Mikey D

Hip Hop veteran Mikey D most known for taking the helm of the group Main Source on their second release Fuck What You Think takes us on a walk through history and prepares for the future with a new label and new releases.

For those that don’t know who you are, who is Mikey D?

Mikey D: Those who don’t know me ahh, how can I say Mikey Destruction man that’s all it is. Straight up battle rapper, battle rapper from back in the days when I was battling cats it wasn’t all about you know gun slinging and all of that it was just battling for the fun comparing notes to see who was better. I’m that cat.

True true, so Mikey D you ran with a couple of different groups here Symbolic 3, LA Posse, Main Source.

Mikey D: Oh yeah without a doubt man you know. Okay that was me…

Some of the cats that you battled back in the day that cat’s know…

Mikey D: Well as far as battling man I went from Kwame to Melli Mel. From Melli Mel to LL and that rhymes I could put that in a rhyme right now and sell ha ha. But um na I mean I battled basically anybody who was making noise at the time you know. I was just that type of dude that I would you know, if I couldn’t catch you at a show I’d come to your hood. Me and my DJ Johnny Quest you know I’d just walk to a block and just battle the best and you know find you.

True True so what’s going on with you today these days in the’05.

Mikey D: Well, my phone on the other line is ringing but I’m not gonna answer it. In the’05 right now um we, we’re working on some new material man it’s gonna be mike sickness you know what I mean, um what I plan on doing is a album featuring a lot of rappers form the past that still got it you know, not rappers from the past that still sound like the past, but rappers from the past that still, still got it such as you know IU, um Big Daddy Kane, you know rappers like that and plus some up and coming artists um and it’s gonna be out in March 200Sick haha. I took out the 6, 200Sick. We’re working we’re working hard man we about to put it down man just to let the younger generation know, you know you can’t judge a book by its cover. And in order to be old school you gotta live first you know what I mean so you know I’m not trying to teach them or preach to them but you know you can’t just come out with one joint talking about killing everybody you know what I mean because if you go platinum how many more fans do you have you done killed everybody.

Ha ha, right right, no doubt. Alright so this is gonna be out, you gotta a title for this yet for this new project.

Mikey D: yeah “Mike Sickness”

Mike Sickness.

Mikey D: Mike Sickness. M-i-k-e Sickness man. Look at, the logo, just look out for the logo it’s gonna be a microphone like it’s sick like oh you hurt me bad like the mic is ready to throw up.

Ha ha alright, okay and I think the last time we talked you talked about you just inked the distribution deal.

Mikey D: Yeah without a doubt Redline man we about to put out some of the stuff I had back in like’87’88 um over to Paul C you know over the Paul C material you know what I mean. Released and un released we got like seven bonus joints that people haven’t heard for Paul C. A lot of people are bootlegging Paul C right now but I have original copies and real stuff that we really did you know what I mean.

Right no doubt.

Mikey D: So we’re gonna put that out. That’s under Redline Distribution it’s gonna be big man.

And that’s, when is that due out?

Mikey D: That’ll be happening within the next two months man hopefully before the new year.

Okay we gotta get us a copy so we can uh you know get the reviews and stuff out.

Mikey D: Oh without a doubt you got that.

And the Best of Mikey D cd that’s out right now.

Mikey D: The best of Mikey cd ahh, the Best of Mikey cd wow, the Best of Mikey D cd it’s out but it’s you know we done sold out of the damn things every time we put them in stores it’s gone you know.

That’s what I keep hearing, it was moving quick.

Mikey D: Yeah it moves fast man I don’t know what that’s all about but um you know I will definitely get you a copy that.

Okay.

Mikey D: It’s a collectors.

Alright now Mike, you mentioned before for the cats that don’t know who you are, you obviously, have been in the game a good minute and you’ve worked with some of the best and you know what it is some say you know like what was that second Main source album I mean you cats gave uh Jadakiss and them their first chance to shine.

Mikey D: Yeah.

You know a lot of cats don’t know stuff like that, you know what I mean.

