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featured
artist
mykee
Q: Global Rhythmz: You recently had a performance in Delaware! Were you excited? Tell us about it…
A: Mykee: Yeah, it was fun. It was cool…Me and my group were the only performers. It was suppose to be someone else but they couldn’t make it, because they were stuck in traffic. It was three other group members, they don’t rap, but they are my boys! My Father sponsored a “Back To School Bash”. We gave away free food, book bags & free school supplies for the kids. There was a radio station there & I gave out 200 copies of my songs, flyers with my name on them & follow me on Twitter (@RealMykee)…stuff like that.
Q: Global Rhythmz: How did you find Hip Hop as a passion?
A: Mykee: I used to rap with a couple of my friends…I started dancing…We use to watch MJ & Chris Brown. It’s something that we liked to do. In doing that we formed a group… Dancing is all we knew how to do. Then I was like we should rap…I mean I didn’t think I could really rap, but I just tried…putting some rhymes together & stuff like that. Eventually we started saying oh shoot we got something here! Then I started to branch off. My Dad started seeing me writing downstairs…My cousin use to be a gospel singer. My Dad knew all that he knew by working with him…so my Dad was like alright if this is what you want to do I’ll support you.
Q: Global Rhythmz: When you started writing, what was the first rhyme you wrote? How was that experience?
A: Mykee: I actually remember the day. Me & my friends we use to call ourselves the “Swag Boys”. Every time we went to a party we were the life! It started jumping when we got there! First we started saying “Life of the Party!”… then thought...this could be a song. It wasn’t great…but when I actually took my time to write & I knew I had potential.
Q: Global Rhythmz: How do people receive you now, as far as your friends & your family?
A: Mykee: My Brother doesn’t think I’m bad! Every time I get the big head he sits me down, but that’s just my Brother. My Fam sees that I’m trying to be positive & not like a lot of other rappers. My pastor wants to hear my music. He’s interested in it. I don’t have to change anything, because I make music for everyone. A lot of friends have grown a respect for me.
Q: Global Rhythmz: Now, during the summer time do you have time to work or you just do your music?
A: Mykee: Well, I think of it as I have three jobs! From the morning to about 2pm I’m at my Dad’s office. Rapping is not my main thing…Not depending on rap to be successful. I could become a dentist & take over the practice.
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FEATURED ARTIST : MYKEE
Q: Global Rhythmz: What do you do there?
A: Mykee: I’ve been assisting for four weeks. I take patients to the back & help with setup. I’m learning right now to get ahead for school so I will have a background.
Q: Global Rhythmz: What are your second and third jobs?
A: Mykee: Music…I write when I come back home…Hang out, practice with the boys if we got performances. Writing is when I vibe by myself. I still include my friends though. I also work at my Godfather’s boxing gym. I have a class with my Godbrother & eleven year olds. We work them out & teach them the boxing skills. I don’t do this every day though.
Q: Global Rhythmz: When do you get to socialize, make time for yourself?
A: Mykee: Sunday’s after Church I do something. Usually on Monday & the weekends when I’m not performing, or doing music videos….I only go to the gym Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday, so Monday I get to hang out with my friends.
Q: Global Rhythmz: Do you ever get times when you get nervous, because rapping is different from dancing?
A: Mykee: Actually when I was dancing I really never got nervous. At my school we were a part of the talent show & I did a dance routine. I kind of did rap the same way! I wasn’t nervous. When I first got on stage I was nervous. I just took the nervousness & flipped it. After that I was straight! I would loosen up after a song starts to play.
Q: Global Rhythmz: For those just meeting Mykee…what would you like to leave them with?
A: Mykee: I want to be positive. I want people to like my music & enjoy it. I’m about being positive, giving back to the community, & making the world a better place! Make sure you follow this Young Star in the making. His debut mixtape will be releasing soon entitled “Mykee to Success”. To learn more about Mykee, check out his website, Global Rhythmz, Facebook, and Twitter!
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efore we get into the topic, let’s first define the word “Great”. Most people use it interchangeably with “Best”, but each word has separate meanings. To call someone the “Greatest” is to say they have changed and/or transformed their original, intended purpose and transcended to a higher level in comparison with their peers. To call someone the “Best” is to say they are at the top of their game. “Great” refers to everything as a whole. “Best” refers to the few aspects or qualities that are being judged. Let’s look at an example.
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“Tupac had
his own style…he didn’t sound like anyone that came before him. That is Greatness.”
