Michie Mee
Encyclopedia
Michelle McCullock better known by her stage name
Michie Mee, is a Canadian rapper
and actor
. As Canada's first notable female MC
, she is considered a national hip-hop
pioneer.
, 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. 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. 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.
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 emcee to sign a record deal
with a major American label. 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."
In 1991, the duo released its debut album, Jamaican Funk: Canadian Style
, which incorporated dancehall reggae
music and spawned the single "Jamaican Funk." Over 60,000 copies of the album were sold in the U.S. and it was nominated for a Juno Award
in 1992. After Michie Mee ran into trouble with the law, the duo broke up. 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
, which had a Canadian chart hit in 1995 with "One Life." In the late 1990s, Michie Mee began an acting career. 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. Later that year, she released a comeback album, The First Cut Is the Deepest
, which spawned the single "Don't Wanna Be Your Slave" (featuring Esthero
). The single earned her another Juno nomination.
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
. The same year, she appeared in the film My Baby's Daddy
.
In 2009, she released the single "Say About Us."
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Michie Mee, is a Canadian rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. As Canada's first notable female MC
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
, she is considered a national hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
pioneer.
Early life and career
McCullock was born in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, later moving to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, at a young age and was raised in the city's Jane Street area, as well as the Jane and Finch
Jane and Finch
Jane and Finch is a neighbourhood located in northwestern North York, a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is roughly bounded by Highway 400 to the west, Driftwood Avenue to the east, Grandravine Drive to the south, and Shoreham Drive to the north...
neighbourhood. She began performing professionally at age 14. In 1985, during a concert in Toronto, Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
introduced her to the audience and she performed on stage. Michie Mee later teamed up with DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
L.A. Luv (Phillip Gayle) and formed the duo Michie Mee and L.A. Luv. The duo was featured on the 1987 Canadian hip hop
Canadian hip hop
The Canadian hip hop scene was first established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much more slowly 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...
compilation Break'n Out, which was produced by KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
and Scott La Rock
Scott La Rock
Scott "La Rock" Sterling was the original DJ of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.-BDP:Sterling, a social worker, met rapper KRS-One in 1986 at the Franklin Men's Shelter in the Bronx where KRS lived. The pair, together with DJ D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions...
of Boogie Down Productions.
The duo's first single, "Elements of Style," made an impact in the United States, and it signed with First Priority
First Priority Music
First Priority Music was an American hip hop record label of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which has diversified and found success in recent years with releases in contemporary R&B and country music genres, among others. A small independent, it formed successful distribution relationships, first...
/Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in 1988. In the process, Michie Mee became the first Canadian emcee to sign a record deal
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with a major American label. 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."
In 1991, the duo released its debut album, Jamaican Funk: Canadian Style
Jamaican Funk: Canadian Style
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 Music/Atlantic Records in the United States, where 60,000 copies were sold. The album, which also featured dancehall reggae...
, which incorporated dancehall reggae
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
music and spawned the single "Jamaican Funk." Over 60,000 copies of the album were sold in the U.S. and it was nominated for a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
in 1992. After Michie Mee ran into trouble with the law, the duo broke up. L.A. Luv later joined the group Dream Warriors
Dream Warriors
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 Allmusic, they were major contributors to the jazz rap movement of the early 1990s. Their 1991 debut album, And Now the Legacy Begins, is...
.
After starting a solo career and opening shows for artists such as Salt-n-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
, Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
, and Judy Mowatt
Judy Mowatt
Judy Mowatt was born in the year 1948 in Gordon Town, St. Andrew Jamaica. She is an internationally acclaimed reggae artist who rose to fame as 1/3 of the trio the I THREE who were the Back-Ground vocalists for Bob Marley.-Biography:...
, she became a founding member of the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Raggadeath
Raggadeath
Raggadeath was a Canadian alternative rock–hip hop band in the 1990s that fused hard rock with dancehall reggae-style rhythms and vocals. The band featured a number of vocalists, including emcee Michie Mee...
, which had a Canadian chart hit in 1995 with "One Life." In the late 1990s, Michie Mee began an acting career. She made her first film appearance in 1999's In Too Deep. In 2000, she starred in the CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
series Drop the Beat
Drop the Beat
Drop the Beat was a Canadian television series produced by Back Alley Films, which aired on CBC Television in 2000. A short run dramatic series, the show was one of the first television series ever built around hip hop music and culture....
, playing a rapper named Divine. Later that year, she released a comeback album, The First Cut Is the Deepest
The First Cut Is the Deepest (album)
The First Cut Is the Deepest is the second studio album by Canadian rapper Michie Mee, released in 2000 on Koch Records. The single "Don't Wanna Be Your Slave", featuring Esthero, was nominated for Best Rap Recording at the 2000 Juno Awards....
