Living his dream, Mike Mongo has never shied away from declaring himself “the next in Atlanta.” He grew up in the Roxbury section of Boston, and fell in love with music at an early age with influences from some of R&B and Soul’s greatest acts. Weekends home from school for Mike meant listening to Al Green, Marvin Gaye and The Sylvers, to name a few. Mike would imitate such artist performing for his mother in the living room of their apartment. Mike later began beat-boxing and writing poems to express himself. Those poems later turned into writing lyrics and at the early age of eight, Mike wrote his first rap. Mike used his writing as a creative outlet to express the struggles of growing up in the inner city to a single mother.
Mike continued to write as he got older, with influences from Big L, Nas, and Jay-Z. By the time of his freshman year in high school, Mike had been a part of two unsuccessful groups which gave him the experience that would later help his music career. Mike would skip school and take the bus to New York to shop his demo because, to him, his music career was more important than academics. Never finding success, Mike would return home and focus on his craft. Mike barely made it through his freshman year before dropping out midway through his sophomore year. It was during this time Mike met producer, 88keys (Mos Def, Musiq Soulchild, Kanye West), who gave him insight on producing and the importance of publishing. Mike soaked up as much knowledge as he could from 88keys before returning home on a mission to write and produce his own music. At the age of fifteen, mike purchased a Yamaha motif and other studio equipment. He taught himself how to produce and operate studio equipment. He also began reading books about publishing and the business of music in hopes of one day starting his own record label.
With Mike’s mother constantly on him about graduating from high school, he returned back to obtain his high school diploma. Once he obtained his diploma, He dedicated his life to living his dream. Mike began to take more and more trips to New York and other cities in the northeast in search of his big break. He spent the majority of 2005 trying to decide whether to stay in the northeast or move to L.A. By the winter of 2005, he still hadn’t made a decision, but it was while he was visiting Toronto that he finally decided to make Atlanta his new home. Mike had nothing to lose, so he packed all his things and moved to Atlanta at the age of eighteen with no family or friends-just faith and a dream.
Once Mike settled in Atlanta, he founded record label, MGE Murge Records. Once he established a solid foundation, he began his grind in the studio. He has emerged as a force to be heard, felt, and seen. If you ask Mike what the future holds, you’ll get a simple response, “The future holds everything I can imagine, I’m not going anywhere, I’m here to stay.” Stay tuned for big things to come from Mike Mongo and MGE Murge Records.
