Myke Charles

Top 10 hip-hop artists who have the best chance of putting Denver on the map.
10. Mane Rok
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Mane Rok is a hip-hop purist that has consistently made his mark on the Denver hip-hop scene. He basically has a show every week all over Colorado as well as New Mexico and Arizona. Along with his innovative projects (En Stereo with producer Es Nine is my personal favorite) his inventive video for his song “This One’s,” a lyrical conviction of police brutality, had folks in the Denver community uniting for a cause.
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9. Prime Element
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This hip-hop trio, consisting of rapper A.V.I.U.S., producer extraordinaire Es-Nine, and world renowned turntablist Cysko Rokwel, make that boom bap hip-hop that any purist will love. The crew recently signed a distribution deal with Kamikazi Airlines (an imprint launched by Ugly Duckling’s Dizzy Dustin) and is in the planning stages of launching a tour and joining the Warped Tour this summer.
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8. SP Double
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When a rapper gets co-signed by folks like Royce Da 5’9”, Big Pooh, Chino XL, Crooked I, Joe Budden, and producers Focus and Statik Selektah, it’s surely going to get some attention. Those are just a few artists that were featured on producer-rapper SP Double’s headbanging album, Loyalty, Honor, Respect. SP received nationwide coverage for the project and for fans who love that lyrical hip-hop, this is where you need to be. Don’t sleep.
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7. Rockie G5
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When Rockie stepped on the Denver scene a few years ago, his youthful arrogance rubbed some folks the wrong way. But when he dropped his Uncensored mixtape last year, folks started to come around plus his songs were getting good rotations in the club scene around town. Now the young whipper snapper has dropped his latest mixtape, Gold Dreams with hopes of taking him to that next level. It does. Keep an eye out because he’s up next.
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6. The ReMINDers
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This husband and wife duo hark back to the days of the Native Tongue and when hip-hop had a cultural identity. Although Aja Black and Big Samir actually live in Colorado Springs, about 60 miles south of Denver, they’re consistently doing shows in town and rep Colorado whenever they’re touring. They recently tore the roof off the Apollo in Harlem and toured Morocco. Oh yeah, Aja sings and raps while Samir raps in both English and French. Remind you of anyone?
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5. Air Dubai
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This hip-hop band has been rocking Denver stages for quite some time and continues to bring an innovative and creative sound every year. The band even saw some of their songs placed on MTV shows Jersey Shore and I Used to Be Fat. Now with an album and a couple of EPs under their belt, the band is gearing up to release a new album this summer. Plus getting mentioned in New Music Seminar’s top 100 “Artists on the Verge,” helps the fellas move closer to putting Denver on the map.
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4. Pries
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Pries is already tailor-made for music world success. Musically, his production team consistently hits him with club and radio-ready joints while lyrically Pries’ stories of college life, achieving his dreams and just straight partying are relatable to any 20-something trying to find their place in the world. With five top-notch albums under his belt, it’s possible Pries could be Denver’s Wiz Khalifa if the music gets in the right hands.
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3. Myke Charles
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Last year Myke Charles was the first rapper and a star attraction on NBC’s The Sing-Off as part of the acapella group Urban Method. Even though the group didn’t win, they finished in the top three and judges and fans alike fawned over Charles. Along with the current shows and touring with Urban Method, Myke is consistently dropping new music on his own, including his banging mixtape, Lift-Off with Denver’s DJ Chonz, and with his hip-hop group, Fresh Breath Committee. He’s closer than you think.
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2. BLKHRTS
Unlike anything else in the Denver scene, the BLKHRTS make dark, raw hip-hop inspired by goth, punk and industrial rock but it’s far from any type of rock rap. It’s too street for that label. The trio, consisting of Denver emcees Yonnas, King FOE and Karma tha Voice, have been consistently pushing out new music, getting booked for multiple SXSW gigs every year and receiving coverage in the L.A. Times, among other outlets. Their live show is so hype that mosh pits aren’t out of place.
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1. Foodchain
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Consisting of four emcees, two producers and a band, in the last year Foodchain have been creating a buzz large enough to catch the attention of Shady Records. The group was personally invited by Eminem’s manager and Shady exec Paul Rosenberg to perform a set at the Shady Records Showcase at this year’s SXSW Festival. Along with coverage across a handful major hip-hop sites they get consistent radio play on Sirius XM’s Shade 45 and have a live show that will convert any non-believer. Foodchain is just minutes away.
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Lift Off, the latest effort from Myke Charles, is better than good. In fact, it's probably one of the best projects to come out of the scene this year. DJ Chonz is Charles's collaborator on the cuts, mixing and magically sewing each track together with scary precision. Check for the end of "Don't Be a Stranger," where the horns from French Montana's "Shot Caller" usher in Charles's verses over the beat for "Astronauts." Charles can rap all damn day, as evidenced on "C.L.A.P." and "Scars," in which he implores a fly dark chick to scramble his eggs and boasts that not even Chris Bosh can guard him. The MC can also sing the paint off the walls, as on the Fo Chief-assisted "Crash Course," and he absolutely owns "Flower Bomb," his rendition of the Wale track. With an unstoppable rhyme flow and perfect beat selection (the originals and industry joints), Myke Charles might just steal the game with this mixtape. Swish. - Westword Magazine

