When Mario "Money Griffin" Powell told people he was going to be a rap star people laughed and said only people from the major cities become stars. Since age 11 he been perfecting his craft he called middle east after his home North Carolina that represent the street life but also the hardship of the state.After graduating high school he went to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, NC to follow not his own but his mother dreams of completing college. While in college he completed his first mixtape that he gave away to create a buzz around campus. After the buzz he didn't follow up and started hustling the streets of Greensboro and Winton-Salem. After the second semester he decide to follow his own dreams and dropped out with no first step on how to get where he wanted to go in life. He moved back home to the country town of Garysburg, NC where he joined up with longtime friend Lil Roc who introduced him to Blacksun a well-known producer and artist and also hooking up with producers Crispbeats and J30 known as Nu Breedz. On tracks he used his Middle East style to create a spark with a northern tang and a country flow(Middle East). Jumping on Motivated Mentals mixtapes that was produced by Blacksun. But not taking his dream seriously he still find himself back on the streets and problems with his parents. At age 21 he moved to Newport News, VA to escape his hard pass and finally to move at his hardest in music to perfect his craft and dubbed himself Cak Hov(Carolina Hov) to represent his state. Now still working in the studio daily for lyrical exercise he has been jumping on mixtapes from New York to Texas collaboration with artist from A-Z, spreading his middle east vision.http://www.songcastmusic.com/affiliate/sc.php?id=388
