Michie Mee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michelle McCullock |
| Born | November 1, 1970 Kingston, Jamaica |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Canadian hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, actress |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | First Priority/Atlantic Koch |
Michelle McCullock (born November 1, 1970), better known by her stage name Michie Mee, is a Canadian rapper and actress. Canada's first notable female MC, she is considered a national hip-hop pioneer. [1]
McCullock was born in Kingston, Jamaica, later moving to Toronto, Ontario at a young age, and was raised in the city's Jane Street area, as well as the Jane and Finch neighbourhood. She began performing professionally at age 14. [2] In 1985, during a concert in Toronto, Boogie Down Productions introduced her to the audience and she performed on stage. Michie Mee later teamed up with DJ L.A. Luv (Phillip Gayle) and formed the duo Michie Mee and L.A. Luv. [3] The duo was featured on the 1987 Canadian hip hop compilation Break'n Out, which was produced by KRS-One and Scott La Rock of Boogie Down Productions. [4] [5]
The duo's first single, "Elements of Style", made an impact in the United States, and it signed with First Priority/Atlantic Records in 1988. In the process, Michie Mee became the first Canadian MC to sign a record deal with a major American label. [5] The same year, the duo was featured on the compilation The First Priority Music Family: Basement Flavor , appearing on the tracks "Victory Is Calling" and "On This Mic", which were produced by Howard Hughes & engineered by Walter Sobczak who would several years later ask Michie Mee to record and perform with Raggadeath. [6] [7] "Victory Is Calling" also featured MC Lyte. [6]
In 1990 she collaborated on the one-off single "Can't Repress the Cause", a plea for greater inclusion of hip hop music in the Canadian music scene, with Dance Appeal, a supergroup of Toronto-area musicians that included Devon, Maestro Fresh Wes, Dream Warriors, B-Kool, Lillian Allen, Eria Fachin, HDV aka 'Pimp of the Microphone', [8] Dionne, Thando Hyman, Carla Marshall, Messenjah, Jillian Mendez, Lorraine Scott, Lorraine Segato, Self Defense, Leroy Sibbles, Zama and Thyron Lee White. [9]
In 1991, the duo released its debut album, Jamaican Funk—Canadian Style , which incorporated dancehall reggae music and spawned the single "Jamaican Funk". [10] Over 60,000 copies of the album were sold in the U.S. and it was nominated for a Juno Award in 1992. [5]
After Michie Mee ran into trouble with the law, the duo broke up. [3] L.A. Luv later joined the group Dream Warriors.
After starting a solo career and opening shows for artists such as Salt-n-Pepa, Sinéad O'Connor, and Judy Mowatt, she became a founding member of the alternative rock band Raggadeath, [3] which had a Canadian chart hit in 1995 with "One Life". In the late 1990s, Michie Mee began an acting career. [2] She made her first film appearance in 1999's In Too Deep . In 2000, she starred in the CBC Television series Drop the Beat , playing a rapper named Divine. [2] Later that year, she released a comeback album, The First Cut Is the Deepest , [5] which spawned the single "Don't Wanna Be Your Slave" (featuring Esthero). The single earned her another Juno nomination.
In 2001, she formed the band The Day After, which received rotation on MuchLoud. [11]
In 2004, Michie Mee joined a group of local artists (including Maestro, Thrust, and Toya Alexis among others) and formed the Peace Prophets. The group released the charity single "Drop the Chrome" in association with radio station FLOW 93.5. [12] The same year, she appeared in the film My Baby's Daddy . Throughout the remainder of the decade (2005-2009) saw Michie mostly focus on more acting in small films and TV shows, reconnecting with her rock band Raggadeath, whilst still rapping here and there making features on other fellow Canadian artists songs.
In 2009, she released the single "Say About Us". [13]
The 2010s, saw Michie again further continue with small acting appearances and continuing music always with again features here and there on other musicians projects.
In 2020, marking her 35th year in the business the start of the new decade brought about a long-awaited new album. In November of that year she released her first full-length album and third overall in twenty years, titled Bahdgyal's Revenge. [14] The album had notable features from long-time friend and collaborator Chuck D, and other notable Canadian rappers and Jamaican reggae legends, such as Lindo P. [15]
She performed on the 2021 FreeUp! The Emancipation Day Special . [16]
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | One Life [17] | Why Ask Why |
| 1995 | Why Ask Why [18] | Why Ask Why |
| 1997 | Dance With The Devil [19] | Raggadeath |
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Break The Rules [20] | Only the Strong Survive |
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Jamaican Funk—Canadian Style [21] | Jamaican Funk—Canadian Style |
| 1998 | Cover Girl [22] | The First Cut Is the Deepest |
| 1999 | Don't Wanna Be Your Slave [23] | The First Cut Is the Deepest |
| 2010 | No Man [24] | |
| 2012 | Bahdgyal Bubble [25] | Bahdgyal's Revenge |
| 2013 | Stand Right Beside Him [26] | Bahdgyal's Revenge |
| 2017 | Thank You [27] | Bahdgyal's Revenge |
| 2021 | Made It [28] | Bahdgyal's Revenge |
| 2021 | What U Talking Bout [29] | Bahdgyal's Revenge |
| 2021 | Willing & Able [30] | Bahdgyal's Revenge |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | My Secret Identity | Herself | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1998 | Traders | Herself | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1999 | In Too Deep | Martha | Film |
| 2000 | Drop the Beat | Divine | TV series |
| Hendrix | Devon Wilson | TV film | |
| Love Disease | Herself | Film | |
| 2001 | Raisin' Kane: A Rapumentary | Herself | Documentary |
| Soul Food | Beverly Gordon | TV series; 1 episode | |
| SmartAsk | Host | Game show | |
| 2002 | Comedian | Other appearance | Documentary |
| Our America | N/A | TV film | |
| 2004 | Chicks with Sticks | Heather Desmond | TV film [31] |
| My Baby's Daddy | Nia's Client | Film | |
| 2007–2009 | 'da Kink in My Hair | Tianna | TV series; 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Baby Blues | Charlen Ryan | Film |
| 2014 | Katie Chats | Herself | TV series; 1 episode |
