MikeyyAustin

Lansing, Michigan’s, MikeyyAustin is a hip-hop artist, musician, and bandleader with a range of musical influences. Mikeyy’s roots as a teenage church musician translate as he performs with a live band, including drums, keys, bass, and guitar. Hailing from a small city, the circle of musicians and artists is one that is tightknit. The same circle of musicians Mikeyy associated with coming up are now the musicians that make up his band. Combining elements of soul and jazz, Mikeyy’s live experiences began drawing crowds in the summer of 2016. Mikeyy released his first mixtape, T I N T E D, and put on a packed release party in the Reo Town neighborhood of Lansing. Amongst those in attendance were veteran emcees and community arts advocates that would become mentors for 2 Y’s. Mikeyy’s connection with community-orientated artists inspired him to place community at the focus of his art. In December of 2016, Mikeyy began hosting a monthly art event called “Reo Town Sessions”. The monthly event's purpose served as a way to connect the artist and community while highlighting local arts of all genres. Through these monthly events, Mikeyy and the Reo Town Sessions gang raised $6,000 in arts scholarships for Lansing students.

Mikeyy’s experience in event curation has resulted in memorable concerts in his hometown such as “The Black Arts Matter Celebration” and “A Night at The Soul Lounge”. One thing that can be said about the genre-blending hip-hop artist is that he has a range of influences. The emcee has shared stages with neo-soul/soul bands like Moonchild and Durand Jones & The Indication, and has performed with legendary hip-hop artists ranging from The Cool Kids to The Nappy Roots.

In the second quarter of 2017, Mikeyy released his debut album, L I F T E D, to critical acclaim. The album featured legendary emcee’s, Ozay Moore, Sareem Poems of LA Symphony, Midwest heavy hitters, James Gardin, Jahshua Smith, and more. The project was picked up and covered by hip-hop news outlets like DeadEnd Hip-Hop, Flows 4 Days, RESPECT Mag, The Dope Show, and circulated in the local press for months following the release. Mikeyy released a mixtape titled “Art4Sale” and a handful of singles in 2018, including ‘Rock Steady’ featuring Packy, James Gardin, Phourthelove (prod. Ess Be). The single landed on a ton of streaming playlist and landed a placement on Black & Sexy TV.

2 Y’s kicked off 2019 with a three-song EP titled ‘Songs About Whatever’. Mikeyy landed a radio placement on his hometown's largest hip-hop and r&b station for his single, ‘The Song About Being Cool’ ft. Ozay Moore. Mikeyy would follow up with two more singles before releasing his 6-song EP, ‘Midnight Stereo’ prod. Ess Be. Midnight Stereo was a crowdfunded project that reached its Kickstarter campaign goal within a month in November of 2018. The project fused soul and hip-hop, along with live instrumentation and vocal arrangements. Mikeyy displayed his artistic roots in his Midnight Stereo EP with songs like Only God Knows and Old Soul.

Mikeyy’s short journey has been full and productive, and now the 23-year old artist is setting his focus on 2020. 2 Y’s has put in over 10,000 hours of perfecting his craft, and has promised his next project will be his biggest.