MIKE is a Crown Heights, Brooklyn based rapper, songwriter and producer. I met him at his apartment where he was nice enough to host me and play me his upcoming project. We had an extended dialogue about his origins as an artist, upbringing, influences, performing, covid experiences & upcoming CDJ100 radio station, Ife Radio.
Shortly after I arrived MIKE and I settled into his room. The walls were covered in artwork centered around a computer station and speakers where he played out his upcoming project in its entirety. During this time we shared an open dialogue about his work. I commented on his unique lyrical cadence and how the tracks he produces do not contain prominent drums opposed to the typical hip-hop beats. MIKE recounted his teacher, Mr.Entrified introducing him to counting bars. This enhanced his understanding and relationship to both production and songwriting. That was when his voice became the drums in his songs which is his staple rapping technique. MIKE is usually a quiet guy, especially around strangers. When he first started rapping he used to scream into the mic. He thought that was the only way he would be truly heard. As he grew into himself and developed his voice his volume lowered and he knew he would be heard. MIKE talked a lot about his own self development and his process of growing into himself through music. When he performs he creates an environment where there is no hierarchy between him and the audience. Thus creating an inclusive space where people can reflect in similar ways with his performance.
I noticed while listening to his discography & new project that the contents of his lyrics discussed social dynamics, his emotions, opinions on social issues, and finding himself as a person. While typically rappers tend to avoid these topics and make music about superficialities. He responded that he has 3 older and 5 younger sisters, and he wants to make music that encompasses subjects that would make them proud. I also noticed his expansive vocabulary and his affinity to wordplay. MIKE laughed expressing how much he truly loves words and how he enjoys expanding his personal thesaurus. MIKE also told me about his collection of CD’s that he has been amassing for years. He educated me about the limited SunRa CD’s and how he has been purchasing and scouring the internet for them. During Covid he and a friend, Taka, had been using CDJ100’s to manually make mixes and they plan on launching a radio station called Ife Radio where the mixes are entirely produced from CDJ100s. MIKE’s creativity spans across many musical mediums and he will continue to create more timeless projects. Through conversation and some research I learned a lot about MIKE’s progression.
MIKE lived in Livingtson, London, Essex, and Philly, prior to settling down in Brooklyn. He moved to the UK at age 5 where he lived with his mother and older sisters. He quickly became acclimated to their culture both personally and musically. His first major musical influence was Skepta and other grime rappers such as Chipmunk and N-Dubz. In 2010 MIKE moved to Philly where he started to familiarize and gain inspiration from American artists. MIKE added that his music experience differs from most American artists because he was never familiarized with 1990’s and 2000’s hip-hop which tends to be where his peers draw a majority of their influence. He released his first song in 2012 which was a cover of an MF DOOM & Madlib song. In 2013 he began to take his music more seriously and in 2015 he moved to the Bronx with his Auntie. That same year he released his first project called Belgium Butter via Bandcamp. There he founded Slums, an underground group alongside Adé Hakim, aJodi.10k, Darryl Johnson, King Carter and Mason Dreiling. I attended many Slums shows at underground parties and venues which was one of my fondest encounters with a real message based, grassroots hip-hop movement out of Brooklyn. In retrospect that era/moment in time paved the way for a whole movement of music and expression. In 2017 he released May God Bless Your Hustle which was his major break out and was one of my most listened to projects that year that same year he signed to Lex Records. Unfortunately his partnership with Lex Records was a negative experience and he cut ties with them. Since then he has released Black Soap, Renaissance Man, War In My Pen, Tears of Joy, and Weight of the World. As well as accompanying Earl Sweatshirt on a 3 month tour throughout America and Europe. As of recent he created an alias “dj blackpower” and has released two EP’s under that name.
I am looking forward to seeing MIKE’s next project drop and listening to the upcoming episodes of Ife Radio. Thank you for being a part of this project!