Rapper Mikey J sings a love song For You

And Mikey isn't ashamed of where he's from in any way. In his video for For You he gives us a brief tour around his neighbourhood showing the city's lights, its open spaces, the river and its skyscrapers with an affectionate acknowledgement of where he is from when he says "Madison Heights."

Not the usual sort of song you hear from rap singers but Mikey J is a rapper with a difference. He has that certain something, that star quality, and Mikey is first and foremost a poet.

Perhaps that's another reason I love his material so much because I am a poet and writer as well and my own songs start as poems. Mikey has his poetry on his Myspace site and I think they are excellent.

Mikey believes in keeping things real and that is the secret of his success as a writer and an artist. His poems and lyrics are easy to understand and identify with. There is no pretension and when he sings and rhymes his words are clearly spoken and speak directly to the heart.

I discovered Mikey J on Famecast where I am competing in the band contests there and where you depend on votes to get anywhere. I put in a vote for Mikey after being very impressed on first hearing of hisFor You.

Since then we have become friends and I have been checking out his Myspace and Ourstage sites as well, where like me he also has his songs.

Mikey has a blog at his Myspace page in which he gives some excellent advice for other unsigned acts. Mikey thinks it's a good idea to focus on promoting just one or two songs you are really proud of and that quality is far more important than quantity. In other words he says to make your demo that good that it will sell your talent to the world. He knows what he is talking about because this is exactly what he is doing so well.