Everyone has a dream and when you realize that it can be made into reality, one doesn’t stop to attain his/her goal. For Mario Dewar Barrett, his dreams started at four-years-old and were supported by his mother from that day on. Always dedicated in having a career, Mario learned how to play piano and continued to grind hard early into his teenage years. With success at such a young age, one would think that he would suffer from all the challenges and stresses that come with being a child star. But for Mario it was another step in his journey of accomplishing a dream. The Balitmore, Maryland native has been doing just that.

After earning kudos for his portrayal of “Andre” in the Richard LaGravenese directed movie, Freedom Writers, the next love is to appear in more films. In addition to that, on October 21st on MTV [at 10pm EST] – there will be a documentary in which the Mario shall speak, in detail, about the precursor to his dreams – his mother. But right now, in J Records posh surroundings overlooking a grand view of Central Park, Mario sits down with HipHopDX and talks about his new project called Go, shares his appreciation for his fans and reveals a deeper side about his mother.

HipHopDX: You got some nice reviews for your role in Freedom Writers, are you going to do anymore films?
Mario: Currently, it is in the works. I just read for about six, seven different films. I’m just trying to work my way around Hollywood. I want to let them know how serious I am about it. They need a new, young black male lead to be in the spotlight and do his thing. I’d do any role that would touch the world, not just the U.S. I would like to do a movie along the lines of Transformers.

DX: If you had to describe your experience in the music industry in one word – what would it be and why?
M: Oh, snap! Hmm, one word…? Eclectic. I can’t really find a word that describes the feelings that I feel as a person, as an artist, as a creator, as a singer and as a human being. When I travel, how it feels to be outside of the country, I notice the connection between myself and the people. The fans – how they connect to the music here and abroad it’s just… I don’t know, it’s like a cotton ball with all of these strings coming through it. Even though, there’s a lot that goes into it, but it’s a beautiful experience for a person like myself.

DX: On this latest album, you say that this is more personal and more revealing. What was it that allowed you to open up more for your fans?
M: I think what caused a lot of it was me wanting to come outside of my shell. I never had that many friends, so my albums were a way of allowing my fans to know about me and for me to talk to them about the issues of a young man. From being in relationships to being out of relationships, everybody needs somebody to confide in and I want to also show them what type of person I am. I want people to know how I am when it comes to family. The song "Do Right" is definitely one that describes how it was for me growing up in Baltimore, having a mother who was a heroin addict, being a support system for her and her being one for me. I had friends who were in the drug game, but that just wasn’t my choice. I chose to do what I do with music, whereas they chose to make their decisions. This album kind of touches on a lot of different things; even during recording, I was going through a lot of different things that sometimes would mess with my creativity. I eventually got out of that and I got on point. That’s why the pictures that you see [points to album layout on the table] are so focused, they’re so personal and passionate – that’s how I felt when I was doing the album.

DX: You have a documentary that’s going to air this weekend and in it you talk candidly about your mother. For those who aren’t abreast of the situation, would you mind talking about it just a little bit? M: Very hard… but doable. At the end of the day, the bond between a mother and any child is unbreakable. It’s something that you can’t really describe. When my mother and I were younger, we had a great relationship. She was the person to help me discover my talent at a very young age. Even at that time, I was doing everything that I had to do… even if it meant giving her that tough love, you know? I was going to do that so that she could help get herself together. Through that, after she got well and got clean, she thanked me. I think that made our relationship even stronger in terms of understanding and trust. It’s hard to trust someone who’s an addict. I couldn’t trust her at that point, but now, I can trust her with certain things and depend on her – it made our relationship stronger.

DX: Music aside – what are a few things that no one outside your circle would really know about Mario?
M: Wow… that’s a good question. I don’t know if I want to tell you that. [Laughs] I box. That’s how I take out my frustrations. I can be very aggressive for no apparent reason, at times. I don’t know if that makes me crazy, you know… [Laughs] The "Crying Out For Me" video was a reflection of some things that could happen to someone who’s in that type of relationship, though.

DX: My lady friends talk about how much you’ve changed since you first came out. What all have you been doing to get in shape?
M: Honestly, I always loved boxing, but my manager… he’s nice. He boxed for real. We actually are working on a gym right now in Atlanta. It’s about to be the hottest thing crackin’, because we’re going to franchise it all across America. It’s called Sweat City and when I started, I really didn’t like running on the treadmill, I wasn’t that good of a basketball player, I’m aggressive and I have really good hand-eye coordination. So, boxing is what I chose as my sport…

DX: …Ever been forced to show out?
M: I try not to get to that point. Nowadays cats are going to jail left and right, cats are catching cases left and right and I don’t need that in my life.

DX: At the end of the “Crying Out For Me” video, the jealous boyfriend gets into a car accident and it says, “to be continued.” What’s next up with it?
M: That’s Malcolm Jones doing [laughs]. He wants to direct the next video [laughs] so he put that in there. Any “to be continued” video that you see, when you see it, you automatically think about what could happen next. So, it just adds that extra catalyst to what that video is. There may be a continuation, because at the beginning of the video, you hear "Music For Love" – which is one of my favorite songs on the record. It’s an amazing, sensual – you know when you listen to J. Holiday’s "Bed" record…

DX: …Yeah…
M: You know how he wants to take you to bed… You don’t even have to go to the bed with this record. [Laughs] You just have to listen to it. It’s incredible.

DX: How have your parents affected your views on parenthood, or changes in your life?
M: Hmm… you’re really asking great questions, Kev. [Laughs] My faith as a human being is at its full potential, right now. Not because of any religion or of any church or gospel, it’s because I’ve seen what can happen when you have faith. My mother’s getting better and her becoming clean is a testament of what true faith can do. She used for twenty-something years – she’s clean now. She has helped me with faith, by her experiences alone. I would want to have good communication skills with my children. I would want to know how they feel and how they’re doing at all times. I didn’t have a father figure growing up, so I think that it’s important for a son and a daughter to have communication with their mother and their father. It’s true and I believe that a woman cannot give her son or her daughter the things that a father provides. I think it’s important to have that relationship.

DX: What was your most memorable episode where a fan has taken her appreciation way too far?
M: There was this one fan – and I’ll never forget this – she made a huge poster. It was a collage of pictures that showed my life and on each picture she had wrote a quote as to what the picture was, what time of my life it was. Interestingly enough, she had information on me from when I was a child. I mean… [laughs] she did her research. So, I saw this when I was 19, 20 years-old and it was wild. [One of Mario’s people mentions, “You should talk about the driver’s license"…]
M: Oh, shit! [Laughs] Yeah, you’re right. I got my driver’s license when I was 16 and I lost it, like, that same year or a year later. I speak at schools sometimes when I’m in Baltimore, and this young girl came up to me one day saying, “I have your license.” I said, “What? What you mean you ‘got my license’…?” She had found my license. She pulled it out, it was cracked up. I don’t think I even lost it in Baltimore, I think it was out here [in New York] when I lost it. It was just interesting that she happened to have it. So, I signed it for her. For me, the poster was much more special… I had signed a few of the pictures that she had wanted me to sign and I’ve taken pictures with her before. I don’t remember exactly what we talked about at the time, but I’m pretty sure that we talked about what was going on in her life and I gave her advice, something that was solid.

DX: Now that you’re 21 and hold a lot of titles – how can you stay focused to continue to express your love of music?
M: Sometimes, other things become more of a priority than others, but for right now – music is my focus, it’s my love, it’s my passion. Hopefully, it’ll not get to a point to where I have to create another career because my music is stalling. I’ve worked harder than that and I’m blessed to have this success.