Mikey and I have a lot in common. We create obsessively to overcome internal strife. Both of us are very hard on ourselves, and if our art is not perfect we edit, or we start from scratch. Mikey has been through a lot in his life, and in this interview he speaks candidly on what he is diagnosed with, and how he still suffers pretty intensely with it. He is incredibly self aware of how his brain works and how it can make life often unbearable. Still, this makes for some amazing music unlike anything you’ll ever hear. It’s completely stripped, just him and a minimal beat. His songs can still have a negative effect on his psyche, which you’ll see below. This is a must read for any creative who needs inspiration or someone to relate to.

Hey Mikey, how are you doing today?

For once, I’m calm… I feel content.

We are so glad to talk to you. First, tell us a little about yourself.

Well, I’m from LA (S/o NoHo) and don’t have any problem being myself or making sure that anyone in doubt of my mission is proven wrong. I’m here to win and make sure I am heard. I’m not too worried about being SEEN because I try my best to be reclusive nowadays so I try to make music that stands out and makes people think about their life and things around them.

You just put out ponyboy666. I would call it your most successful project to date. Putting that aside, what are your feelings towards it?

I don’t know how to feel about it, to be honest. It’s moving so fast. I don’t know if people actually like it because I have yet to ask anyone how they feel. If anything, I’m proud of me and my sound. I feel like no one else is making the kind of music I make because everyone is trying too hard to sound like everyone else. I’m not the same.

We premiered my favorite song off the tape, the intro. It was called Oren Ishi. There are a lot of interesting titles on there. Can you tell us your inspiration behind some of them?

All of the song titles were inspired by real life events. Like, Oren Ishi is a song inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series and a handful of other events that happen the day I made the song. I was in the middle of a very heavy acid trip and was feeling super duper creative so me and an old friend (Dude) made Oren Ishi right there in his living room.

The cover art is amazing. Who put that together and why did you decide to use those images?

The cover art was so random. Strictly based on a movie entitled GUMMO. Shit is crazy. Watch it if you haven’t.

Your music comes from the heart, and is extremely lyrical. Why do you make music? Is there a reason you rap that way, or was it natural?

I’m very fucked up mentally… I’m bipolar as fuck and also struggle with Depersonalization which can consist of a detachment within the psyche regarding one’s mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself. Subjects feel they have changed and that the world has become vague, dreamlike or almost unreal. I struggle with trust and self loathing as well so when I rap, I’m letting it all out. Right then. Right there.

Talk about your struggles and how it helped your music. Or did it hurt it?

Everything I’ve EVER gone through since the age of 13 has had a negative AND positive effect on me and my music. I let the things that I’ve been through leak through me unto the sounds that I get from the amazing producers I know personally. I kinda tap into whatever Kendrick decides to tap into when I’m in that booth letting it go. I’ve been shot, stabbed, jumped, forgotten and neglected. All of that pain has turn into a passion that I will never let die.

When did you start putting together songs?

Man, I didn’t start taking music seriously and properly putting songs together until the beginning of 2016. I’ve always been in and out of studios and dropping random freestyles but I didn’t wanna put projects, videos and images together until I got out of prison at the end of 2015 and told myself I was never going back.

Who are you most influenced by?

To be honest, I’m mostly influenced by LA. I love LA. I wouldn’t be who I am today without Los Angeles, California and every fucked up thing, good and bad, that I have seen while running around the city that made me.

Anything else you’d like to say?

Yeah…. Fuck the police. We didn’t ask to be here.