People know my face and name from Sing Off, and it still makes me blush so hard," says Myke Charles with a bashful laugh, his face reddening. "It's not easy when people come up to me and talk to me about the show, because in person, I am actually kind of shy."
"Shy" is not exactly a word you'd associate with the MC, born Michael Charles Hudson. The handsome young rapper has charisma to spare, and on stage, he's a commanding presence with impeccable rhymes. But that wasn't always the case. Charles's poise came with a lot of hard work. His story as a writer began in Aurora, where he lived with his mom until he left Smoky Hill High School and moved in with his father and stepmother.

"I thought I was grown and started beefing a lot after my freshman year of high school," he recalls. "I moved with my dad and stepmother to Littleton and finished the rest of high school at Dakota Ridge. It was pretty awful, because my dad got sent away to train troops who were going to Iraq, and I didn't know my stepmother that well. My school was racist as shit. It was a rough time."

The move altered Charles's perception of life, particularly of music, and the experiences he had shaped him into the artist he is today. "I wasn't even aware that racism still existed at that level," he says, "until I was there getting picked on and bullied, dealing with racist comments, and it really drove me more into my writing.

"The mindset about blacks and black culture was totally fucked up," he goes on, "and a few kids over there thought they could really rap. The struggle forced me to freestyle and forced me to become good and battle and not to lose to some punk kid in suburbia."

Using this isolation as a catalyst and motivator to work on his craft, Charles spent his entire junior year honing his writing style and immersing himself in books. Along the way, he became a pretty solid battle rapper. "I barely talked to anyone," he recalls. "I just wrote and wrote. I had been rapping at Smoky Hill, but there were some cats that could really freestyle, and I couldn't freestyle at the time, and I thought I never would be able to." Toward the end of high school, Charles became more comfortable with his identity and adopted the moniker Purpose Found. "I stopped caring what people thought around my senior year," he says, "because I was finding out more of who I am." Ironically, as Charles started preparing for college at the University of Colorado at Boulder, he seriously considered giving up music because he didn't think it would turn into a career. As fate would have it, during his first semester in college, the engineering student found himself involved with an a cappella group called In the Buff. The following year, Charles started making friends in the burgeoning local rap scene, including SP Double, who hosted rap battles at his tattoo shop. That's where Charles first met the other members of what would become the Fresh Breath Committee: Flawless (now Paul Junior), Kontrast and a young Catch Lungs.

And while he was a full-fledged member of the Fresh Breath Committee, Charles still found time to devote to his first solo project, Point Blank, released under the name Purpose, and steadily started making a name for himself. In January 2010, he took home the ($1,000) prize in a hotly contested MC battle.

Around this time, Charles got a call from Tony Huerta, with whom he had worked as a member of In the Buff. The call altered the course of the rapper's career forever. "When he called me during the final week of my college career," says Charles, "and told me he was putting together a hip-hop vocal group and that he wanted me to be the main MC, I said that as soon as I graduated, I'd be there." Coming together with several other vocalists, Charles joined Urban Method, and next thing he knew, the crew was center stage on NBC reality show The Sing Off. Charles was an instant star; his rendition of Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" made him the one to watch throughout the group's run on the show.

