Mikkey-June 2005


When presented the opportunity to interview Mikkey I couldn't say no. I had been hearing about the South Side of Chicago rapper for sometime. He had a deal with Cash Money that didn't really go anywhere. He has been down with some of Chicago's premier talent for sometime.

Man, our interview was so cool and free flowing, I couldn't even type if all up. Don't worry, all of the good stuff is in here. I've never used up a whole tape on an interview. This was cool. Mikkey 's debut album, The Revenge of Nat Turner will be dropping this fall. Peep the interview.


You're from Chicago.
Mikkey -Yes, ma'am born and raised.

Where at in Chicago?
Mikkey -I'm from an area called Ragtown. 116th and Morgan.

You know I had to ask these questions. I just interviewed Rhymefest last week. He mentioned you in the interview. I'm from 112th and Throop.
Mikkey -Dang, you are from the area. That's Ada Park.

Yeah. Right by Ada Park. 2 blocks from Ada Park.
Mikkey -My great grandmother lived near Ada park. What grammar school did you go to?

I went to Shoop school for awhile. I moved around a lot. But for high school I went to the Agriculture High School on 111th and Pulaski.
Mikkey -I know where that's at.

Let me guess what high school you went to. You went to Corliss? Fenger?
Mikkey -Unfortunately, then I transferred to Rich Central.

That's good. Why did you say unfortunately?
Mikkey - Because Fenger is terrible.

So how long have you been rapping?
Mikkey -I've been freestyling just doing me having fun with it for a long time. Since I was a child. Since I was about 10-11 years old. Big Daddy Kane and all that stuff inspired me but I never took it seriously until 6 years ago when I met Kanye. That is when rap became something that I seriously wanted to pursue.

So how did you meet Kanye West?
Mikkey -Actually, my sister had a deal with Ramsey Lewis. He's real big in jazz. He had started a hip-hop label named Iced Pyramid. She had signed with him. Kanye was doing most of her production. He was doing most of the songs on her album. It never came into fruition. She met Kanye and had been working with him. She kept working with him after Iced Pyramid stopped. I used to just come around for support. I don't think he even knew I rapped when I first came around. We used to just kick it. One day we were in there just freestyling, and he was like, "Man, you need to take this shit seriously." I was in college at the time on a basketball scholarship. At that time my focus was really to make it to the NBA. He gave me some beats. I'm thinking, "I'm not trying to do this shit." One of the songs I made was "Move This Game." It's a hood classic to this day. We just started working from there. That is how my rap career really started.

Back then Shawna was around, Rhymefest….
Mikkey -That was the time. It's crazy. Me and Kanye started messing with Rhymefest, Shawna, the whole Infinite Syndicate. He had a production deal with NO I.D. It was a whole crew of us. It was like a breeding ground for so much Chicago talent. Even Common was a figure, through NO ID who I'm really in a situation with right now. The family tree was really crazy with me Rhymefest, GLC whose down with Kanye, a couple other members of his group called the Go Getters, my sister, Shawna.

I read you went to Xavier University. I know there are several Xavier Universities which one did you go to?
Mikkey -I went to the one in Chicago.

So you have your Bachelors and Masters degree?
Mikkey - Yes.

Are they both in education?
Mikkey - Yes.

Oh okay. I am interested in this because I have a Masters Degree in education also.
Mikkey - Real. Mine is in curriculum & instruction.

Mine is in curriculum & instruction too. My major major was Instructional Technology. I went to Southern Illinois University.
Mikkey - For real. When did you come out?

1997 and 1999. I was down there six years.
Mikkey - We are around the same age group. I'm sure we know some of the same people.
Did you know Tony Mays?

Tone Kapone. Yeah he's on the radio.
Mikkey -Yeah that's my guy.

He knows me. I used to be Dorrie Williams. We had an English class together like a long time ago. I remember he was a Kappa before we left SIU.
Mikkey - Yep. Actually NO ID went down there for a minute.

I might know him if I saw him. My question. I know I'm an artist, I'm an author I have several books out. I know my books are helping teens so I know I'm fulfilling my education goals but do you ever feel like you should be in the classroom or an educational setting career wise?
Not really. I've been in the classroom. When I first started with Kanye I was teaching. I was teaching in the city community. The thing with me and education is, the reason I chose education is just because I really never had any strong male black teachers in my life period. I know they play such an important role when developing a child because they are so limited when it comes to role models. Although the NBA was really my dream, I was like man if I don't do that I can at least give back to the hood some kind of way and work with the children and allow them to fulfill their dreams. I just love being around children and the youth. I wanted to give back.

