Funny, sweet and charmingly honest - Mikey Mike Releases "Girlfriend"

Photo by Mackenzie Brassfield

Equal parts gifted and busy, Mike Williams (AKA Mikey Mike) is one of those names in music that you just know are inevitably bound to be in everyone's mind before long. As a songwriter, producer, and beatmaker, he's lent his talents to artists like Rhianna, Sean Kingston, and Jason Derulo among others. As a standalone artist, he's a genre adventurer that is as comfortable in pop-rock as he is in hip-hop and probably every other style under the sun, as it’s almost impossible to corner him to just one specific sound other than “The Mikey Mike” sound.

Williams isn't one to take no for an answer, and his clever self-promotion tactics border on the insane, and have no doubt made him a bit of a local legend in the L.A. Scene.

At one time, he had posters all over town asking for friends, in which he gave out his personal number (and he still does, it’s openly available in his website!). Another time he had a giant billboard up with his mug on it reading: "Have you seen this man? Owes 2.3 million in child support". Pure cheeky and reckless bravery if you ask me.

Perhaps Mikey's most infamous stunt yet is that time he figured out that the reason his emails weren't being answered is that his @ wasn't... enticing enough. He had an epiphany in the shower (as you do) and figured that he'd change his email address to one that would immediately catch the attention of all the producers he was trying to contact.

A quick search revealed the names of the most popular pornstars that he figured were around at the time these producers were young bucks, choosing the not-so-conspicuous-but-still-recognizable 8th most popular gal. As soon as these producers got an email from Lacey.Duvalle1982, the replies finally started pouring in, and the rest is history still in the making.

With his beard and long hair and his lyrics that do more than flirt with narcotics and free love, Mikey Mike inevitably reminds one of the hippie movement. He is practically a living breathing example of the not-astroturfed side of it. The man saw the dream lying in the gutter, picked it up, and moved to 7 acres in Nashville where he's building some sort of "village" where all yon creative types can escape the weirdness of the world and get together for new opportunities and projects.

There's much more to Mikey Mike than being a cheeky master of self-promotion though. His work is so notable that when it comes to recording his own material, he even drew the attention of the legendary Rick Rubin, who didn't just produce his debut single but also showed up in the music video as well. More recently, after moving to Nashville, Mikey linked up with 7-times Grammy award-winning producer Dave Cobb to crank out his -upcoming- sophomore album. Life on Earth Vol.2 is scheduled to hit the airwaves this summer, and ahead of that of course, come some of the promotional singles.

Although the single we wanna highlight today didn't actually make the cut for Vol.2, Mikey's Mom did like it a lot, enough that it encouraged him to release it with a music video.

"Girlfriend" is Mikey Mike's latest. A song about confessing the trials and tribulations of the romantic life of a musician and their Significant Other. Mikey lays bare how difficult it can be to love someone whose creative obsession often leads them to tiresome and eccentric situations, how his freedom-loving spirit can sometimes lead him to act in ways that can be perceived as selfish.

Perhaps the most important reveal Mike has in the song, is how he relates the difficulties that come from juggling a love of music, a love of fans, and a love for that special someone. “You can give your love and attention to this one specific person, or you can channel that love into music and give it to possibly millions of people,” he says, giving us one of the most straightforward perspectives on the subject that I can think of.

So don't hesitate anymore and just give Mikey Mike a shot if you haven't already."Girlfriend" is an excellent introduction to one of the strongest creative forces in the game right now.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.