I sat down with a writer from a popular hip hop website in early December to answer some questions. Here's the interview transcript in its entirety. We got deep and I don't know when the interview is gonna run so I decided to leak it to a few boards. Peep it:
Writer: So what’s good (how is everything)?
J. Mickens: I’m good, enjoying life and staying humble.
W: We’ve spoken briefly about your childhood growing up.
J: Yeah it was crazy. You know something that really gets to me man is when people sit around and have these roundtable discussions on rap music. You have all these kids that grow up in hell and there is no all out war to put an end to these conditions. As soon as that kid grows up and writes a song about it any and everybody has something to say about it. Even today it seems like people outside of Hip Hop culture spend more time and money on trying to end the result than the cause. Forget about what an emcee says in a rhyme… go help somebody.
W: You've gone through what most people can only write about...can you talk about it?
J: I grew up poor. I don’t really remember having much of anything besides a few toys when I was younger. My father used to beat the **** out of my mother and walked out on us when I was like four. My mom’s had a string of abusive boyfriends so she turned to heavy drinking, doing drugs and beating’ the **** out of me. She eventually kicked me out when I was like eleven years old. I was living in abandoned cars and crashing at friends’ houses to get by. I finally worked a situation out with one of my friend’s mother where the state garnished wages from my father to give to her so I can stay with them and at least be able to get through high school. Even after all that my high school principal tried to stop me from graduating. I had to fight for like two months to get my diploma. It seems like all through my life the people that were supposed to have my back went out of their way to make things ****ed up for me. But I wouldn’t change a thing. They made me the strong person that appreciates life and strives to be an inspiration for anyone that’s suffering from the effects of poverty, abuse and neglect today.
W: What would you tell kids that are going through what you did?
J: The sad thing about that is there are so many people that have or are going through something that’s similar to my situation I just have the talent and outlet to speak on it, but the main thing I would tell kids is to not let these experiences break you. There were times when I wished I were dead because I felt so unwanted. I felt like I had no purpose. I eventually realized that it’s up to you to discover your purpose and follow through with it. Always keep education at the top of your list of priorities. By this I mean go to school and get book knowledge as well as street knowledge. Become a sponge and learn from the people around you, everyone from the homeless to the people with PHD’s. Always use any negativity as fuel to do something positive. A strong heart and a sharp mind will take you far.
W: What was college like for you?
J: I’d say college was an experience that taught me about the politics of life and different cultures…. I’ll be honest with you. College was a ***** especially coming from a broken home. I had a mentor, some good friends and a good girl to help me get through obstacles, a few pitfalls sent by law enforcement that I’m not proud of and the rough times. Being in school taught me that you can’t do everything alone and no one’s going to give you anything. It’s up to you to concentrate on what you want, find out how to get it and then go after it like it’s ya’ last meal. I think that is the most important thing that I’ve ever learned. While I was in school me and my mom’s started speaking again because she caught wind of some of the parties and music related things that I was doing’. Maybe she saw stars or whatever but I didn’t care I was just happy to speak to her. We were cool for a little while and she recently passed away. She never got a chance to see me graduate. I got a degree in Business/ Finance. Before she passed I promised her that she’d see me finish school before I went hard wit’ my music career so I was kinda’ ****ed up after she died for a minute.
W: When did you decide you want to become an MC?
J: It was off and on. I wrote rhymes in grammar school when I first heard Run DMC and I used to rock the LL “Bigger an Deffer” literally until it popped, but I taped it back together and kept it movin’. I was just writin’ and not battlin’. After that I turned into a Juice Crew and Scarface fanatic. Then I heard my first Kid Capri tape and I met him at Def Comedy Jam. I started DJ’ing, beat digging for classics and eventually making beats. I’d make a tape and zone out to some classic **** like Stevie or Marvin and write in my journal. Journal entries became poems and poems became songs. My early influences are why my delivery is the way it is.
W: I’ve heard some of your songs, but how would you describe your style?
