Urban Vault caught up with Atlanta-based recording artist Micah Freeman to ask him some questions about his latest release WALK THE LINE and more…

Baltimore-born, Atlanta-based artist and Awful Records affiliate Micah Freeman presents the Los Changos Dorados-produced music video for ‘Walk The Line’, the new single from Micah’s forthcoming EP ‘I Wasn’t Born Yesterday’.

‘Walk The Line’ is produced by REO, the Grammy-award-winning beatsmith behind tracks like ‘I Am Sasha Fierce’ for Beyoncé and Lil Wayne’s ‘Mirror’ as well as cuts for Chris Brown and Bruno Mars.

Freeman says his new track is about, “Multiplicity, intersectionality, and identity itself, about navigating in-between worlds, like the stag in the video. I, like many others, have always been multi-dimensional, and that’s okay. Instead of boxing yourself in or clinging to some illusion of who you are, you can take the roles you play less seriously, whether you’re the killer or the healer”.

‘I Wasn’t Born Yesterday’ will drop this fall on Freeman’s own Everpresent imprint.

What made you decide to become a rapper?

As a kid, I played a little guitar and wrote poetry. My big brother is a Grammy-nominated songwriter so I’ve always been around music, beyond rap. But if a rapper is what you’d call me, I suppose skateboarding got me into it. The skate world, when I was in it heavy was this kind of counter-culture/subculture kind of thing that rubbed elbows with other underground scenes. My friends put me on to good music, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater/Underground always had a dope soundtrack, skate videos always had great songs that moved me. We’d throw on MF DOOM’s Special Herbs Instrumentals and freestyle in the basement. That’s how Hip Hop became a part of what I do. Didn’t think I’d ever start singing and producing, but hey, here we are.

What’s the first rap song you ever heard? Describe the moment.

Hard to say what the first was since I was a kid in the 90’s in Baltimore. Hip Hop was everywhere, but mostly East Coast stuff. My big sister was always rapping ‘Crush On You’ by Lil Kim, all over the house so it kinda got lodged in my brain lol. I had pivotal moments with ‘Ms Jackson’ by Outkast, and ‘Passin Me By’, by The Pharcyde.

What kind of a place is the Atlanta rap scene in right now?

I think the world is finally seeing sides of Atlanta that were previously overlooked/drowned out by Trap musc. I love music for the streets, and the strip club, because it’s a very real part of Atlanta culture & history, but we‘ve always been more multi-dimensional than only that. Other voices deserve to be heard too, and they are. I’m really glad artists from Atlanta who are off the beaten path of what is expected are finally getting their time. My Awful Records comrades, Two-9, Earth Gang, Mereba, J.I.D., Rome Fortune, iLoveMakonnen, Key!, Jarren Benton, and so many others have all shown what’s possible for us here. It’s a beautiful time. I just wish it were so that artists didn’t need to go to LA or New York for the real opportunities. But that’s an infrastructure problem that I think will change eventually. For me, Atlanta has been a fantastic launch pad into bigger things.

How did ‘Walk The Line’ come together?

My best friend, Xavier Blk, an incredible DJ, nightlife curator, dot connector etc, linked me via email with the producer REO, who saw me open for Teedra Moses once upon a time. His tracks were incredible, and I gravitated toward this track immediately. I was in Xavier’s basement drinking beer and fiddling around with melodies & flows, and decided not to write anything, to just wing it on the lyrics & subject matter. It wound up being a much ‘deeper’ record than I intended for it to be. I didn’t realize this until later on, when Bella Dorado of Los Changos Dorados (the video’s directors) gave me their treatment, interpreting the song from their perspectives.

What’s behind the title of your forthcoming EP?

‘I Wasn’t Born Yesterday’ is a lyric in a song that wound up being the last addition to the project. I’ve been quiet for a while, through the rise of Awful Records, I’m under new management, I’ve seen & experienced fufu industry bullshit, romantic and personal turmoil and triumph, self-destruction, & reconstruction etc. I’m wise to the bullshit now, even my own, and I’ve seen behind the veil. I’ve been here, have always been dope, and now I’m planting my flag in the ground, making a declaration, claiming my space. That’s where the title came from.

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making dope, fresh music…

Micah Freeman – Walk The Line via iTunes/Spotify

www.facebook.com/MicahFreemanMusic
https://twitter.com/MicahFreeman
https://instagram.com/micahfreemanism
https://twitter.com/thisreo
https://instagram.com/thisREO