Meanwhile, back in Denver, as Fresh Breath continued to perform as a group, Charles was undergoing a transformation — one that included fewer performances with FBC. The exposure the emerging rapper received from being on the show created momentum for him, and it seemed like an opportune time to branch out fully on his own. "I figured the show was a perfect time to start fresh as the artist I want to be," says Charles. "With being on TV and having that kind of exposure, I had suddenly just separated myself from Fresh Breath Committee."

That's not all Charles was doing to distinguish himself. The shifting focus also brought about another name change, this time from Purpose Found to simply Myke Charles. "Purpose Found could be a Christian rapper, an underground rapper who doesn't belong — anything," notes Charles. "I wanted something that represented me more." With that in mind, he also decided not to use any of his previous material to build his new catalogue.
Just because he's looking out for his own interests right now, however, doesn't mean that he's forgotten about the Fresh Breath Committee. There's a master plan in play, he says, that's always been the impetus for Fresh Breath, and that's for each member to carve out his or her own lane while ultimately attracting more exposure for the entire group. "The last time I performed with Fresh Breath Committee was at least a year ago," Charles notes. "To make a comparison, look at what happened with Eminem and D12. When Eminem popped, it was Eminem, and then, when he could, he went back and brought his boys. That's what we're really looking at." For now, though, Charles is focusing on his solo career. After The Sing Off wrapped, he returned from Los Angeles and began to compile the scant rhymes he was able to write during the process and put them over Hi-Res's beats for Lift Off, the aptly titled Myke Charles mixtape. "Coming off the show," he explains, "I didn't want anyone to think I went anywhere whatsoever, so I started working on Lift Off." At the behest of Hi-Res (aka Nick Torres), who handled the beatmaking, Charles enlisted DJ Chonz to bring the whole project together, which turned out to be a great call. Chonz's imprint on the project is evident, as each track is woven perfectly into the next and then mixed to perfection. "There's a reason why Chonz is the OG in this city," says Torres. "He's really the best at what he does."

Charles is likewise striving to be the best at what he does. "My goal is to be the premier artist in this state," he says. "We're thinking globally, but you gotta put home on your back first. This time next year, I should be the one in this city." That's as safe a bet as any. As those who've seen him perform can attest, there's no stopping Charles when he steps on stage. The way he carries himself, it's as though he's already made it, and he brings some serious substance to his rhymes, which are almost always dripping in swag — nothing bashful about it. - Westword Magazine

It should come to no one’s surprise that Denver’s Myke Charles has talent through the sky. The Mile-High rapper is best known for his rapping role on NBC’s The Sing-Off. Myke’s team, Urban Method, finished 3rd, but it only served as fuel for his emerging rap career. Myke Chuck is currently prepping a new mixtape and a new EP, both are expected to drop before the year is out.

During our conversation, Myke Charles told KillerHipHop about his time on The Sing-Off, a rap competition on mainstream TV, writing Eminem, freestyling, working with Emilio Rojas, and his new projects. Interview after the break.


QuezKHH: Most people know you as the rapper from The Sing-Off. How was that experience like for you?
Myke Charles: It was great. It was hard work. Basically, 12 to 16 hour days, every day, no days off. But in the end it made me a professional musician. I was immersed in music everyday doing what I love to do. So eventhough it was a lot of work, I loved every minute of it.

KHH: What do you think that said about hip-hop, for a singing competition to include a rapper?
Myke: I think it just shows that hip-hop is the number 1 genre in the world. And it shows that hip-hop is not finished and it’s still growing and it’s still changing and will continue to change and to reach new heights.

KHH: Nicki Minaj recently joined American Idol, and she became the first rapper to judge a singing competition. What are your thoughts on that?
Myke: I’m not going to say anything bad about Nicki. I think it’s a good look for hip-hop. Nicki is definitely one of the biggest artists in hip-hop right now. And especially me, being that I was on The Sing-Off, I have no problem with it. I think it’s a good thing.