J: Soulful and honest. I don’t pull any punches. I don’t hold back or keep my feelings bottled up. I write what I feel. I put a lot of thought into what I write so my songs contain a lot of meaning. That mixed wit’ a little word play, ill delivery and hot track is my basic formula. I don’t go out and read ten books and then put all the information that I learn into a song so I can sound over conscious. Don’t get me wrong it’s important to read but most books leave out important facts to sway the reader. If I don’t really know about it, I don’t talk about it so I keep it authentic, hot and autobiographical.
W: What's your writing process like?
J: I got a few styles. When I write I just keep it honest and I stay true to myself. I listen to a lot of classic **** and I feel the emotion that those artists were giving’ off when they made the record. I want people to get caught up in the moment that I’m caught up in when I listen to these songs so I usually zone out, write and pick a beat to go with the song. Sometimes I just go in the studio and let the beat pull a song out of me because I make sure my tracks are full of emotion also.
W: You make your own beats too, do you find it hard to balance that with rhyming?
J: Not at all, if anything it’s an advantage. For instance if you look at a great artist like Prince, he’s able to crank out so much quality work because he got the music, the songs, the talent, the drive and the personal experiences to fuel his work ethic. It also forces you to create a complete sound, which eventually leads to great consistent albums.
W: Who would you say are your top three favorite producers?
J: Man just three, that’s a good question. OK in no particular order I’ll just give my top three favorite Hip Hop producers that influenced me the most. I gotta go with Marley Marl because he made sampling popular and fathered so many people’s styles including mine. He got other producers sampling him. Then you know I gotta mention Soul Brother #1…. Pete Rock. He’s like the cat that you study if you really want to get into seriously making tracks that sound hot. Pete Rock’s catalog is the blueprint. Last but definitely not least Dr. Dre. He’s like the producer that you go to when you want a solid album from front to back. You listen to a Dre album and you get the skits and the songs that bang all meshed together like it’s a soundtrack to a movie. He’s another artist that makes complete consistent albums.
W: You're working on your album now, can you talk about that?
J: My album is called “The John Mickens Memoirs”. Every song is coming straight from my heart. With this album I want to take people to a place that they can relate to, be entertained and also learn how to cope with serious issues. I want the younger generation or whoever to listen to my album and feel what I feel when I listen to my music and other good music that inspires me. I make music to share with the people.
W: What's good with Hip Hop now and what do you want to see changed?
J: The good thing about Hip Hop is that it touches so many people worldwide and it grows and gets stronger each day no matter what goes on in the culture. Hip Hop also gives back enormously to help people in need of education and necessities by forming a huge network of foundations and organizations. The thing that I’d like to see change is the bad rap that Hip Hop receives from people who don’t understand it. I think the musical aspect of Hip Hop is an extension of what artists like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Gil Scott Heron and James Brown were doing. People always talk about the good old days. I don’t know where they’ve been living but I really don’t remember the good old days. The days were never good. Hip Hop has been real since “The Message” and “Hard Times”. It’s just more advanced with different problems now. People only want to remember the party songs and not the problems.
W: You talk about giving back. Is this something you’re passionate about?
J: Very. I eventually want to form a non-profit organization that promotes the arts, education and instilling the principles of working together as a collective unit to accomplish goals. Of course I want it to be music related. Things like this take time, energy and resources so a portion of my life is dedicated to this. I’ve got a lot of ideas on how I want to do this and where I want to take it. It’s something that I wish I had when I was growing up.
W: If you could battle anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
J: Whoa. Nobody really but if I had to it would probably be Kane in his prime. Why… You remember the “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” video when the mic drops down in the ring. This was when everybody wanted Ra and Kane to battle. I was young but I used to think that was ill cause Kane was like the cat to beat. I think that would’ve been the ultimate test. Thas’ like goin’ in the den to wrestle a lion. Verse for verse in the ring.
Shout Outs: Mr. C.J., my brother Bobbie, My mom… RIP, J.P., EMR, All my B-Lo family, VA, DC, My LIU crew that held me down, Jersey City, (The site) thanks for the feature and to the have nots of the world…. Stay strong, I got you.
