All eyes are fixed on MIKE WEST. As a member of the late Tupac Shakur's Thug Life Family, WEST must carry on the legacy of arguably the greatest rapper of all time. However, The FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA native is up for the challenge. "
Growing up between FT.LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA and LOS ANGELES, California, West has seen his share of ups and downs. The bi-coastal lyricist went from living in neighborhoods ridden with gang warfare to running with Miami bass king Uncle Luke to his initiation into the Thug Life Family (Tupac, Syke, Macadoshis, Mopreme & Rated R.) by Mopreme Shakur, Tupac's brother. "The people who influenced my upbringing were the ones on the corners," says West. "I grew up real hard. Everyone who ever looked out for me passed on. No father was there. Between my mother and grandmother and uncle it was the gangbangers out in the streets of L.A.", he adds.
WEST first got his foot into the music industry as a local DJ at area hotspots such as Club Pac Jam. Then in 1994, he landed a job at Uncle Luke's Luke Skywalker Records, where he became head of promotions and projects. Under the tutelage of Luke, West perfected his guerilla marketing skills and readied himself for his venture into rap.
Within five years MIKE WEST was ready to take on the industry by making history, as the first rapper to break out of his home base of Ft. Lauderdale with his debut album "THEY NEVER KNEW". Through a mutual friend (Big-O) word quickly spread about the spit-fire lyricist, reaching the ears of Mopreme Shakur. It was his stand out verse on the compilation soundtrack titled Thuglifestyles, that everyone await him to venture out on a solo journey. With the release of A WESTSIDE STORY: Chapter 1, WEST shows the definition of true artistic merit.
WEST's music reflects his dual interest in southern-fried funk and West Coast griminess. His forthcoming album, A WESTSIDE STORY: Chapter 1 is a stunning follow-up to his debut album "THEY NEVER KNEW" The album's first single,"THE LAST ONE" written by MIKE WEST & Produced by the DIAZ BROS is the banging crossover record that is gonna shake up the year of 2007!
On the track "DON'T KNOW ME," West teams up with beat wizard DAZ DILLINGER as the two counter-attack foes that question their street-cred. And on "NEVER SAW ME COMING," the multi-talented emcee proves his production skills are on par with his lyricism.
MIKE WEST has been featured in The Source Magazine, XXL Magazine,Ozone Magazine,Smooth Magazine,Grip Magazine,Billboard Magazine,The Sun-Sentinel,Miami Newtimes,Broward Newtimes,Rollingout Magazine,Ya Heard Magazine,etc..however fans will likely see more of the rapper in the coming year, as A WESTSIDE STORY drops and the ever-evolving Thug Life saga continues.
