Just who is this Mike Jones guy, anyway?
If you don’t know the answer, you also probably think the word “flossin’” has something to do with cleaning your teeth, a “grill” is used to barbecue chicken or that “purple” is just a color. You’re probably over 30, too.
At the moment, Jones is at the very top of his game, and a very lucrative one, at that. The burly 25-year-old rapper, who headlines today’s Beach Party concert at East Beach, is among a group of artists and producers whose collective talent — and distinctive style — have put Houston at the epicenter of the national hip-hop scene.
Jones dropped his major-label debut CD, “Who is Mike Jones?” in 2005, and the album has since sold 1.4 million copies, quite a feat in this era of downloadable singles and declining CD sales. He has his own label, Ice Age Entertainment, and believes in marketing with a capital M — which stands for Mike.
Jones seems to be everywhere these days. A snippet of his single, “Still Tippin’,” is huge in the world of cell phone ring tones, a fast-growing billion-dollar segment of the music industry. It’s no coincidence that Jones is pictured with a cell phone in one hand and a wad of cash in the other on the back cover of the CD. He is also a guest artist on the chart-topping single “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)” by T-Pain.
“Man, this be cool, we been working it, you know,” Jones told The Daily News. “Everybody else (coming out of Houston) went gold, but nobody sold like I sold. I had the drive to get to platinum.”
Jones, a high school dropout from Houston’s northwest side, was heavily influenced by the pioneering sound of DJ Screw, who created a version of hip-hop music in which the vocals and beats are slowed down to half-speed and synched with a booming bass line.
The so-called “screwed and chopped” Houston sound originated by DJ Screw — who reportedly died from a cough syrup overdose in 2000 — has spread in the past year across the country, along with a rap vernacular particular to a city in which the car culture reigns supreme.
Jones said that on his next CD, “The American Dream,” to be released in late September, he will expand his horizons beyond the realm of 24-inch wheel rims (with 84 spokes), “sippin’ drank” and “ice in his grill” (diamonds in his teeth) explored on “Who is Mike Jones?” He said he is delving into more motivational matters, as he does on the track, “5 Years From Now.”
“I got a lot more subject matter to let the world hear about,” he said. “Sure, on that last album, that was me being fly and I talked about the weed, drink and diamonds, so people could get the lay down, but on this new one, the songs will be just as real as everybody else.”
Josh Shreckengost, managing editor of New York-based The Source, which tracks the hip-hop industry, said Jones is deserving of his self-described label, “the king of H-town.”
“He’s a serious talent, using those different styles of flow and riding the beats,” said Shreckengost, who believes that, with Jones and other high-profile and emerging Houston artists ready to release CDs this year, the city will definitely sustain the momentum from 2005.
“The city has a great roster of artists and the pipeline to produce them,” he said. “Obviously the screw sound had a lot to do with it, and so many guys from Houston like Slim Thug have their individual style, but you have (producers like) J Prince who have found these guys and gotten their sound out there.”
Houston rapper Trae, also on today’s concert bill, is preparing for the release of his CD, “Restless” in June on Rap-A-Lot Records, the venerable Houston hip-hop label. He said the Houston artists are “natural born street hustlers” who have a more street-wise, grassroots approach to their music that is much more fresh than what Los Angeles or New York have to offer.
“We’ll stay on top, because each one of us is special in our own way,” said Trae, who was able to make a good living peddling his own independent mix tapes before a major label deal came along.
As for Jones, he chose the title for his next CD based on the fact that so many people once tried to write him off — the people who now want to get a piece of his action.
“I guess I’m finally living the American dream, and my name has some leverage. I have people like Jamie Foxx talking to me,” he said. “Who is Mike Jones? People see me in my street clothes and they think of me in one way, but they don’t know I can wear a suit, and get down to business.”
If you don’t know the answer, you also probably think the word “flossin’” has something to do with cleaning your teeth, a “grill” is used to barbecue chicken or that “purple” is just a color. You’re probably over 30, too.
At the moment, Jones is at the very top of his game, and a very lucrative one, at that. The burly 25-year-old rapper, who headlines today’s Beach Party concert at East Beach, is among a group of artists and producers whose collective talent — and distinctive style — have put Houston at the epicenter of the national hip-hop scene.
Jones dropped his major-label debut CD, “Who is Mike Jones?” in 2005, and the album has since sold 1.4 million copies, quite a feat in this era of downloadable singles and declining CD sales. He has his own label, Ice Age Entertainment, and believes in marketing with a capital M — which stands for Mike.
Jones seems to be everywhere these days. A snippet of his single, “Still Tippin’,” is huge in the world of cell phone ring tones, a fast-growing billion-dollar segment of the music industry. It’s no coincidence that Jones is pictured with a cell phone in one hand and a wad of cash in the other on the back cover of the CD. He is also a guest artist on the chart-topping single “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)” by T-Pain.
“Man, this be cool, we been working it, you know,” Jones told The Daily News. “Everybody else (coming out of Houston) went gold, but nobody sold like I sold. I had the drive to get to platinum.”
Jones, a high school dropout from Houston’s northwest side, was heavily influenced by the pioneering sound of DJ Screw, who created a version of hip-hop music in which the vocals and beats are slowed down to half-speed and synched with a booming bass line.
The so-called “screwed and chopped” Houston sound originated by DJ Screw — who reportedly died from a cough syrup overdose in 2000 — has spread in the past year across the country, along with a rap vernacular particular to a city in which the car culture reigns supreme.
Jones said that on his next CD, “The American Dream,” to be released in late September, he will expand his horizons beyond the realm of 24-inch wheel rims (with 84 spokes), “sippin’ drank” and “ice in his grill” (diamonds in his teeth) explored on “Who is Mike Jones?” He said he is delving into more motivational matters, as he does on the track, “5 Years From Now.”
“I got a lot more subject matter to let the world hear about,” he said. “Sure, on that last album, that was me being fly and I talked about the weed, drink and diamonds, so people could get the lay down, but on this new one, the songs will be just as real as everybody else.”
Josh Shreckengost, managing editor of New York-based The Source, which tracks the hip-hop industry, said Jones is deserving of his self-described label, “the king of H-town.”
“He’s a serious talent, using those different styles of flow and riding the beats,” said Shreckengost, who believes that, with Jones and other high-profile and emerging Houston artists ready to release CDs this year, the city will definitely sustain the momentum from 2005.
“The city has a great roster of artists and the pipeline to produce them,” he said. “Obviously the screw sound had a lot to do with it, and so many guys from Houston like Slim Thug have their individual style, but you have (producers like) J Prince who have found these guys and gotten their sound out there.”
Houston rapper Trae, also on today’s concert bill, is preparing for the release of his CD, “Restless” in June on Rap-A-Lot Records, the venerable Houston hip-hop label. He said the Houston artists are “natural born street hustlers” who have a more street-wise, grassroots approach to their music that is much more fresh than what Los Angeles or New York have to offer.
“We’ll stay on top, because each one of us is special in our own way,” said Trae, who was able to make a good living peddling his own independent mix tapes before a major label deal came along.
As for Jones, he chose the title for his next CD based on the fact that so many people once tried to write him off — the people who now want to get a piece of his action.
“I guess I’m finally living the American dream, and my name has some leverage. I have people like Jamie Foxx talking to me,” he said. “Who is Mike Jones? People see me in my street clothes and they think of me in one way, but they don’t know I can wear a suit, and get down to business.”
Don't hurt yourself mike lol!!!!!!!!!!!
