The debut single from M.E. (the alias of pop artist Nate Sprague) is a call for listeners to take the road less traveled. "The inspiration for this song comes from how it feels to be someone who isn't comfortable being themselves usually because they are scared of what other people will say", says the artist. "There are so many talented people who never pursue their dreams or live the life they really want because of the pressure that society puts on us to be a certain way and not break the mold". Upon initially receiving the instrumental demo from producer, Felipe Yanzon, M.E. managed to write out "Proud" in a matter of hours from his kitchen.
At first glance, the song is an upbeat, cheerful and motivational anthem about positivity and individuality. However, as time went it began to take on a whole new meaning for the artist after an encounter with his friend Luis' daughter. Upon his first meeting of the 8 year old, Sophia, M.E. came to learn she was a fan of TikTok choreography and enjoyed posting her own dances to her profile on the app. "The following weekend, I saw Luis and Sophia again...Luis told me Sophia had erased her TikTok channel because some kids at school had been teasing her saying she was ugly and fat", the artist recounts. It was then that M.E. realized "Proud" was about Sophia and other people like her who are still figuring the world out.
Born and raised in Boston, MA, M.E. got his first taste of music as a classically trained saxophone player from the age of 9, while parallelly falling in love with hip-hop during its golden era. At the age of 20, he moved to Chile, looking for a new environment to pursue his musical ambitions. Since then, he has become a recognized figure in the Chilean music scene.