“You devils are powerless, I see through your cowardice, y’all just look like you’re dope, the same as flour is.”
While there may have been a moratorium on “Power” freestyles, it doesn’t apply to Chicago’s Mikkey Halsted. Beyond his pure lyrical skill, his own interesting past makes his take on Kanye West’s “Power” more relevant and noteworthy than most. As the story goes, Mikkey Halsted was one of West’s earliest and most buzzing collaborators. Together they crafted several windy city underground classics, and attracted the attention of Cash Money Records, who signed Mikkey to an ill-fated record deal. That is all old news at this point, as Mikkey looks toward the release of The Darkroom followed by the long-awaited Photo Album (executive produced by No ID). There is no bitterness, as Mikkey says in this freestyle, “People always ask, ‘what’s up with you and Kanye?/he’s the reason I started rapping, I f**k with him the long way/ but I got some satisfaction from building this on my own though/ never count another man’s bread, I got my own dough.”
The track was recorded at SoundScape Studios and will appear on DJ RTC’s upcoming mixtape with Columbia College entitled On Deck Vol. 1. The mixtape drops at the end of October, the “Power” freestyle is available now right after the jump.
Mikkey Halsted: “Power” Freestyle
[audio: http://rubyhornet.com/media/rh/music/mikkey_halsted_power_freestyle.mp3|width=180]
Photo by Virgil Solis
Cover by Ian Pulia