When you think of an artist of Greek heritage, who enjoys more than 250 million hits on Youtube, the name Masked Wolf hardly comes to mind. And yet, he is all that.

His real name is Harry Michael, a Greek Australian from Sydney, who took on the alias of Masked Wolf, and has quickly gathered a huge following in Australia and on the global scene as well.

The 25-year-old rapper’s fame and talent have earned him five ARIA Music Awards nominations for this year: Song of the Year for “Astronaut in the Ocean”, Best Artist, the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough artist; Best Hip Hop Release and Best Video for Caniele Cernera for “Astronaut in the Ocean”.

The young rapper’s goal is to do more than entertain. He wants listeners to find meaning in his music.

“I want it to mean something to people that listen. If one song helps one person, then it’s a win,” Mr Michael told Neos Kosmos.

Mr Michael is very pleased to be nominated for Australia’s premiere music awards.

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“It’s incredible and it’s a blessing. These are Australia’s best when it comes to music,” he said.

Early into his music career, he was stuck in an artist development deal which prohibited him from releasing music for five years.

This has made him even more appreciative of his recent successes.

“It was a tough time. I’m super thankful for my current management at Lucky Ent and label team that have helped me get here,” Mr Michael said.

His inspiration for music comes from his surroundings and while doing normal daily tasks.

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“I look to everything around me. I wrote ‘Astro’ while driving home from work one day,” he said.

His hit song “Astronaut in the Ocean”, initially released in 2019, only gained recognition this year through digital and social media platforms such as TikTok, Spotify and YouTube, where the official music video has over 252 million views.

“The reach of social and digital media is super important. You can reach kids in the furthest parts of the world because of it,” Mr Michael said.

The ARIA Award winners will be announced on Wednesday 24 November, and will be broadcast on YouTube and on 9now.

Winners are decided by online vote which is found at https://www.aria.com.au/vote