MIKE

Michael Jordan Bonema (born October 13, 1998), known professionally as Mike (often stylized as MIKE), is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer based in New York City.

Bonema's non-typical upbringing, having experienced life in New Jersey, England, Philadelphia and New York City, has had an audible influence on his diverse and experimental music style.

Michael Jordan Bonema was born on October 13, 1998, in Livingston, New Jersey.

He spent his early years in New Jersey, before moving to England at age 5, where his mother thought he would receive better educational opportunities.

Bonema spent five years growing up in Hackney, London, where he claimed he was "stripped away from American culture and pushed into British culture".

At age 10, Bonema first became interested in making music after listening to the English Grime artist Skepta.

At age 12, Bonema returned to Philadelphia with his father, where he continued to experience and learn about American hip-hop culture.

At age 16, he re-settled to The Bronx with his father, before moving to Brooklyn, eventually founding Slums with his friends.

Whilst living in England in 2008, a young Bonema first gained interest in hip-hop by watching the music videos of Skepta, Chipmunk and N-Dubz with his mother and older sisters.

He also states that he was surrounded by Contemporary R&B artists like Chingy and Bow Wow in his early life, as he "lived in a house with lots of girls".

In 2010, upon Bonema's return to Philadelphia, he began to gain a more comprehensive interest in the culture behind hip-hop.

He began to familiarise himself with the emerging American hip-hop scene, stating he studied the works of artists like Chance the Rapper, Drake and Lil Wayne.

Bonema recorded his first-ever song, a cover of MF Doom and Madlib' s underground hit 'All Caps', in 2012.

Bonema reflects on the song as being inspired by his lifestyle in Philadelphia, having an aggressive vocal energy and acting as a simple exercise in discovering how to express himself as a 14-year-old.

As Bonema grew older, he began to develop his own tastes in hip-hop and started following artists like Tyler, the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt and other members of the Odd Future collective.

By 2013, Bonema started to take hip-hop more seriously, and began releasing music, emailing journalists within the industry and directly communicating with record executives.

Bonema launched his professional career via his Bandcamp page in 2015.

Bonema released his first-ever project, a six-track EP entitled Belgium Butter, to his Bandcamp in January 2015.

Bonema states that he made this project mostly for himself, as he was trying to figure out his place in the community and rebuild self-confidence.

Around this time, Bonema was searching for independence and stability, so he co-founded an underground hip-hop group called Slums.

He states the group, which consists of like-minded New York City artists Adé Hakim, aJodi.10k, Darryl Johnson, King Carter and Mason Dreiling, was an important moment in his life where he "felt good to be around people that he felt like he understood.

Bonema released two more short-run EPs throughout 2015 – Crimson EP and RAFA (running away from the ajogun), the latter of which demonstrated his renewed focus on collaborating with other members of Slums.

Bonema also worked on his breakout mixtape, Winter New York, in a shared New York City apartment with Slums throughout the year.

He described the mixtape, which was centred around youth culture in New York City, as "figuring out what self-worth and confidence meant... to be able to tell my story and the stories of people I know to help somebody else".

Bonema followed up his breakout mixtape in February, releasing a four-track EP entitled Jungle Boy, based on the concept of New York City representing a "jungle".

Bonema then signed to the London-based independent record label Lex Records as a means of releasing, publishing and distributing his music.

He then began working on his next project, entitled Longest Day, Shortest Night, which was released in June.

He then released two more short-run EPs to end the year, including The Ones Who Were Made By Time in September and Tonight, With You in December.

Around this time, Bonema established a connection to Earl Sweatshirt, who he describes as his "favorite rapper", after he purchased one of his projects on Bandcamp.

Bonema states that they formed a mentor and mentee relationship, as Sweatshirt provided him advice on making music, learning to express himself and how to support himself as a "young black boy in America".

Bonema also learned to produce music in 2016, as his friend and fellow Slums member, Sixpress, taught him how to use the Ableton software.

He says it was important as it allowed him to take full creative control of his music and be able to "100 percent" reflect and express what he was feeling.

He gained interest from listeners, journalists and industry executives alike as he released several short-run EPs, his first critically reviewed mixtape, Winter New York, and his first full-length project, Longest Day, Shortest Night. Bonema then experienced a break-out year in 2017, as he became recognised within hip hop circles via his next full-length project, entitled May God Bless Your Hustle, in June 2017.

Bonema started working on a new mixtape, initially called By The Water, towards the beginning of 2017.

He delayed the project due to artistic challenges, stating he wanted the project to reflect who he was, but was struggling as his "mind wasn't in the right place" and he felt like he wasn't being true to himself.

Bonema's mother inadvertently motivated him to restart work on the project, as she posted "May God Bless Your Hustle" on his Instagram.

Bonema then released several follow-up projects, including Black Soap in May 2018, quickly followed by Renaissance Man in June 2018 and War in My Pen in December 2018.

He has continued to gain external interest from the likes of Pitchfork, The Fader and The New Yorker for his lyricism, music production and cultural influence.

Bonema is a co-founder of Slums (stylised as [sLUms].), an online-focused, underground hip-hop collective consisting of himself, Adé Hakim, Jodi.10k (formerly Jazz Jodi), Darryl Johnson, King Carter and Mason Dreiling.

He currently releases his music through his own independent record label and publishing company, 10k.