, which spawned the single "Don't Wanna Be Your Slave" (featuring Esthero
Esthero
Esthero ,born Jenny-Bea Englishman, is a Canadian singer-songwriter who currently lives in Los Angeles, California. The name Esthero refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer Doc McKinney...
). The single earned her another Juno nomination.
In 2004, Michie Mee joined a group of local artists (including Maestro
Maestro (rapper)
Wesley Williams , better known as Maestro and formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes, is a Canadian rapper, record producer, and actor. His pioneering status and outstanding achievements have led to him being referred to as the "Godfather of Canadian hip hop".In 1989 he became the first Canadian rapper to have...
, Thrust
Thrust (rapper)
Chris France , better known by his stage name Thrust, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. He is most known for his appearance on the Rascalz' 1998 single "Northern Touch" which also features Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, and Checkmate...
, and Toya Alexis
Toya Alexis
LaToya Lesmond , better known by her stage name Toya Alexis, is a Canadian R&B vocalist from Ajax, Ontario.- Career :...
among others) and formed the Peace Prophets. The group released the charity single
Charity record
A charity record is a release of a song for a specific charitable cause. Some of the earliest charity records came from the Music for UNICEF Concert, with ABBA's Chiquitita and the Bee Gees' Too Much Heaven among them released as singles, with all the royalties going to UNICEF...
"Drop the Chrome" in association with radio station FLOW 93.5
CFXJ-FM
CFXJ-FM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, which uses the on-air brand FLOW 93.5. It first aired in 2001 as Canada's first urban music station...
. The same year, she appeared in the film My Baby's Daddy
My Baby's Daddy
My Baby's Daddy is a 2004 comedy film, directed by Cheryl Dunye.-Plot:Childhood friends Lonnie , Dominic , and G have a rude awakening when they find out their girlfriends are pregnant....
.
In 2009, she released the single "Say About Us."
Discography
- Jamaican Funk—Canadian Style (1991)
- The First Cut Is the DeepestThe First Cut Is the Deepest (album)The First Cut Is the Deepest is the second studio album by Canadian rapper Michie Mee, released in 2000 on Koch Records. The single "Don't Wanna Be Your Slave", featuring Esthero, was nominated for Best Rap Recording at the 2000 Juno Awards....
(2000)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Traders Traders (TV series) Traders is a Canadian television drama series, which was broadcast on Global Television Network from 1995 to 2000.-Overview:Although Global had locked up most of NBC's "Must See Thursday" situation comedies for their Thursday night broadcasts, they lost the rights to broadcast the medical drama ER... |
Herself | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1999 | In Too Deep | Martha | Film |
| 2000 | Drop the Beat Drop the Beat Drop the Beat was a Canadian television series produced by Back Alley Films, which aired on CBC Television in 2000. A short run dramatic series, the show was one of the first television series ever built around hip hop music and culture.... |
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 SmartAsk SmartAsk is a Canadian quiz show which ran for three seasons on CBC Television. The show was taped in front of a live audience, with the players sitting on a tiered set... |
Host | Game show | |
| 2002 | Comedian Comedian (film) Comedian is a 2002 documentary focusing on Jerry Seinfeld that explores the other side of stand-up comedy; that is, the preparation, politics, nerves, creativity, and so on. The film also features an up-and-coming comic named Orny Adams as he struggles to make it in show business... |
Other appearance | Documentary |
| Our America Our America For the OWN documentary television series, see Our America with Lisa Ling Our America is an award-winning movie based on the book Our America: Life And Death On The South Side Of Chicago.... |
N/A | TV film | |
| 2004 | Chicks with Sticks | Heather Desmond | Film |
| My Baby's Daddy My Baby's Daddy My Baby's Daddy is a 2004 comedy film, directed by Cheryl Dunye.-Plot:Childhood friends Lonnie , Dominic , and G have a rude awakening when they find out their girlfriends are pregnant.... |
Nia's Client | Film | |
| 2007 | 'da Kink in My Hair Da Kink in My Hair (TV series) 'da Kink in My Hair is a Canadian television sitcom. Based on the play of the same name by Trey Anthony, the story was adapted into a television show currently airing on Global.-Cast:... |
Tianna | TV series; 2 episodes (2007, 2009) |
| 2008 | Baby Blues | Charlen Ryan | Film |
See also
- Canadian hip hopCanadian hip hopThe Canadian hip hop scene was first established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much more slowly 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...
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
External links
- Michie Mee at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Michie Mee at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Michie Mee - Early Footage