KHH: Do you ever see a rap competition on NBC or Fox?
Myke: I’ve thought about it, [and] I don’t think that TV is quite ready for it yet. But I do think it will come. I think TV and everyone today, especially with technology and the level that it’s at, I think people are always looking for the next thing. I think there will come a time and a place for that type of competition.

KHH: During the show I understand you wrote a letter to Eminem to thank him for clearing a song. Did you ever get a reply?
Myke: Basically, I wrote a letter and gave it to the producers and they got in touch with Eminem and sent it to him. The reply was him clearing the song for us to use it on the show. That’s a pretty big reply to me.

KHH: I saw a video of you freestyling in front of Flo Rida. Is freestyling something that came natural to you or is it something that you worked on?
Myke: It was one of those things that I had to work on and work on and then suddenly something hit me and then it just started coming very naturally. In like 9th grade when I was rapping, there were other cats at my school that could freestyle really well and I really didn’t know how to and I thought I would never be able to do that. But I started trying more and more and I really worked on it between the summer of 9th and 10th grade, and then something in 10th grade just clicked and suddenly I could just do it.

KHH: Do you freestyle during your recordings? Or do you write then record?
Myke: It depends. If we’re talking like a mixtape, then you’re going to hear some freestyles. Right now I’m working on an EP, [and] you’re not going to hear any freestyles on that. You’re going to hear very focused songwriting.

KHH: Reading your website, I read that you describe yourself as the bridge between underground hip-hop and mainstream hip-hop, and I found that very interesting. Could you elaborate on that a little bit?
Myke: Yeah, I think that I have all the makings of an underground artist in the sense of my lyrical content, my depth, and the fact that I really started as a battle MC. Those are my roots. Those are elements that today you typically find in the underground, but not in the mainstream. Typically the mainstream is not as lyrically dense and not inspired by battle rapping anymore. But I think that on the flip side of that, eventhough I have those roots, I think I can bring my lyrical depth to more mainstream topics and more mainstream-sounding production. I think that people who listen to mainstream music can still relate.

KHH: So can we expect to hear that sound on your new EP?
Myke: You can expect to hear a good balance of me as an artist. [It] will definitely include strong lyricism, heavy content, and complex rhyme structures mixed with mainstream production and hooks that you’ll get to hear me sing as well as rap. It should be a very good and balanced project.

KHH: Do you have a name for the EP?
Myke: Yeah, I’m going to call it 100 Degrees.

KHH: When is it dropping?
Myke: Before the year is over. I don’t have an exact date at this time though.

KHH: Are you going to work with your group Urban Method, or is it going to be you solo?
Myke: This is just going to be me. [But] before the year is over, I’m going to be dropping a mixtape called Flight Plan. It will for sure have a song with Emilio Rojas on it.

KHH: And that’s coming before the EP?
Myke: Yeah I want it to. But I’m not exactly sure if it will. That’s why I just said, I’m expecting to release both of those before the year is through.

KHH: Do you have any more features?
Myke: We’re working on them but we don’t have anything 100% confirmed so I can’t really say anything yet. But the Emilio Rojas one is definite.

KHH: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Myke: In 5 years I see myself touring the world and being a prominent name in current hip-hop.

KHH: Is there anything else you would like to tell the people of KillerHipHop?
Myke: Just listen to me. I’m not stopping. I’m not going anywhere and I think 2013 is going to be a good year.

Read more: http://www.killerhiphop.com/killerhiphop-exclusive-myke-charles-interview/#ixzz2BQi0TkCo
- Killerhiphop.com

As NBC’s hit show, The Sing-Off continues with its third season, the reality music series decided to make things a little different. Instead of solely featuring distinct groups of singers, The Sing-Off is presenting their first rapper, all the way from Denver, CO.

A part of the group Urban Method, as seen on television, Myke Charles reigns as the first MC to hit the stage since the show premiered three years ago. Being promoted as a “rapapella” group, Charles has helped his eight-member group flow from one week to the next. With just two weeks left, including tonight’s performance, to make into the series finale and get a chance at taking home the title, XXL caught up with rising rapper to talk television, music and what it’s like to be compared to Drake.

