Mikkey Halsted

The homeys at Mid-West Live hooked up a great re-cap of how it went down at the March Fresh Produce. I have to give many props to the dope producers that played. I was impressed by the tracks and the energy in the room. My homey Traxster came through and shut it all the way down with some heat. Enough from me. Peep the vid below and enjoy. Shouts to The MTM group, 4Management and the whole team that made this event possible.

Shalom. Praise be to God, for he is definitely moving my vision forward and seemingly preparing me to impact his people around the world. My recent trip to New York was evidence that hard work does indeed pay off and prayer works. My personal manager and I were very conscious to pray each day before we set out to handle the days business and we also made sure to give thanks for the daily blessings and good people that were set in our path. If I told you how the MTV interview came about, you probably wouldn't believe me. I will have a full blog post chronicling my trip up on mikkeyahalsted.com really soon. In the meantime enjoy the first part of the MTV mix-tape daily interview, that the up and coming journalist, Steven Roberts did. There were so many other amazing aspects of the trip, that will probably come out in due time. I met some great people while there including Big E, the team at Crack Dealer radio, Tony Touch (cousin Touch, Alex), Brand Nubian, A.G., Blaze Bla, The Rock Smith team (Nate, Eric X2), I Hip-Hop.com team (Sam), Tory (Digiwaxx), all of the artists on Leaders Of The New Cool- NYC, Ski Beatz, Creative Control fam (Coodey), MTV fam (Steve, Sway). Shouts to my  people that held me down in NYC and those not present, but who were sending love from all over (Drewski, J4, Zell, Rico, Theo, BJ, Truck North, Coach K, NO ID, wifey, Alex). Peep this interview and stay in tune with your #1 guy from the Chi.- MH "Those That Know...Know"

If you missed the producer battle I held during the mix-tape release party I had for "The Best You nEver Heard", then you missed something special. There are so many really good producers in Chicago that need the opportunity and an outlet to showcase their talents. My guys at 4Management and MTM group came up with a concept to extend the producer battle and make it a monthly event called "Mikkey Halsted Presents: Fresh Produce". It was great to see all of the up and coming producers play some great tracks and to have the audience receive them so well. My performance later that evening wasn't too shabby either :) Shouts out to the boy C-Sick, who won the battle with some extreme heat.

Check the details below and get your crew ready for The Fresh Produce Producer Battle, as always each rounds winner is judged by crowd response.

The event will be hosted by: NoTryDo SINCERE and Que Billah. There will be a special segment with The Legendary Traxster. Music by DJ Toure and DJ Broadwaystreetz

Registration: To be considered to battle send your phone number and 2 tracks to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Make the subject of your e-mail "Producer Battle Entry". The first 25 producers to submit 2 dope tracks and buy their (12) $5 crew tickets will be entered into the battle. You will be contacted to make arrangements on how to pick up your tickets and given further instructions.   **maximum 20 crew tickets per producer.

Prizes: The winner will receive a prize pack including CASH, a hard drive, blank CD's, 2 hours of studio time from Sound Scape studios and more....

Contact:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Time:  9pm doors, 9:15 producer check-in, 9:45 Producer battle

Door: $7 until 11pm, $10 all night

Venue: Reggie's Rock Club 2105 S. State St. Chicago, IL 60616

FORMAT

- Producers will play 1 track per round, the winner (based on audience response) will advance to the next round. In the event of a tie producers will play a 2nd track.

- Bring at least 10 tracks on a usb flash drive preferred or a CD with your name on it if you don't have a spare drive on hand.

There will be opportunities for MC's to participate during the beat battle and producers will be selected for a chance to participate on the Fresh Produce mix-tape, which will be distributed monthly.

(Click the cover to download)

The wait is finally over. My new mix-tape is out. I am especially proud of this project, because The UnCrowned City team and I really put alot of work into this project over several months without even knowing exactly how the songs would be used. Alot of the songs on this project were records I felt strongly about, but didn't fit my upcoming indy release "The Darkroom" or my master piece"The Photo Album". However, many of the leftover songs that made the mix-tape are some outstanding records and are worthy of being listened to with a real ear, unlike the way many people just skim over artists' mix-tapes. If you are a long time follower of my music then you know that I don't really waste words and the large majority of what I say has profound meaning. Sometimes I feel my songs go over peoples heads or people aren't listening hard enough to truly grasp the meaning. If you've been to my live shows then you know on certain songs I usually drop the music and perform a meaningful verse acapella so that people can truly listen and digest the words. I truly believe that words have power; the power to change, heal, unite, kill and most of all inspire.

I hope you enjoy "The Best You nEver Heard", as it was truly a labor of love and contains many of my songs that I am most proud of. Many of these records came out in recent months, some are out my vaults, and others I am unleashing for the 1st time. Thank you for your support.

Please download the project and leave your feed back on the tape in the comment section.

Here is some footage of my performance, at the release party, that the Music Dealers shot Enjoy.

 MH "Those That Know...Know"