When I started teaching I enjoyed it so much. I adopted one of the kids from the first year I taught and I'm still with him today. I'm putting him through college. So I still have a close bond and tie with that community I taught in for a short period of time so now it's time to take it to a broader scope. Rapping has the ears of our youth and I noticed that so much when I was in the classroom. How much that they are influenced by what they see on TV or hear on the radio. Since I have the talent what better way to grab their attention than to jump out there and really do it. But I don't want to make preachy music because nobody in the classroom will listen to that kind of music. I want to make music that is true to where I grew up and my environment. I didn't want to go the route as some rappers when they get educated to a certain extent. I hate that educated rappers to a certain extent seem to alienate themselves from the hood. The hood is who needs that the most than anybody. So called pro-black rappers or educated rappers find themselves preaching to the choir. I wanted to reach the masses of the ghetto. That's what I'm about.

I read that you had a deal with Cash Money that did work out. I think I also read that your sister also had a deal with Cash Money that didn't work out.
Mikkey -Yes, both of us signed on the same day.

So what did you guys do when you were on Cash Money? Were you living in Louisiana?
Mikkey -I still lived in Chicago. I bought a place in Hyde Park. I actually signed the Cash Money deal but I stayed here because I really love the community. I had an apartment in New Orleans because I was there so much. It was a bad situation. It was really a situation whereas Kanye and I were at a rut. Not a rut between us but everything was blocking our progress and everything was blocking our dreams. We had so many dreams of doing everything together. I was the first one signed to Kon Man productions. At one time he appointed me as Vice President of Kon Man Productions. Cash Money got wind of the music and they were the first one that showed a real interest in what we were doing that was a real company. At that time Roc-a -Fella was showing interest in him as a producer. A lot of the best beats were going directly to Roc-a-Fella, Jay-Z and Beanie.A lot of us were looking like dang. If he is leaning over there moreso producing verses doing it together…

Cash Money offered everybody a deal. In hindsight I think I should have waited and stayed with Kanye and did it that way. He said, "I don't want to do that deal." But I thought it was a good situation. At the time they said they were going to give us all kind of creative control. They were going to just put that machine to work. I thought it was a good situation. Me and my sister signed. Kanye took the money I gave him from me signing and he moved to New York and started working more closely with Roc-A-Fella We always had plans. It was just a point where Cash Money didn't work out at all. It was a bad situation. About a year into it I knew it wasn't the place for me. I started plotting and strategizing how to get out of that deal.

So you were able to get out of the contract?
Mikkey -Yeah. They held me for over two years. Legally I got out. Before I got out I had several other offers on the table, so I got on again. I signed with Virgin.

I know the album title is related to Nat Turner. What is the name of the album?
Mikkey -Nat Turner's Revenge

What made you name the album Nat Turners revenge?
Mikkey -It's really an educational thing. I like to give education underlying in the message. I know you are familiar with Nat Turner. He led a slave revolt. He was a religious man if you read about his life. They hung him and skinned him alive. Trying to teach what the history books just outline. In a way it's keeping his legacy alive. That was one of my first rap names and I still use it as an alias. So not only is it Mikkey 's revenge on an industry that I feel tried to suppress Chicago, suppress real music. That's my revenge. The second layer is Nat Turner who is a hero to me. So everytime a black woman or man has something great, something prolific, something right, it's like Nat Turner is actually getting his revenge. People after him are getting to reap the benefit the people of his time that were oppressing him never wanted him to see. If he could smile in his grave he probably would want to see some of the people he fought for and died for reaping the benefit. That's really what it's about. There are so many layers to it. I could talk for hours about Nat Turners Revenge.

Yeah I have this picture of one of Nat Turners grandsons with three of his children. It's really old, its from the turn of the century. I have it scanned because my grandfather just passed away and I made a memorial book and that was one of the pictures included. He was 87. I put together this family album with all of these old old pictures.
Mikkey -So you are related to Nat.