Starting the season off with Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie,” followed by BBD’s “Poison,” there’s no telling what the producers have in store for the urban octet. But with a triple threat like Myke, there’s no question they’ll find their way into the finals. —Amber McKynzie @amack_XXL

XXL: Coming from Denver, CO, how did you get your break on The Sing-Off, and the title as their first rapper?

Myke: Denver’s rough. There’s a lot of talent in Denver, but there’s no music business. I met Tony Huerta, he’s one of the guys in Urban Method. I got calls from him [and] Facebook messages like, “I’m trying to put this group together. I really want you to be a part of it.” Tony had some discussion with people that worked for the [show] that were looking for a group out of Denver. Tony didn’t really have any recommendations for them. So, they sort of asked him, “Well are you interested in putting together your own group and seeing if that group has what it takes to be a part of the show?” He got that call, then put the group together.

So did you just automatically make it on the show because of that?

We still had to audition, and go through all that. We were fortunate, and it just so happens that the producers liked us.

How does it feel to be known as the show’s first rapper?

I mean, it was weird at first. I can’t really think of a better adjective. I showed up and felt real out of place. It’s like everyone on the show is so talented, and has these amazing singing voices. I sing too, but first and foremost, I’m an MC. Like you said, I’m the first rapper, and you know, they made sure that my image dictates that, even though I do sing as well.

Does it feel completely awkward during rehearsals?

We have to do the opening numbers for every episode, where you see us all singing together. The first time we did that I’m sitting in the back learning my baritone part feelin’ all crazy. Then I find out I have a rap. So, once we start getting into rehearsal and everything, we go through it a few times and they say, “Ok if you have a solo, try to come out with it.” First time we get around to the rap I’m just like… [silent]. And people are kinda looking around ’cause they’re like, “Who’s even supposed to be doing this part?” I’m just going through the lyrics not really saying anything. Kim, she’s the Black lady in our group, she was sitting a couple rows ahead of me and gives me the craziest look. She said, “Next time they say rap, you rap dammit!” So, I mean, it took some getting use to.
Myke Charles Talks NBC’s The Sing-Off, Writing to Eminem & Drake Comparisons

XXLMag.com chops it up with the first rapper to compete on NBC’s The Sing-Off…

November 15, 2011 - 4:27 PM
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Your group got a lot of attention for your performance on this season’s first episode for Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie.” Who’s idea was that?

They (the producers) like to come to us and say, “Here’s the theme. If you guys had any choice in the world, what would you do?” But, I mean there’s eight members in our group alone, that’s a lot of opinions. We wanted to do “Love the Way You Lie” for the first episode, [but] you have the legal side of things. Eminem would not clear this song to save our lives. We had 10 days until the first taping, and the producers were like, “Eminem hasn’t cleared the song so we’re going to give you a completely different song. We’re working on this [new] song,[then] the Wednesday night before the show we get a call. “Eminem cleared.” I had to write Eminem a personal letter. They pulled footage of me from freestyle battles that I’ve done…That’s the song we wanted to do from the beginning.

You also recently performed BBD’s “Poison.” In a pre-performance confession, you said, “If Shawn [Stockman] is not out of his chair by the end of this performance, I don’t think we’ve succeeded.” Shawn was signed to by Michael Bivins, were you nervous to perform the song?

I think that maybe my favorite performance. The minute we got that song, we started talking about the correlation between Michael Bivins and Shawn Stockman. It was like we had to go out there and kill this thing. There was nerves there for sure. I was playing right to Shawn sometimes, you know, ‘I’m determined to make you feel this man.’ We didn’t think that was gonna happen but at the end of it he had all good things to say.

Because you rap and sing, do you see yourself often getting compared to Drake?

It’s a little disheartening, I guess, that there’s already going to be that comparison just because I rap and sing. The sad part is that he’s been doing it about as many years as I['ve] been doing it, and I’ve been doing it since like, the 7th grade. Long before I knew who Drake was, or knew him as “Wheelchair Jimmy.” So I’m like cool, Compare me to Drake. That’s a compliment. I’m going to keep doing my thing regardless. - XXL MAGAZINE