story and music to support his ambitions, Michael Nunez is making waves in the music scene right now and is here to stay for a long time.