Way down the line. My auntie told me to ask. You might be my cousin. My grandfathers name was Melvin Turner. After the situation with Cash Money were you hesitant to sign another deal?
Mikkey -Yeah I was. I contemplated, "What should I do." I started my company Uncrowned City Entertainment. I knew I was going to take more control this time around. I wanted to be total responsible for my projects success or failure. I guess you can never really do that, but I wanted to be more accountable. I hooked up with NO ID, he produced Commons classic album Resurrection. When I got back home Kanye was busy doing his thing. NO ID, we got together, man, he was moreso than me, but we were both legends in our own right. Kanye introduced me to NO ID. NO ID managed me at one time. We got together it was like we revived each other and I got that fire back. Uncrowned City Entertainment and and Faced the Movement, we did a joint venture and started working on music. We did 40 or 50 songs and started putting it out there for labels to hear. God is so good. Everybody that heard it was blown away. It came down between two companies. He had a relationship with Jermaine Dupri. He did Bow Wow's first single. He had a relationship with Jermaine from doing beats. He said, "Let me play this for Jermaine. He just got the president's spot at Virgin." I had other copies ready to execute on the table. Jermaine heard it. He went to the club. He came back two hours label and said "What's his offer?" And he doubled it. It's like that's that history. I signed to Virgin. It's Uncrowned City, FTM/Virgin. To have someone that's the head of a label behind your record that's second to none.

Is there a release date scheduled?
Mikkey -We are looking at the fall now. You know you need 3 or 4 months for promotion.

Is there a first single picked?
Mikkey -No. In the next few weeks we are going to pick the first single, second single, third single, buzz single. That has been the hardest thing narrowing these 60 something songs to 13.

Who did you work with on the album?
Kanye West of course. No ID did the bulk of the production. Mannie Fresh. I had a relationship with him even after I left Cash Money. He was fighting for me when I was at Cash Money. He always supported me. He said "I'm going to give you what you need." He came through for me. Also, Jermaine Dupri. Other than that I had this other producer named Knot. I think he is going to make the album. These up and coming producers from Chicago, Rio and Jamal. NC, the Trendsettez. It's so many. I have so many hot producers from the Chi. I think this album is going to be so hot. Producers are competing for these 13 slots on the album.

I interviewed Mannie Fresh a couple of months ago. I interviewed B.G. a few weeks ago too.
Mikkey -I just did some mix tape stuff with B.G. I love B.G.

I looked at the video on your website and I noticed Soulja Slim. Did you have a working relationship with Soulja Slim?

Mikkey -Yeah. Well, I knew him. From being in New Orleans for so long, you feel that you know people. I built a relationship with a lot of people and when they come to Chicago I pull out the red carpet for them. I really love New Orleans but Baby being the ego maniac that he is I could not deal with it period.

What made you record the diss song about Baby?
Mikkey -So many people kept asking me. "That's Mikkey from Cash Money." "What happened?" I was like man, I really wanted to end all of the speculation once and for all. Just get it off my chest. People that were signed with Cash Money or on the bus with Cash Money have called me to thank me for telling the story and articulating it the way it should be told.

So many people have said not so nice things about him. I told someone, "I thought you all were rich and ballin' based on the videos."
Mikkey -Don't let those videos fool you Dorrie for real. The rap industry is not all it seems to be.

How is your sister Mis Criss doing?
Mikkey -She's in the studio as we speak. She's featured on my album. We are actually going to break the bank with her deal. We are going to make somebody really pay for her.

For more Mikkey visit www.uncrownedcity.com


Artists Mentioned In This Interview
Related Key Words-Chicago Producer


Miikkey interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, and Thabiz.com 2005
Visit Dorrie on the web at www.sparkledoll.com. Dorrie Williams-Wheeler is the webmaster for thabiz.com and the author of Be My Sorority Sister-Under Pressure. She has a new book out.
Interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, and Thabiz.com 2005
Dorrie Williams-Wheeler is the author of Be My Sorority Sister Under Pressure and the Unplanned Pregnancy Book for Teens and College Students. She is the founder of Thabiz.com and Imissthe80s.com and writes for the Rap, Teen, and 1980s section at Bellaonline.com. She is an ASCAP member as a writer and a publisher. Please contact Dorrie for advertising inquiries, lyric writing inquiries, reprint rights, paying entertainment jobs, or general comments.
Visit Dorrie on the web at www.sparkledoll.com or e-mail her at webmaster@thabiz.com.

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Interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, thabiz.com June 2005.
 
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