We recently connected with Mike Memphis and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mike thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I first started learning about music at a very young age. I use to sing and play the drums for a gospel group my dad was part of. The love and passion for music growed and carried over into my middle school and high school years at Manassas High. I owe a lot of credit to the late Albert D. Cox who taught me how to play many instruments. Mr.Cox also taught me about measures and bars when constructing a song.I later took the knowledge taught to me an started using the things I learned. I also found myself going to record stores all the time buying Cd’s of other hot artist from all over and basically started observing how artist were formatting their song structure. It didn’t take me long at all to start mastering the craft myself because music is something I’ve always done my entire life. I have musical influences from many different places so once I put that pen to the pad for the first time I instantly knew music was going to be something that is going to be with me for the rest of my life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well first I’ll say that I’ve been doing music for a long time now. I actually first started recording myself at my parents house in the late 90’s on cassette tapes that we use to dubb over to actually make the songs. Me and my younger brothers Yayo Rackz and J-Cash was known as The Money Go Gettaz or MGG Muzik. We kinda turned our bedroom into a bootleg studio lol. We actually made some alright stuff back then lol but as I got a little older I hooked up with a childhood friend/producer by the name of Big Roe .
Big Roe had a real studio with real equipment and was one of the hottest producers around. I recorded several songs under the Mad Muzik label.I moved to San Antonio,TX around 2003 and hooked up with Arkansas rapper/producer D.J Kodd.
We started recording immediately with San Antonio based IcePick records. After 2 years of being in Texas I moved to the state of Georgia to continue to pursue music. While staying in Valdosta,GA I hooked up with multi platinum producer K.E on the track. I had several songs to be played on different stations in South Georgia/North Florida.
Also while there I signed a deal with an independent label SoSo Crunk. I moved back to Memphis around Dec 2007 and started back recording with my brothers. A few months later we were all incarcerated serving a 7.2 year sentence. After making parole from serving a few years I got back to recording immediately. Since then I’ve been apart of several projects such as the Basement series produced by D.J Rod. I’ve recorded with other artists such as Moneybagg yo artist Fatt Wizza,Freaky Sett,YunGluv,Yayo Rackz,Y1,Chrome Korleone and Many other artist around Memphis,Mississippi,Arkansas and Baltimore,MD. I have put out two solo projects (Memphis Zoo & M.U.S.I.C) and I have had my music played in Numerous clubs and on k97 &95.7fm.
I put out several videos and singles in the year 2023 all shot by extra creative videographer Twan Freeman. If you’ve ever seen my videos or heard my music you will instantly know what sets me apart from others. My voice is very distinctive and I have witty and clever punchlines and bars. I have a broad subject matter. Once you hear my music you’ll most definitely understand why I’m so confident In my abilities. Right now I’m working on my third solo project entitled”Memphis Zoo 2″. You can find my music on all major platforms.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Well I can say that being independent and grinding it out is showing a lot of resilience to me. It’s much harder doing this music thing independently because there is no machine behind you giving you that big push. You have to be able to get out here an make something happen for yourself because a lot of times we become too dependent on someone else doing the work for us. I actually don’t mind the hard work that comes with the grind. My whole plan is to just keep putting out good music and believing that I’ll one day reap the benefits of being such a resilient person.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding things for me is when someone tells me how good my music is. It also make feel like the best doing it when people tell me that I’m just as good as mainstream artists like J.Cole,Nipsy Hustle and many others. A lot of people actually don’t know that we can really rap down here in Memphis. When people tell me that they can relate to my music its like one of the best things a person can hear so I’ll make sure to keep putting out good music for everyone lol.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @therealmikememphis
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealmikememphis?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Twitter: @Darealmikememphis
• Youtube: Mike Memphis

Image Credits
Photo taken by D’Angelo Rosebur