Writer: So what’s good (how is everything)?
J. Mickens: I’m good, enjoying life and staying humble.
W: We’ve spoken briefly about your childhood growing up.
J: Yeah it was crazy. You know something that really gets to me man is when people sit around and have these roundtable discussions on rap music. You have all these kids that grow up in hell and there is no all out war to put an end to these conditions. As soon as that kid grows up and writes a song about it any and everybody has something to say about it. Even today it seems like people outside of Hip Hop culture spend more time and money on trying to end the result than the cause. Forget about what an emcee says in a rhyme… go help somebody.
W: You've gone through what most people can only write about...can you talk about it?
J: I grew up poor. I don’t really remember having much of anything besides a few toys when I was younger. My father used to beat the **** out of my mother and walked out on us when I was like four. My mom’s had a string of abusive boyfriends so she turned to heavy drinking, doing drugs and beating’ the **** out of me. She eventually kicked me out when I was like eleven years old. I was living in abandoned cars and crashing at friends’ houses to get by. I finally worked a situation out with one of my friend’s mother where the state garnished wages from my father to give to her so I can stay with them and at least be able to get through high school. Even after all that my high school principal tried to stop me from graduating. I had to fight for like two months to get my diploma. It seems like all through my life the people that were supposed to have my back went out of their way to make things ****ed up for me. But I wouldn’t change a thing. They made me the strong person that appreciates life and strives to be an inspiration for anyone that’s suffering from the effects of poverty, abuse and neglect today.
W: What would you tell kids that are going through what you did?
J: The sad thing about that is there are so many people that have or are going through something that’s similar to my situation I just have the talent and outlet to speak on it, but the main thing I would tell kids is to not let these experiences break you. There were times when I wished I were dead because I felt so unwanted. I felt like I had no purpose. I eventually realized that it’s up to you to discover your purpose and follow through with it. Always keep education at the top of your list of priorities. By this I mean go to school and get book knowledge as well as street knowledge. Become a sponge and learn from the people around you, everyone from the homeless to the people with PHD’s. Always use any negativity as fuel to do something positive. A strong heart and a sharp mind will take you far.
W: What was college like for you?
J: I’d say college was an experience that taught me about the politics of life and different cultures…. I’ll be honest with you. College was a ***** especially coming from a broken home. I had a mentor, some good friends and a good girl to help me get through obstacles, a few pitfalls sent by law enforcement that I’m not proud of and the rough times. Being in school taught me that you can’t do everything alone and no one’s going to give you anything. It’s up to you to concentrate on what you want, find out how to get it and then go after it like it’s ya’ last meal. I think that is the most important thing that I’ve ever learned. While I was in school me and my mom’s started speaking again because she caught wind of some of the parties and music related things that I was doing’. Maybe she saw stars or whatever but I didn’t care I was just happy to speak to her. We were cool for a little while and she recently passed away. She never got a chance to see me graduate. I got a degree in Business/ Finance. Before she passed I promised her that she’d see me finish school before I went hard wit’ my music career so I was kinda’ ****ed up after she died for a minute.
W: When did you decide you want to become an MC?
J: It was off and on. I wrote rhymes in grammar school when I first heard Run DMC and I used to rock the LL “Bigger an Deffer” literally until it popped, but I taped it back together and kept it movin’. I was just writin’ and not battlin’. After that I turned into a Juice Crew and Scarface fanatic. Then I heard my first Kid Capri tape and I met him at Def Comedy Jam. I started DJ’ing, beat digging for classics and eventually making beats. I’d make a tape and zone out to some classic **** like Stevie or Marvin and write in my journal. Journal entries became poems and poems became songs. My early influences are why my delivery is the way it is.
W: I’ve heard some of your songs, but how would you describe your style?