Mikey D: Yeah well what it was like when I got down with Main Source that’s when um Large Professor had bounced he had a situation as far as the publishing and all of that they were trying to take his publishing rights this that and the third you know because Large Professor I mean not Large Professor but K. Cut and Sir Scratch are brothers and their mother was the manager. Know what I mean? So I had gotten into a situation that I wasn’t aware of you know and um you know the reason you know because of that situation I got down you know tried to cover his shoes or whatever because I was hungry and at the time I wasn’t really focused on my paperwork and my business you know I just wanted to come out like yo “F” that let’s do this shit. So I got down with them and I basically got involved with the same situation as Paul C but um I mean not Paul C; Large Professor. But um as far as Jadakiss and Shiek, them guys we was doing the album and um we was doing “Set it off”. They wanted to do like a “Live at the BBQ” part two type of joint. You know somebody mentioned these guys or whatever so we was in the studio in the Bronx and they came through and they not auditioned but they just spit…and we compared notes you know…put it that way and I liked them and I was like yo put these niggas on this mother fuckin album cause they was hot man, you know. And that’s how that went.

And you also did some stuff with Rahzel.

Mikey D: Oh yea Rahzel from The Roots that’s my man. Me and him used to go to school together, and you know what’s funny he used to be a rapper first he wasn’t no damn beat boxer he was a rapper he was down with the Everlovin five.

Okay.

Mikey D: Everlovin five MC’s, Springfield Gardens, Queens and they had this record out called “To The Max” that was in freshman in Springfield High School. And you know that’s my man and everything but he challenged me. Man put it this way the next day he was beat boxin after that battle.

Haha…..okay I guess we’ll leave that to the imagination on how the outcome came out.

Mikey D: yea no doubt.

Some cats have compared your sound, that you kind of sound like L but then other rumors say that you taught L. LL Cool J.

Mikey D: Well um I think, I think great minds think alike.

Okay.

Mikey D: You know now great minds can think alike but they can’t sound alike. Now, as far as that situation is concerned Cool J was going to Andrew Jackson High School and I was going to Springfield High School and we had mutual friends that were bragging about you know who was the best rapper in their schools or whatever and then they pitted us against each other. Flava Flav from Public Enemy, he used to do this thing the spectrum at Roller Castle out in Elmont, Long Island at, out in Roller Castle, Roller Castle you know spectrum that was the name of his company or whatever, promotion team or whatever, any way they pitted us against each other we were suppose to meet up there to battle and when…not even Cool J at the time his name was Jay Ski at the time. When him and I met we compared notes before we actually got on to do the damn battle and he reminded me of myself you know, and you know I was spittin to him, he spittin to me and we just…the resemblance was so crazy and voices, I mean as far as our voice texture. You know so um, instead of battling we wound up you know getting up there and doing it together, shit as one, then after that he changed his name from Jay Ski to Cool J you know he came to Merrick Boulevard around my way you know he told me about it and at the time I my name was Playboy Mikey D. We had a group called the Sensational Five it was Lover Boy PC, Ever Lovin Kid, Romantic Lover Snow um Lovable Little B you know what I mean and Cool J was just Cool J I was Playboy Mikey D and I told him yo man why don’t you put a nickname in front of your joint, how bout you know “Ladies Love”.

Okay.

Mikey D: And he ran with the “Ladies Love” and if you think about it that’s what the LL is and if you read his book it’s documented you know what I mean.

So you gave him that, you gave him the “Ladies Love”.

Mikey D: Yeah ladies love and that’s what the LL is short for.

Right, okay, see aight now what about the, the joint…the Dougie Fresh dis, how did that come about?

Mikey D: Well that came about because I was at the Cush Groove auditions for you know little parts in there and I was rappin and whatever and I met my man DJ Doctor Shock he um hooked me up with this manager Arthur Armstrong or whatever, Arthur Armstrong was a very good friend of Jerry Blood Rock who used to run Reality Records and at that time Dougie Fresh and Slick Rick was on Reality Records so then you know and my wife and I had just gotten with my wife and she just so happened to be you know with a rap group called Symbolic Three. My wife is Sha Love by the way and we have a sixteen year old daughter that’s hot to death on the MC mic that’s going crazy with it.

Uh oh.

Mikey D: Anyway um so Jerry Blood Rock signed us to Sleeping Bag I mean not Sleeping Bag to um Reality Records and being that “The Show” was hot, If anybody is gonna make a disc he wanted them to be in the house you know what I mean?

Right.

Mikey D: In the house on that label so…that’s what made me do it. It was nothing personal against Slick Rick and Dougie Fresh. And I wasn’t thinking like that at the time because I didn’t know them personally you know what I mean? I was just like the hell with it I’m known for battling anyway let’s go for it. and that’s how that happened.

Aight now I went, I went back through a couple of them points in the Hip Hop history so to speak to set up what we spoke on the other day about the VH1 Hip Hop Honors.

Mikey D: Right

Because you said you had some things that you wanted to get off your chest about it. So now let’s come to the present with the VH1 Hip Hop Honors.