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WHY TUPAC IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME In Boxing, Muhammed Ali is considered by most as the Greatest Boxer of All Time. But, if you ask many Boxing historians they wouldn’t vote for him as the “Best Boxer of All Time”. Most would give that title to Sugar Ray Robinson or Joe Louis. But ask yourself why? What is the difference? The answer... Culture. No one would ever argue that Muhammed Ali wasn’t a beast in the ring. But his legacy goes DEEPER than the boxing ring. He fought during a time of political and societal un-rest. During a time when America was warring, not only with other countries but with itself. His persona, ethics, and rebellious nature struck a chord in not only Americans, but other countries. That is Greatness. That is Tupac. Tupac had his own style…he didn’t sound like anyone that came before him. That is Greatness. His versatility is un-paralleled. Before Tupac, most hip hop albums were mono-chromatic. Meaning, if you bought a Gangsta Rap album, you could rest assured that you would get 10-12 songs of pure chaos. The same held true for Lyricists, “New Jack Swing”, “Party Rap” etc. But Tupac was a Poet first, Rapper second. Including Eminem, there has yet to be a Rapper to truly perfect every single style all wrapped up in one person. In one album, he could make you Dance – “California Love” Laugh – “What’z Ya Phone #” Cry – “Life Goes On” Get Crunk – “You Can’t See Me” Get Lyrical – “Got My Mind Made Up” Pimp – “How Do You Want It” Get Political – “Wonda Why They Call U Bitch” Think about Life – “I Aint Mad At Cha” Think about Society – “Shorty Wanna Be A Thug” Swag out – “Picture Me Rollin” Romantic – “Heaven Aint Hard To Find”
Hop wasn’t as international as it is now. Tupac was the first Rapper to have two #1 albums in a row in the Billboard’s top 200 albums chart. According to Forbes, by 2007 Tupac had sold over 75 million albums worldwide making him one of the best selling artists in the world. But the accomplishments that really bother fans are the ones judged by his peers...especially in Hip Hop. MTV ranked him as #2 Greatest of All Time…VH1 had him at #3. Which I find interesting because most, if not all, polls done by fans have him ranked at #1 including MTV’s “22 Greatest MCs of All Time” as voted by viewers and Vibe Magazine’s poll. The Rolling Stone magazine has him ranked as #86 on their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” list which ranks all genres. And though I would still fight you on the fact they ranked “Run DMC” and “Public Enemy” ahead of him…there’s nO F@#$%N way Eminem and Dr. Dre should be ahead of Tupac. That’s a bad joke. Tupac’s Legacy goes deeper and further than the sound booth. How many other rappers…check that…musicians can you say that about? That is Greatness. In Hip Hop, there isn’t a Rapper born or alive from 1990 until now that doesn’t have Tupac’s DNA in their music, whether they admit to it or not. Until very recently, no artist could compare to Tupac’s international fanbase. As I travel to different countries in Europe and Latin America there are 3 t-shirts I’d bet you a plane ticket you will see: Che’ Guevara, Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur. There are Tupac murals all around the world. You would expect them all around California, but did you know about the one in Sierra Leone, Africa (posted above)? You expect to see a tribute outside the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Georgia, but did you know there is a statue that greets guests outside the entrance to the MARTa Museum in Herford, Germany?
But how? Because he was a Poet first, Rapper second. He wrote from the heart. Not only what he saw and experienced, but what he felt and couldn’t say any other way. In the same hour, he could write a song like “Hit Em Up” and then “Dear Mama” because he was that complex. He was consistent in his values and they never wavered from album to album, including posthumous music. Nowadays the music industry is all business and about sales. So people tend to compare him to other rappers using those criteria. But if you do, you have to place everything in its proper perspective. During Tupac’s era there were no digital downloads. Hip Hop artists didn’t have million dollar recording budgets. They didn’t have six-figure Marketing budgets either. But even more importantly, Hip SEE THE VISION......BE EXPOSED TO REAL
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WHY TUPAC IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
How many How many their lyrics? Thoreau, or
rappers can you name that have Harvard Symposiums about them? other rappers can you name that have College Professors teaching That is reserved for poets such as Edgar Allen Poe, Henry David Ralph Waldo Emerson. Add Tupac Amaru Shakur to that list.
Still not convinced? Refer back to the definition of “Great” and “Best”…now consider this: On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Tupac was inducted to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. They chose “Dear Mama” as one of only 25 important recordings chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation due to the song’s cultural and historical importance. Ok, I have one more for you… Almost exactly eleven years after its posthumous release, Tupac’s 1998 hit “Changes” was selected by the Vatican (yes as in THE Catholic Church) as one of their “12 Favorite Songs”! It was the first time the Catholic Church officially recognized the work of any popular American artist. Tupac and “Changes” were included with the likes of “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, the Vatican’s own “Advocata Nostra,” featuring the voice of Pope Benedict XVI, and “After The Rain,” by Dame Shirley Bassey.
Tupac Shakur is the “Greatest” Rapper of All Time.
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When Pusha T released his latest track ‘Exodus 23:1,’ Lil Wayne took it as a diss directed towards his label, and released a diss track of his own titled ‘Ghoulish.’ In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Wayne now says he does not have any issues with Pusha T. When asked about what he has coming up musically and the status of his beef with Pusha T, Weezy responded, “I just finished recording my ‘I Am Not a Human Being II’ album. And we’re starting to work on the Young Money album. ... It really wasn’t no beef, you know. It was just me. I just reacted. Just a reaction, a simple reaction. I don’t apologize for it because I’m human. But it was just my human reaction. I don’t take it back. But there’s no beef. Beef is a whole different thing. ... I’ll move on.” Wayne also stated that even with his many business dealings, music will always remain his primary focus. “I can honestly say my music is always going to be greater than my business side. Because I’m naturally a musician. And I don’t have to get paid, I don’t even have to have businesses. I will still do music. So that will always be my greater thing. ... Business is business. And music is life.”
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