Dream Warriors were a Canadian hip hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, comprising King Lou and Capital Q. Described as "a pair of deft, intelligent rappers" by John Bush of AllMusic, they were major contributors to the jazz rap movement of the early 1990s. Their 1991 debut album, And Now the Legacy Begins, was cited by Bush as one of the finest alternative hip hop records of the golden era. Before the release of their second album Subliminal Simulation in 1994, the duo became a group with the addition of rapper Spek and DJ Luv. In 1996, they released a third album, The Master Plan, before the two new members left the group a year later. Though their subsequent releases did not garner similar commercial success as their debut, the duo released a well-received greatest hits album in 1999. Their final album, The Legacy Continues..., was released in 2002.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith and disc jockey Jeff Townes. Active full time from 1986 to 1994 and occasionally thereafter, the duo became just the third rap group in recorded history to receive platinum certification, after Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988), though their most successful single was "Summertime" (1991), which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Will Smith and Jeff Townes have remained close friends and claim they never split up, having made songs together under Smith's solo performer credit. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince have sold over 5.5 million albums in the US. They performed together as recently as November 2023.
Raggadeath was a Canadian rock band that enjoyed moderate success in the mid-1990s. The band fused heavy metal with dancehall reggae-style rhythms and vocals.
Wesley "Wes" Williams is a Canadian rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes or Maestro as a musician, and is credited by his birth name as an actor. One of the earliest Canadian rappers to achieve mainstream success, he is credited as the "Godfather of Canadian hip hop". His debut album, Symphony in Effect (1989), was the first certified platinum album by a Black Canadian artist.
The Canadian hip hop scene was established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much slower than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the early 2000s.
Jason Drew Harrow, better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall, is a Canadian rapper, record producer, DJ, and record executive. Often credited as Canada's "hip hop ambassador", he has been regarded as one of the country's most prominent hip hop producers during the 2000s, and is distinctive for his reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip hop.
Ghetto Concept is a Canadian hip-hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Kwajo Cinqo and Dolo. Infinite, who is currently a solo artist, is a former member of the group.
Caribbean music in Canada has existed since the early 1920s, becoming increasingly prominent after the 1960s as Caribbean immigration to Canada increased. Anglo-Caribbean genres such as reggae, soca and calypso are especially prominent in English Canada, while French Caribbean genres such as cadence-lypso, zouk and konpa are more prominent in Quebec.
God Made Me Funky (GMMF) is a Canadian funk music group, formed in 1996 in Toronto. The group started as an "instrumental funk fusion experiment", and developed a popular following in the Toronto music scene.
Matthew Jehu Samuels, known professionally as Boi-1da is a Canadian record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario.
Subliminal Simulation is the second studio album by Canadian hip hop group Dream Warriors, released in 1994 in Canada and worldwide in 1995, on EMI/Pendulum Records. The original duo, King Lou and Capital Q, expanded to include Spek and DJ Luv.
Jamaican Funk—Canadian Style is the debut album of Canadian emcee Michie Mee, in collaboration with DJ L.A. Luv, released May 14, 1991. It was released on First Priority/Atlantic Records in the United States, where 60,000 copies were sold. The album, which also featured dancehall reggae music, was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year at the 1992 Juno Awards. The only single, "Jamaican Funk," was released in 1990.
The First Priority Music Family: Basement Flavor is a hip hop compilation album, released on December 15, 1988, on First Priority/Atlantic Records. The single "I'm Not Havin' It" by Positive K and MC Lyte peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart in 1989.
Thai hip hop is hip hop music made in Thailand. Thai hip hop is distinguished from American hip hop by not only sound and language, but also by the culture from which the music is made.
Nicholaus Joseph Williams, better known by his stage name Trinidad James, is a Trinidadian-American rapper and songwriter. In December 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and released his debut single, "All Gold Everything". The song reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, received platinum certification by the RIAA, and spawned a remix featuring fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I., Jeezy and 2 Chainz. He was dropped from the label in 2014 after failing to promptly record a debut album.
Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson, known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story, released in August 2013. In 2015, Lanez signed to record producer Benny Blanco's Mad Love Records, an imprint of Interscope Records.
Ron Nelson is a Toronto-based DJ, broadcaster, music promoter, producer, educator, and performer best known for his role in popularizing both hip hop music and later dancehall and reggae music in Canada. He helped promote and develop early Canadian hip hop acts such as Maestro Fresh Wes, Michie Mee, Rumble & Strong and the Dream Warriors.
Sean Merrick, known professionally over his career by the pseudonyms Jacky Jasper, H-Bomb and HDV, is a Canadian-American rapper, record producer and celebrity gossip blogger.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019 and won the Polaris Music Prize. After her debut, XXL named her one of the "15 Toronto rappers you should know" and CBC Music called her one of the "New Faces of Canadian Hip Hop".
Quinton Armani Gardner, professionally known as Pressa, is a rapper and singer from Toronto.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
