Stop Sleepin: Mike Posner

If you don’t know who Mike Posner is, then you need to educate yourself about this Hip Hop scholar. Never before has a college student had this type of Hip Hop buzz within the Major Labels.

If you don’t believe me, then check out this youtube video of his performance at Duke University with G.O.O.D. Music’s Big Sean.  Despite having his sound cut off during the show, the entire crowd finishes the song for him… WORD FOR WORD!  (The fact that he has this much control over the crowd without major radio play gives me chills)

The song that the crowd finished, “Cooler Than Me,” is featured on Posner’s debut Mixtape A Matter of Time on which Posner also remakes hit songs from The Fray, Beyonce, and Gorilla Zoe. (I actually enjoy listening to these remakes more than the originals!  Check out the remake for Beyonce’s Halo, and I think you’ll agree.)

My favorite track on the critically acclaimed Mixtape is “Losing My Mind,” a remake of Gorilla Zoe’s “Lost.”  I love the way Posner rides out the Drumma Boy produced beat commenting on his own success and sudden rise to fame with lines such as, “People I don’t even know, tell me how to live now” & “There’s people all around, People say my name, But somehow I’m still all alone.”  Posner manages to easily recreate the same slow raspy flow that Gorilla Zoe is known for with this remake.

Just so you know, Posner is not building a career off of remaking other artist’s work…I just wanted to point out how great his remakes are!  Posner’s real future lies within his ability to create great beats and hooks for Hip Hop songs.  Two tracks that demonstrate Mike Posner’s ability to jump on a hook and make a track that much better are Big Sean’s “Who Knows” (which Posner produced) and Wale’s “Wonder Why.”  As you can tell from listening to these tracks, Mike Posner thrives on creating cool relaxed hooks with his raspy voice that are complimented by witty lyrics from up and coming artists such as Big Sean, Wale, and Kenn Starr.

Now being a student, Hip Hop producer, and most recently a touring artist is not an easy task, but Mike Posner insists that he will return to Duke University this fall to finish up his senior year of school.  (And one can only imagine what type of a senior year Posner will experience being the rap star on campus..Sounds like a VH1 TV show waiting to happen)

BTW, incase you’re a college student taking notes on trying to be the next Mike Posner, here is what you need to do:

• Produce hits for artists on Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label
• Release one of the biggest Mixtapes of the year hosted by two of the most respected DJ’s in the game (Don Cannon & DJ Benzi)
• Have an entire student body work as your personal fan base/PR team
• Create a new sound/sub-genre within Hip Hop. (No one in the game has a sound that is close to Posner’s Pop/Hip Hop feel)

Class dismissed…