J: Soulful and honest. I don’t pull any punches. I don’t hold back or keep my feelings bottled up. I write what I feel. I put a lot of thought into what I write so my songs contain a lot of meaning. That mixed wit’ a little word play, ill delivery and hot track is my basic formula. I don’t go out and read ten books and then put all the information that I learn into a song so I can sound over conscious. Don’t get me wrong it’s important to read but most books leave out important facts to sway the reader. If I don’t really know about it, I don’t talk about it so I keep it authentic, hot and autobiographical.
W: What's your writing process like?
J: I got a few styles. When I write I just keep it honest and I stay true to myself. I listen to a lot of classic **** and I feel the emotion that those artists were giving’ off when they made the record. I want people to get caught up in the moment that I’m caught up in when I listen to these songs so I usually zone out, write and pick a beat to go with the song. Sometimes I just go in the studio and let the beat pull a song out of me because I make sure my tracks are full of emotion also.
W: You make your own beats too, do you find it hard to balance that with rhyming?
J: Not at all, if anything it’s an advantage. For instance if you look at a great artist like Prince, he’s able to crank out so much quality work because he got the music, the songs, the talent, the drive and the personal experiences to fuel his work ethic. It also forces you to create a complete sound, which eventually leads to great consistent albums.
W: Who would you say are your top three favorite producers?
J: Man just three, that’s a good question. OK in no particular order I’ll just give my top three favorite Hip Hop producers that influenced me the most. I gotta go with Marley Marl because he made sampling popular and fathered so many people’s styles including mine. He got other producers sampling him. Then you know I gotta mention Soul Brother #1…. Pete Rock. He’s like the cat that you study if you really want to get into seriously making tracks that sound hot. Pete Rock’s catalog is the blueprint. Last but definitely not least Dr. Dre. He’s like the producer that you go to when you want a solid album from front to back. You listen to a Dre album and you get the skits and the songs that bang all meshed together like it’s a soundtrack to a movie. He’s another artist that makes complete consistent albums.
W: You're working on your album now, can you talk about that?
J: My album is called “The John Mickens Memoirs”. Every song is coming straight from my heart. With this album I want to take people to a place that they can relate to, be entertained and also learn how to cope with serious issues. I want the younger generation or whoever to listen to my album and feel what I feel when I listen to my music and other good music that inspires me. I make music to share with the people.
W: What's good with Hip Hop now and what do you want to see changed?
J: The good thing about Hip Hop is that it touches so many people worldwide and it grows and gets stronger each day no matter what goes on in the culture. Hip Hop also gives back enormously to help people in need of education and necessities by forming a huge network of foundations and organizations. The thing that I’d like to see change is the bad rap that Hip Hop receives from people who don’t understand it. I think the musical aspect of Hip Hop is an extension of what artists like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Gil Scott Heron and James Brown were doing. People always talk about the good old days. I don’t know where they’ve been living but I really don’t remember the good old days. The days were never good. Hip Hop has been real since “The Message” and “Hard Times”. It’s just more advanced with different problems now. People only want to remember the party songs and not the problems.
W: You talk about giving back. Is this something you’re passionate about?
J: Very. I eventually want to form a non-profit organization that promotes the arts, education and instilling the principles of working together as a collective unit to accomplish goals. Of course I want it to be music related. Things like this take time, energy and resources so a portion of my life is dedicated to this. I’ve got a lot of ideas on how I want to do this and where I want to take it. It’s something that I wish I had when I was growing up.
W: If you could battle anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
J: Whoa. Nobody really but if I had to it would probably be Kane in his prime. Why… You remember the “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” video when the mic drops down in the ring. This was when everybody wanted Ra and Kane to battle. I was young but I used to think that was ill cause Kane was like the cat to beat. I think that would’ve been the ultimate test. Thas’ like goin’ in the den to wrestle a lion. Verse for verse in the ring.
Shout Outs: Mr. C.J., my brother Bobbie, My mom… RIP, J.P., EMR, All my B-Lo family, VA, DC, My LIU crew that held me down, Jersey City, (The site) thanks for the feature and to the have nots of the world…. Stay strong, I got you.