Mikey D: Alright well that’s crazy you just have to imagine a person like me I’ve been in the game for a good twenty three years spittin hard you know what I mean and I got respect in the street and now as far as the Hip Hop Honors I mean, everybody that was being honored that night, I mean that night I had a piece of history with them, you know what I mean like for instance from Salt n Pepa, me and Pepa went to Springfield High School together you know what I mean, she knew how I got down as far as spittin in Springfield. Alright, you had Melli Mel up there with the Furious 5, this guy is the guy that was my idol that I destroyed in a battle in 1988 at the New Music Seminar. Alright, you had LL Cool J up there being honored and we just discussed what went down with me and him you know what I mean?

Right.

Mikey D: Um Big Daddy Kane, that’s my boy that’s like you know one of my closest friends like my home boy like damn this nigga’s doing it BIG! You know then you even have Ice-T, this guy when I first went to California we did an after party and Ice-T was there, this guy pulled me behind the scenes and told me that I was his idol for the simple fact that I did these park jams and he had 231 park jams man, you know what I mean? So everybody that was being honored that night, I had a part of their damn life man and I sat at home and watched this shit man, so think about how I felt. Not not, not like I’m you know the um Little Richie of Hip Hop but you know it’s like wow , you know that’s crazy, they’re not respecting the real street Hip Hop you know, so it, it’s crazy but you know I hope God blesses every one of them you know but um next time I should be up there.

Okay well right after these new releases come out they might you know keep their ears open.

Mikey D: Oh yea without a doubt we’re gonna do it man we got some real hot stuff getting ready to drop.

Okay um anything else coming up any tours for us any, any singles you dropping.

Mikey D: Well right now I’m trying to establish this label man Sickness records is gonna be crazy and if anybody you know what I mean if you know anybody including yourself God damn it we already discussed me and you are gonna do something together.

Right.

Mikey D: But um you know I’m trying to put Sickness Records together man and just to get it poppin man because I think what Hip Hop means right now is that realness man not that shit that’s out right now that the um industry is, is focused on man.

Oh yea don’t get me started…

Mikey D: Well you know what it is then we don’t even have to go there.

Don’t get me started on all that. Okay, alright so, so be on the look out, is there any people can go to get more information on Mikey D?

Mikey D: Well you could go to allhiphop.com and um redline.com that’s my distribution company and um yeah you’ll see some stuff on there about it you know they’ll give you release dates and everything like that, but allhiphop.com me and them stay in touch.

Alright well of course you gotta stay in touch with onetwoonetwo.com

Mikey D: Oh of course, well you know what it is man.

Yeah, so so basically they can come to us to get more information on Mikey D as well.

Mikey D: Well tell them man let’s promote that, yo in case you want to find out anything about what’s going on with Mikey D just tap into onetwoonetwo.com you know what I mean, holla at cha boys.

Wordup wordup.

Mikey D: hehe.

Aight so definitely we will definitely keep in touch on that so we can get the information when all that drops the press releases all the info so cats will know when all the things is coming out, when things is moving, um because I know your manager uh Forty Mac?

Mikey D: Forty Killer.

Forty Killer, he stays on the grind cause you know I had to do a little bit of research I was getting some more stuff to try and find some obscure details and everywhere I went uh he was all over the place, message boards…anyone had a comment he was right there on it so your mans got the information covered so we gotta you know got some more of that out there so I know you’re gonna be out and about with the info when everything drops he seems to be on his grind. Um so you know I don’t wanna take up too much more of your time anything that you want the people to know before, before we finish up right here?

Mikey D: Yea I want the kids to know stay in school, don’t be no fool…hahah. Nah I’m just playin man Knowledge comes from self you know what I mean.

Word.

Mikey D: And just trust God in everything that you do, don’t let nobody tell you that you can’t do it man you know what I mean I’m gonna be a age in November but I’m not gonna quit it until I get it you know what I mean. So just do what you do man and just make sure you take care of your business man cause this is show business but in order to be involved in show business, you have to show business you know what I mean.

Wordup wordup.

Mikey D: And that’s what it is man that was the mistake that I made back in the days man when I was a little seventeen year old running around I didn’t show business, now I got my head on right and it’s about to go down man and you know the younger cats ya’ll need to follow me and I’ll show you something.

No doubt.

Mikey D: And my last word is I’m not from the old school and I’m not from the new school I am school itself and if you mess with me you learn something.

Aight

Mikey D: There it is.

We can end it on that note right there cause that’s a good final word right there.

Transcribed by P-Touch