OK yall. This post will be in english, due to the fact that this will be interesting for everyone. The upcoming Rap Genius MIKE STUD, who started a big run in 2011 and is growing bigger & bigger in the biz, did an interview for you guys with me. I talked about almost everything with him. Music, Big Deals and some informations of his upcoming mixtape. His two tracks "College Humor" and "In this life" are blowing up so watch out for him, this will be his year and I forsee an XXL Freshman Nomination, maybe even bigger things. Anyway, here is the awesome interview, have fun reading it!
LFOD: How come that you do rap? Was that always your passion?
MIKE: Ah I just kind of fell into it man. I was always a baseball player, and never did anything musically. I always loved music, and was a huge hip-hop head, but I honestly didn’t ever try to rap until about 6 months ago. From there it just kind of all snow-balled into what it is now. Pretty crazy.
LFOD: Do you experience the same like Asher Roth when he started? You know the whole "meh just another Eminen" comparison.
MIKE: I think that when Asher did it, he had to deal with that comparison a whole lot more than the kids nowadays. He was the first white-boy, college rapper. Presently, there are A LOT of those, and it is actually its own genre now (Frat-rap). I think the stereotype now is, all of these college white-boy rappers are the same, and are all bunched together as one big group. So the challenge today is separating yourself from that group, and making a name for yourself outside of the college, white-boy, frat-rapper category.
LFOD: So you obviously love college! Whats your favorite class? And drinking game?
MIKE: Definitely love college, but I would say that I definitely do not love class. Haha. If I had to pick a favorite I would say Business or more specifically “Sports Economics/Business.” Favorite drinking game would have to be beer pong.
LFOD: If you could choose one act to do a collab with, who would it be?
MIKE: For the short term, I’d love to collab with Mac Miller. I think he’s a real talented dude. In the long term, I’d love to collab with Drake or Big Sean. Hands down, my two favorite artists.
LFOD: What can we expect from your mixtape?
MIKE: You can expect 10-12 tracks that I feel are perfect. By the time the mixtape is done, I’m hoping to have a very versatile project with all different types of songs, all within my style. I wont release it until I think every song is dope, and up to par with the singles I’ve put out to date.
LFOD: You seem like the master of using sports-player comparisons. Did ESPN already call to get you doing an intro rap for weekly throwbacks?
Would you do some big business related thing or do you want to keep it indie?
MIKE: Haha, well I”ve been an athlete my whole life, and I love watching sports and am always on ESPN. So the punchlines that come to me easiest are those that involve sports and recent news from the athletic world. Some people love it and some dislike it, but I will never stray from that style. Someone who I idolize is Wale, and he is a lyricist who makes a ton of sports references as well. So, you can expect sports references from me for as long as I am doing this.
-To answer your question about ESPN, I have not been contacted by them haha. If they did, I would 100% be interested. That’d be awesome!
LFOD: Which artist is your greatest inspiration?
MIKE: Drake. I see Drake as the complete musician. He can rap and sing, and he can basically do any type of song in the book. I aspire to be as versatile as he is. He’s definitely my favorite artist.
LFOD: What kind of beat do you prefer to rap on. The smooth and jazzy/soul ones or the heavy hitting ones.
MIKE: I really prefer hard hitting beats, that I can just attack with punchlines and flow, but I understand that being versatile with the beats you choose and the songs you put out is a huge part of becoming successful in music. So I pick and choose my spots strategically as far as beat selection goes.
LFOD: Imagine you are cast away and can only choose 3 tracks to listen to there, which 3 would it be?
MIKE:
- Big Sean- Too fake
- Drake feat. Jay Z- Light up
- Mike Stud feat. Loggy - In this Life
LFOD: Who else do you think is big in the newcomer hip hop business right now?
MIKE: There are tons of great young artists coming out right now but if I had to pick one I’d say Hoodie Allen. Guys like Mac Miller and Sammy Adams have surpassed the “up and coming” label. Those dudes have made it. When your selling out tours, I think its safe to say you’ve made it.
LFOD: You used a Ratatat song as beat for your first track. do think indie and hip hop would work good together?
MIKE: I think you see a good amount of indie flavor in hip hop, and to me, I think they compliment each other very well.
LFOD: Where are you heading to? one day a grammy for best album?
MIKE: I honestly have no idea. I truly believe that I can someday accomplish that. I will continue to make good music and release it to the world, from there, I guess it’s up to the people/fans. But I will say, I definitely have very high aspirations for the future.
LFOD: Have you ever been to germany? want to visit the land of wieners, beer and bretzels?
MIKE: Never been to Germany, but I’d love to. Fly me out for a show! Haha.
LFOD: A female fan wants to ask you "lights on or off?"
MIKE: haha wow. You know, to be honest, I’m an in-between guy. I think a dimly lit setting is ideal. If its too bright, then it’s kind of weird, and if its too dark then things can get complicated haha.
LFOD: The closing words are yours mike:
MIKE: I’m truly honored to do this interview for you guys. It’s actually very shocking and flattering that my music has made it overseas to Germany. I guess nowadays with the Internet, anything is possible.
Thanks so much for supporting my music, and I’m so glad ya’ll like it. I have so much more music to come, so stay tuned. Hopefully one day in the future, I’ll be doing a show out there. Again, thanks for the support and take care!
- so guys, go to Facebook, like his page, write something nice on his wall and be part of something. Maybe in 1 or 2 years, this guy is doing sold-out tours all over the place.
