WHITE MIKE
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WHITE MIKE

| INDIE

| INDIE
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Music

The best kept secret in music

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Discography

FAMOUS. (2006)
-CMJ #4 Most Added (Hip-Hop)
-Add date was August 22, 2006 for several college radio stations across the United States to begin playing songs from his latest work
WHITE MIKE (2002)
-won him the 2004 "Independent Hip-Hop Artist of the Year at the Los Angeles Music Awards

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

White Mike is taking the West Coast hip-hop scene by storm. He is described by Al Bowman, founder of the Los Angeles Music Awards, as a rare talent in the world of hip-hop music. In 2004, he garnered the votes from not only our voting committee, but hundreds of fans whom prior to the voting party event that year had never heard his music, or of him personally. White Mike is a winner

With his new album entitled “Famous,” White Mike is the stake in the heart of any critic who ignorantly jumps to the conclusion that “white boys can’t rap.” In other words, DON’T F**K WITH HIM Throughout 16 tracks, “Famous” takes you on a journey through the quaint town of Pleasanton, California, where the rapper/producer was raised. The album is a descriptive narrative full of cynicism, bitch-slapping, and the obstacles overcome that formed the self-proclaimed “rapper that your kids wanna be.”

Michael Brent Alexander was born to single mother, Leslie, in Washington, D.C. on October 22, 1980. After six years of living in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, a job opportunity for Leslie moved the two of them to Pleasanton, an upper-middle-class community in Northern California’s Bay Area. While other Pleasanton families lived in luxurious houses and preached family values, Mike, who was born out of wedlock, and Leslie lived in a small apartment and struggled just to keep the lights on. It's one thing to be broke surrounded by other broke people, but in Pleasanton it seemed like I was always having everyone else's success rubbed in my face, he explains. Though popular with his classmates, he always felt like an outcast with something to prove.

Sports were an outlet for Michael’s anger and aggression growing up. In high school he excelled in both football and track-and-field. Unfortunately, some of Michael’s high school coaches thought the brash teenager had a bad-ass attitude, a reputation that followed throughout the rest of his athletic career…and the rest of his life for that matter. While a senior at Amador Valley High School, “White Mike,” as his black friends had dubbed him, grew tired of putting so much effort into sports. Injuries and lack of support from coaches to get him to the next level diverted Michael’s attention to other things. From this point on, hip-hop was the answer to his prayers.

White Mike began rapping at the age of 17. Michael had always enjoyed creative writing in school, so writing raps came very naturally to him. His sharp wit and hilarious punch lines quickly earned him a powerful reputation as an emcee amongst his circle of friends. When no universities recruited Michael for football out of high school, he found himself playing for the team at Chabot Junior College in nearby Hayward, California. During lunch hours, a DJ in the Chabot cafeteria would hold rap competitions, or battles, between emcees for everyone to hear from the loud speakers. White Mike shattered his battle competition and, soon after, anticipation ran wild for the “White Mike” album.

While trying to balance music and football, an injury late in his sophomore season at Chabot Junior College discouraged Division 1 Universities from recruiting Mike to play strong safety. However, the silver lining was that he had finished his self-titled debut and was ready to distribute it to the masses. Rappers brag about selling music out of the trunk of their car, but Mike was riding a bicycle with half of the seat ripped off around Pleasanton, selling CDs out of his backpack. No you know where he got his “balls of steel ”

Mike soon acquired a piece of shit car from a friend of the family, a 1987 Toyota Corolla that he named “Lola.” Soon after, he packed up his things and moved to Southern California to promote his music and fulfill his dream of being “famous.” He thought success would come quick, but Mike’s patience was tried once again. There were mixed responses from his CD and it was very difficult for him to book gigs. So White Mike decided to put making music to the side and leave his mark on the underground battle scene. Once again, people ranted and raved about his embarrassing humor and sharp tongue. He did more and more battles, and got more and more recognition.

One battle in Riverside, California got the attention of the Los Angeles Music Awards, an event that focuses on honoring independent musicians. They obtained a copy of White Mike’s self-titled CD and in 2004 White Mike was named “Independent Hip-Hop Artist of the Year.” Soon after he went back to the studio and began recording his new album “Famous,” which focuses on everything from his upbringing in Pleasanton to an incident in 2004 when he was beaten and tasered by police for no reason. If White Mike is named “Independent Hip-Hop Artist of the Year” at the 2006 Los Angeles Music Awards, he will be one of only a few to win an award more than once. Past nominees at the award show include The Black Eyed Peas, Sys