I got a CD from this young MC named M.I.C.E.V.E and it’s pretty tight. Though he’s got an array of influences which you can tell from his flow and the music he uses, he brings youthful energy and a hot delivery along with an awareness of the realities and corruption in the hoods of America. Even though he’s real when he tries to show where he’s coming from, there is a certain intelligence that he brings with it. He’s not just trying to “wild out” or “get crunk”, he’s talking about prostitution, crooked police, and even entertainment and its influence of black youths.
Coming out of Dayton, Ohio, the home of many legendary funk artists, he’s reppin’ a new generation of artists with hip hop. I liked his sampling of souful slow jams on the first two songs of his CD “Frowns”. With his various beats and styles of music, he creates powerful anthems of ghetto angst and anger.
Though some of the production is low budget and pretty rough at times, I still found some songs I liked, such as the “Pimps Commodity” and “Copland”. I’d like to hear what this MC can do with more resources. Most artists who got the big budget record deals got the beats but no skills on the mic. Plus, he talks about stuff most of these MTV cats won’t even touch. Check out his CD on his site, he’s also on Myspace!
