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Mickey Knoxx's Biography
Mickey Knoxx aka Nick Young, 22, has been grinding on the New Jersey hip hop scene since the age of 16. Knoxx has lived in various locales on the east coast, he's lived in almost every state on the eastern seaboard, some even twice, and his music reflects that. One minute he can be bangin' out on the streets of NJ or NY and the next he's taking you down south to the club to get it moving.
In 2002 Knoxx, and his long time friends DJ Big Jae and Press, formed a group called Idol Mindz. The process of gaining notoriety in a town where everybody is a producer or artist created difficulty in the trio getting their music heard. But through that slow grind process the trio perfected their sound and started getting the looks they deserved. Starting in 2005 Idol Mindz' did performances with some of the hottest new up and coming acts in the NY/NJ/PA area, including Big Lou and Papoose. In May 2006 the trio suffered a loss. Press realized that his talented wordplay and catchy hooks could be used better to spread the word of God to the youth. Knoxx and Big Jae being understanding of his wishes continued to press on. Don't fear Idol Mindz fans, you will still get that same raw hip hop street anthem ish, from Mickey Knoxx. In his own words "Press was my crutchso now I'm forced to stand on my own two," and he is not only standing on his own, he is running after his dream.
Review of Idol Mindz Mixtape from Northeast In-Tune Magazine June 06
This is one of those rare reviews where Im going to start with the worst aspects of these cats and go from there, but after that its all uphill, so stay with me here. You may have noticed that these gentlemen bill themselves as both Hip Hip and Pop. Fair enough. The sin comes when they suggest that we might want to refer to them as Hip-Pop. No. NO NO NO. That phrase has been used as a perjorative for years to describe awful, watered-down, MTV-driven hip hop carpet-bagging, and the very mention of the phrase in a positive sense makes me cringe, expecting a mighty body blow of MC Hammer-esque crossover rap adorned in RnB hooks.
The great news is, that is exactly what you wont find with these cats. Their hip hop is straight up, unadulterated street anthem ish, complete with banging beats, nice flows, and rap-along choruses.
Sure, their vocal stylings draw a little too much influence from Jigga at times, but there are worse sins in the hip hop game than a pinch of swagger-jacking, and if youre going to steal, steal from the best. Their lyrics are standard fare splitting time between talking about how tough it was coming up as a kid in the city, how dope they are now, and how much the ladies love them, but it beats some affected conscious style or an album full of raps about how to sell crack.
Beatwise, theyve managed to get their hands on some pretty dope production. The samples are left of center enough to avoid the generic label, which is a feat unto itself these days, especially if youre billing yourself as Hip-Pop (*wince*). They wisely avoid the slow, introspective sound so popular in the underground the last few years and roll with beats you can rock in the club, the ride, or the crib.
Final analysis: I have to give these cats some real love the last several listens were even better than the first, although to be fair, that first listen was colored by the phrase Hip Pop bouncing around in my cerebellum. Id recommend them to anyone who digs post-millennium hip hop, both major label and Indie. Theyre just fun to listen to in that way that hip hop used to be not too poppy, but all about having a good time, and living proper while theres living to do. Plus, they cut up a Notorious B.I.G. line in one of their songs and gave him a co-writing credit. Whats not to love about that?
Instrumentation
Press - Vocals
Mickey Knox - Vocals
DJ Big Jae - DJ, Hype Man
Discography
DJ Big Jae Presents : Idol Mindz " We Here Now"
Loot Gang
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Part 2 of Mickey Knoxx's performance at Errico's
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The Aftermath at Errico's
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