Michaela (aka Mickey Shiloh) is a straight up music industry QUEEN. “She’s got it all” would be a way of putting it lightly. Multi-platinum selling songwriter, recording artist, entrepreneur, author and mentor are all just some of the hats that this boss wears on a daily basis. Born and raised in the 90s in the SF Bay Area to musically inclined parents, industry inspiration was all around her. At a very young age, she was writing music and by 15 years old she was signed to Grammy-Award winning producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins (Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige) all the while studying Music Industry at the University of Southern California. This music mogul has released more than 40 albums independently and has worked with some of the industry’s biggest hitters such as Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Jason Derulo. In 2018, Mickey was featured in the exclusive Forbes 30 Under 30 in Music list, an accolade that showcases her hard work both behind the scenes and in the spotlight. She is the CEO and founder of both BDRM Records and HRDRV which is the world’s first subscription-based independent record label. They provide creative services and an impressive community to a collective of singers, songwriters, producers and other creatives around the world.
On January 19th, Michaela dropped her newest song “Don’t Play Wit Me” from her newest album “Free Mickey (Part I)”. “This is my first release as the new artist name “Michaela” (my legal first name). I’ve been known in the music business as a songwriter and artist under the name “Mickey Shiloh” since I was 19. I’ve got over 1,000 songs out as Mickey Shiloh! So this is a cool change for me, and to get back to my rapping roots rather than just singing.” This rap track offers such a fresh sound, something new and real to listen to. The lyrics are well thought out and the beat is absolutely fire. “I freestyled this song top to bottom at the end of 2020, just flew out as soon as I heard the beat (produced by my boy Arza). The song is just about being a master of my craft and manifesting excellence into my life. I definitely smoked a joint before haha.” We asked her how this song differs from her previous releases and she said, “Well, it’s the first song on my first album with the new artist name. Whole project is called “Free Mickey (Part I)” and features 20 freestyle raps from the past couple years. Part II drops in a month. There’s something really raw about it even just tone wise that I haven’t had in some of my other music.”
As if the track wasn’t dope enough on it’s own, the singer / business woman partnered up with LyricVids for a professional lyric video, a great way to really draw eyes to any new release. The visuals are a perfect representation of Michaela as an artist. Raw, creative, colorful and eclectic. The video offers up textured canvas backdrops and the lyrics are animated-in as if they were the featured art on display. Each vignette is artistic and bold donning a complimentary color palette of pink and green with a vibrant yellow contrast to shake things up. The lyrics are displayed in two unique fonts, one being a large serif font and the other a label font. It screams inner city poetry and is practically a visual public service announcement for creativity and lyricism. We asked the singer what her favorite part of the video was and she said, “Love the color schemes, different scenes, and the movement – keeps the watcher/listener engaged much more than other lyric videos I’ve seen. I knew I had to work with a team that knows what not only looks good, but knows what will keep an audience engaged so they actually stay the whole time (and hear the art!)”
Up next for Michaela she says her full album just dropped on January 20th. “I’ll be releasing a few albums this year under the new name “Michaela” — so just expect a lot more of the REAL me.” You can follow her across all social media and music streaming platforms @mickeyshiloh or check out her incredible new HRDRV platform at www.hrdrv.com
Watch the lyric video for Michaela “Don’t Play Wit Me” on YouTube here: