MI
Biography"I've always been underestimated and second-guessed, especially growing up in a city that's predominantly black. If you're a white dude, you're going to get tested, you're going to get questioned-people are going to question your authenticity. So at the end of the day, I'm used to it and that doesn't even matter to me. I know it's going to happen and I know that I can handle that."
Baltimore-bred rapper MI, knows a thing or two about making the best
of a bad situation. Through his brazen, no-holds-barred approach to
the microphone, he's made a habit of ripping through 16 bars with
brutally honest revelations about the hardships of his life,
representing for all those struggling in their own lives.
Born into an Italian-American family that he openly admits "was full
of drug addicts and alcoholics," MI grew up as the youngest of three
children and watched on as a fair share of his family members-parents,
siblings, aunts, and uncles included-battled the city's demons.
"Baltimore has the highest heroin rate in America and one of the
highest murder rates," he explains. "When you grow up in Baltimore,
that's just a way of life."
As a war on drugs and alcohol went on within his own family, MI found
solace in his father's work as a jazz musician, which led to a deeper
relationship with music. "I was always into music," he says. "Music
was like my vent and would help me to keep some type of grip on
reality. It made sure that I didn't go astray." By 8, he was
memorizing and writing down lyrics to Slick Rick's "La Di Da Di" and
other hip-hop songs, eventually substituting his own words into the
mix. "That's how I really started to get into writing," he says. "And
that led to me wanting to become a rapper."
Even with a healthy interest in music intact though, MI's youthful
innocence could only repel the magnetizing Baltimore streets for so
long. By 14, he was running into problems on those same streets,
finding himself in trouble with the law, and eventually learning that
there were better ways to use his street smarts and savvy. "I was just
getting locked up and getting in mad trouble," he says. "And I was
smarter than that. If I was going to do wrong, I was smarter than to
be getting locked up."
Rather than continue down that path, he wised up and decided to skip
town in pursuit of a rap career. He moved to New Jersey to stay with
his friend Cutt, who plays a big part in MI's career, and over the
next years of his life he traveled between Baltimore, NJ, New York,
and Connecticut to work on his music under the moniker M.I.C.-standing
for Mic's Illest Controller-landing several independent deals in the
process.
In 2002, he received his first big break in the form of a meeting at
Arista Records with several executives, including L.A. Reid and Mark
Pitts, owner of Bystorm Entertainment and the driving force behind
such acts as Notorious B.I.G., TLC, Usher, Chris Brown and Nas to say
the least. While the Arista imprint folded shortly after his initial
meeting, MI maintained contact with Pitts, who took a liking to MI's
swagger and eventually inked him to a contract with his production
company. "At that time, I had the whole MC battle persona," he says.
"Mark really taught me how to make songs, how to pay more attention to
hooks, how to try and experiment with different things. He taught me
to be more than just a battle rapper."
While the aspiring MC was busy learning the rules to the game, he
suffered a crushing blow in his personal life in 2003 when one of his
best friends was murdered in the rapper's Baltimore home. Once again
though, Pitts was there to help him through it. "It was similar to the
situation he went through when B.I.G. was killed," he says. "From
detectives questioning me to dealing with my man's mom, it was tough
to deal with and he helped me with that. We definitely established a
more personal connection during that time."
In the aftermath of the murder, he decided to clamp down and take his
craft more seriously than ever. He shortened his name from M.I.C. to
MI, started his own company called Six to Six Records, and eventually
dropped the culturally-influenced mixtape The Sopranos: The Complete
First Session, paying homage to his Italian background on tracks like
the Dean Martin-sampled "Mambo Italiano" and embracing his
devastatingly aggressive presence on the mic on others.
The outspoken rapper is currently hustling to put the finishing
touches on Amongst Friends-named after the 1993 crime-infested
film-his independently released full-length album that will no doubt
catch the ears of the streets. He spits an ode to his city on the
buzzworthy street single "Yup" as he provides insight into the rough
circumstances surrounding the place he's called home for so many
years. N.O.R.E. and Rick Ross join him on a remix for the song, a
unification of the two after Ross namedropped the New York rapper's
namesake on his breakthrough single, "Hustlin'."
We are currently marketing a mixtape "Cocaine 80s" hosted by Busy Bee.
Who M.I. has know and looked to as a mentor in his career.
He is currently working on his debute album that is yet to be titled. That will
be produced by six2six records in a partnership with Kyze Music Entertainment, scheduled for release in the Falll of 2007.
"It took a lot of situations to get me to where I am today, from
meeting Mark to learning the grind of this game," he says. "And I
honestly feel like I haven't even peaked yet. My best days are still
ahead of me."
A battle-tested man ready to take on the challenges of competing in
the current hip-hop arena-that's MI. And he's eager for his next test
to begin.