Mikey Rockwell - Auckland based MC and producer/engineer, works a poetic, positive, intelligent flow into quality, musical instrumentals. The genre of Hip Hop has seen many stylistic forms, and of late has become formulaic and split more than half with industry ideals. The origins of hip hop in NYC came from ghetto kids without musical background or equiment making a new form of music with what they had. Bob Dylan once said after hearing early rap records that they were poets - "These guys definitely weren't standing around bullshitting, they were beating drums, tearing it up, hurling horses over cliffs." Rockwell's music is a look into what rap looks like when you go deeper than mainstream radio, and start asking questions.
"Yo tell me where the music at/ Rockwell has come here to do this jack/ Set to break down those clueless raps/ Hip Hop is here to stay and we true to that"
2007's Turn Ya Dial Up gained a nomination for 'Best Unsigned Artist' at the Australia/NZ Urban Music Awards
2008 Released 2nd Single 'Grateful' Featuring Kolabs SpeakEZ and Opensouls' Bjorn
2008 First Album Free Slaves to be released on Rhythmethod
New single/music video from Mikey Rockwell. "Grateful" Feat SpeakEZ (MC from Kolab) and Bjorn (Opensouls' MC/Vocalist) is a 'positive' track based around the gratitude that can be created for what we have in our lives. The video portrays New Zealand in it's beauty and has only the artists and their surroundings without any technology. An emergence of an 'alternative' hip hop scene in Auckland, with a fresh sound and voice.
www.myspace.com/mikeyrockwell