MIKE BEAR
DOB: APR 6 1993
GENRE: RAP/R’N’B/HIP HOP
INSTRUMENTS: SYNTHESISER/DRUMMACHINE/GUITAR/BASS
YEARS ACTIVE: 2012-PRESENT
FROM: ORLANDO, FLORIDA
SELF QUOTED INFLUENCES: 2PAC, ARETHA FRANKLIN, CYPRESS HILL, DAVID BOWIE, FRANK SINATRA, JAY-Z, NAS, RAKIM, NOTORIOUS B.I.G, BEASTIE BOYS, ELVIS PRESLEY, KANYE WEST, JOHN LEGEND, MARVIN GAYE, DAFT PUNK, BOB MARLEY, N.W.A, PUBLIC ENEMY, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS, RAY CHARLES.
WHO IS: MIKE BEAR
The rapper/singer from Orlando has been making splashes in the scene for the past few months, with bloggers and critics raving about him. We thought we’d see what all the fuss was about.Mike is a relatively tall, well built young man. Despite being 19, he towers over me with a confidence borne out of the prophetic praise that has surrounded him. As with so many young musicians these days, Mike begun his career on the internet, gaining a cult following and soon recognition with those in-the-know bigwigs. Still he seems to have the calmness and the collection of an experienced celebrity.MIKE BEAR: I just think of home. It keeps me grounded.”
He replies as I ask him how he avoids getting caught up in his own hype. MB: I think of my Mom, and of my family and friends, and it just reminds me I’m still me. I haven’t done anything yet. I haven’t made it. When someone cites me as something that made them get into music, then I’ll say I’ve made it. But I’m still sitting here explaining my music and what makes it to people, I wanna get to the stage where they can tell me about my music.
WHOIS: So you’re not in it for the money?
MB: *Laughs* I don’t think anyone can say they don’t like money. When people think of Orlando they think of Disney Land, the pretty parts. I grew up in the shit part of town – believe me it exists. So now for me to be able to buy my own place, my own car, get the clothes I want. That’s all really cool. I make a decent amount of money just by being a support act. I probably earn about the same as most people, but for me the difference to what I used to have is huge. So no, I wouldn’t say I got into it for the money, but it’s not exactly a bad side-effect.
WI: Is there anything in particular you did get in it for?MB: If I’m honest I got in it for the girls. I love women, I’m not an asshole but I do like their company. I just saw people around where I was from getting girls just for doing 30 minute sets. And they were shit. I just thought fuck it, if they can do it I definitely can. I even joined the school choir when I was a kid, just for the female attention.
WI: Not into songs of praise, then?
MB: Nah, not really. I kind of think there’s a bit of a stereotype about black families from the US. It’s like automatically assumed we’re all happy clapping along singing hymns and shit and it’s not like that. My mumma used to go to church maybe like once a year? And that was it. I’ve never been interested in religion.
WI: You mentioned earlier you have a long list of influences, do you mind sharing a few?
MB: *Laughs* Yeah sure. I think people sometimes get influences confused with what you actually sound like. I’d say Aretha Franklin had a bit impact on my music, but I wouldn’t exactly say I sound like her. I just like some of the subtle things she does with her voice, and the big music in the background. I guess that’s an influence. But then there’s the standard Jay-Z, Notorious, Tupac, Kanye, I don’t think I’d be a black rapper if they weren’t somewhere in there. But I also listened to a bunch of Bowie and Lou Reed; I loved how they could change their styles so easily. Rage against the Machine and Chilli Peppers definitely influenced my state of mind and my lyrics, but I don’t know if what I do at the moment sounds like them. I’d definitely be interested in recording heavier stuff in the future though. And then there’s stuff like Daft Punk and Justice. Just simple dance riffs that they just make so complex and intricate but without excluding the people that just want to dance. Its dance you can listen to as music, and music you can just dance to at the same time. I like to think I put some dance elements into the stuff I write, but even then, you could probably tell you who I sound like more than I could.
WI: I think you’ve got a bit of Aretha in there, Mike. MB: *Laughs* Yeah well, I’ll take that as a compliment any day.
WI: If you could describe your music in a sentence, what would that sentence be?
MB: Oh, uh that’s a tough question really ha-ha. I try to make each song different, but I’d say the common themes are big beats, subtle dance tones hidden under a layer of me singing and rapping at the same time under a layer of guitars and synthesisers and all kind of electronic shit. It’s pretty layered.
WI: I think that just about qualifies as a sentence. But from listening to your tapes you do have quite a diverse style of songs you do, how do you intend to bring them together when you release your album. MB: Yeah I think that’s tough. Because your always looking to make fresh and exciting music, but at the same time, you don’t want it to become disjointed and not flow. At the moment I’d got a song called Pacific, which I’m going to try and see if a label is ready to release, and that’s quite a slow, pulsating song. Quite new-age RnB. And at the moment I’ve been listening to a lot of that kind of stuff, so my music at the moment is coming out around that style. But I don’t put a huge amount of thought into it. I don’t have an album narrative, each song tells their own story. I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out if it’s disjointed when it’s released.
WI: What do you prefer, recording or touring?
MB: Touring, by far. Recording is fun but also fucking frustrating. If I hit a shit note or my flow gets a bit messy you have to start right over again. But when you’re live, the crowd only cares if you have the energy to get them pumped. They’ll forget a bum note within a split second. It’s also the best place to test out new material. In the studio people’s criticism kind of feel more insulting in a way? Because you think ‘oh well your just one person and everyone else will love it.’ At least I do. And then if your live and you’re playing to hundreds to a thousand people, you get an instant and unquestionable reaction. If a thousand people say what you’re doing sucks, it sucks.
Mikes confidence and easy going personality means he’s a great candidate for interview, and a really interesting one at that. He gave me the sense that I’d only scratched the surface of his personality. You can listen to his new song ‘Pacific’ on his YouTube channel along with a bunch of his other stuff, but right now I think he’s more interested in touring. His shows usually only cost a few dollars and their dollars well spent. This kid is certainly on the up, and it’d be a great story to tell to say you saw him before he becomes – as he inevitably will – a superstar. Edited by user 20 January 2013 00:00:20(UTC)
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