Mike Jones
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Mike Jones (real name) is a southern rap artist from the Northside of Houston, Texas. As part of Swishahouse records, he has grown to fame over his unique usage of his own name throughout his songs. Many of his songs contain the phrases "Who? Mike Jones!" or "Mike Jones!" spread throughout, resulting in a firm implantation of his name in listeners' memories. His major promotional gimmick is to sell and hand out shirts with his cell phone number on them (athletic-department style shirts reading "Property of Mike Jones"), as well as shouting out the number throughout his mixtapes and albums, encouraging fans to call him on his Motorola phone. Reports are that his phone receives anywhere from 2500 to 20,000 calls a day, sparking rumors that his cell phone bill was once over $250,000 and that he had to change phone services in order to avoid another skyrocketing bill. His current number is (281) 330-8004.
Jones is well-known for rapping in the so-called "New Southern" Screwed & Chopped style popularised by DJ Screw of Houston. The slowed-down audio aesthetic supposedly mimics the effect of "sipping sizzurp," that is, drinking alcohol mixed with cough syrup containing codeine, though most adherents of the style claim that it has outgrown its drug-related roots. His trademark technique is to take a line from one of his songs and use it as a chorus in another, or sometimes the same, song, screwing & chopping and repeating it (for example, the chorus in "Back Then" is a screwed line from "Still Tippin'").
Jones was recently signed to a major record deal with Warner Brothers Records and his first major album, Who Is Mike Jones?, was released April 19, 2005. His hit single, "Still Tippin'", which features Slim Thug and Paul Wall, and a Midwest remix featuring Young Bellz can currently be heard on various radio and TV stations. His album debuted at #3 on the US Billboard 200 album charts in 2005. A second single, "Back Then," is also in rotation. He will be working with Clint Saulsberry in 2005 on a number of remixes.
External links
- Mike Jones (official) (http://www.whomikejones.com)
- Swishahouse (http://www.swishahouse.com)
- CNN interview with Mike Jones (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/27/music.mike.jones.ap/index.html)
- AllHipHop.com interview with Mike Jones (http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=4320)
- Mike Jones changes phone numbers after almost $250,000 bill (http://www.mp3.com/updates.php?artist_id=510236&article_id=40522)
- Mike Jones Fan Forums (http://www.token20.com/mikejonesboard/)