Young Son

“Sanity in life comes from having the correct balance of dreams and reality. This allows you to identify where you’re at and visualize where you can go…”



This is the manifesto projected by the Minneapolis-born hip-hop artist, Michael Alexander Hannah, better known as Mike Dreams.
Mike Dreams (born as Michael Alexander Hannah on November 13, 1988) is a Minnesota-based Hip-Hop Artist & Writer.
He grew up on the south side of Minneapolis, Minnesota and began getting interested in hip hop music at an early age. As a kid, he performed in many of Minneapolis; community talent shows at local libraries, parks and churches. As he continued through his Jr. and Sr. High School years, he became a poetry writer, being published in national anthologies and gaining nominations for Amateur Poet of the Year on multiple occasions. After high school graduation, Mike Dreams began a serious career as a professional artist.
Since 2007, Mike Dreams has been releasing projects and mixtapes in the Twin Cities and via online. In the spring of 2009, hip hop web magazine and blog DJBOOTH.NET ran a promotional series for Mike Dreams (then referred to as Young Son) called “Counting Sheep: Countdown To Dreamers Poetry” that led up to the release of a promotional mixtape by the same name in the summer of 2009 to promote the forthcoming release his debut album “Dreamer’s Poetry“, that was presented by DJBOOTH.NET & 2DopeBoyz.Com the following year on February 8th, 2010 as a free digital download with option for purchase. The album contained various production from local, national and international producers, as well as singing talent from upcoming Minnesota artists.
Mike Dreams works heavily in his community in the Twin Cities by devoting time, efforts and concerns to issues he feels are important, including peace building, the fight against gang and street violence, anti-misogyny (the movement against the hatred of women), education of minorities, support for immigration and immigrant rights and the advocacy for Christianity and the beliefs he was raised upon. Due to this, his music contains no expletives whatsoever. He served as the main performing act at the Midwest Regional PeaceJam International celebration ceremony for 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Shirin Ebadi of Iran in March 2007 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN , headlined along with Twin Cities rap group Big Quarters at the 2008 PeaceJam Celebration for Archbishop Desmond Tutu in April 2008 at the North Minneapolis Service Project and headlined the Midwest Regional PeaceJam 2010 honoring 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Mechu Tum of Guatemala. Mike Dreams is also currently on the youthrive LIVE! Concert Series across Minnesota and the Midwest at elementary, junior and senior high schools, a traveling concert tour promoting peace through hip hop with notable Twin Cities artists including Scribble Jam 2006 Beatbox Champ DJ Snuggles, Maria Isa, Dancing Dave and Hypel (Hope Youth Power & Everlasting Life). Mike Dreams and the tour have performed in various schools around Minnesota, the Red Wing Correctional Facility, the 2008 National Youth Leadership Conference and most recently, the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America.
In May of 2010, Mike Dreams performing at SOUNDSET 2010, one of the largest Midwest Outdoor hip-hop festivals to exist, powered by the Minnesota-based indie label, “Rhymesayers Entertainment.”, amongst other local and national acts, including Toki Wright, Dessa (of Doomtree), Wiz Khalifa, Cage and Method and Redman. Other major shows have included headlining the Hip Hop 4 Obama Fundraiser Concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2007 and 2008, opening up for One Be Lo of Binary Star, opening for Eyedea and Abilities of the Rhymesayers and performing in the lineup at the 2007 Allied Media Conference in Detroit, Michigan.
Aside from being a hip hop artist and performer, Mike Dreams is a writer and journalist and writer. He’s been published in a few Minnesota publications, and currently writes for the hip hop websites Hip Hop Lives Online (HHLO.NET) & RefinedHype.Com, a sister-site of DJBOOTH.NET.
Mike Dreams’ second independent album “Just Waking Up” was released on October 14th, 2010 and presented by DJBOOTH.NET x FLUD Watches and received 1300 downloads in 2 weeks. The album is currently available on iTunes, as well as for physical purpose at Mike's official store.