MONEY MIKE (ORS) - Part 1 - ISTWA L NAN RAP KREYOL (FB Live 2020)

Mike Huberman Charles is one of the Haitian Rap Music pioneers. Born in 1969, he became motherless at a very young age and was raised by his adoptive mother. He started rapping around 1988-1989. By 1991, he was already doing freestyle battles at different entertainment events at schools in the Port-au-Prince area in Haiti. He even started recording by the end of 1992 a couple of tracks for an album. In 1994, after he performed at a rap concert hosted primarily for upcoming MCs who were denied to participate at a Tribute to Haitian Rap father Master Dji, who died in May 1994. During that performance, many of the upcoming and known MCs, to include Money Mike and BOP, caught the attention of the public and that of young Haitian businessman, Mario Bregat, who then owned an auto parts store. Mario Bregat decided to put together a rap group with the best MCs from that event. So, the group Original Rap Staff (ORS) was born. That same year, 1994, Original Rap Staff released its first single "BAGAY DWOL", a smash rap hit with a little ragga flavor. Bagay Dwòl was so popular among the teenagers and youngsters that the chorus became a slogan to the same effect as Sa k Pase : N ap Boule (Sa k ap Fèt : Bagay Dwòl). The success of the song also brought some heat to the group because it was released during political turmoil in Haiti, following the coup d'etat that overthrew President Jean Bertrand Aristide and the content was a straight shot at social constraints in Haiti. In the video clip of the single BAGAY DWOL, you can see a young Money Honey Mike with a short dread and good swag rapping simultaneously in English, Creole and French and walking behind a fence with his homeboys following him. It's almost like you were watching a rap video from any famous rapper in the U.S. Since then, Money Mike became the favorite Haitian rapper of many in Haiti. Bagay Dwòl stayed HOT for over a year but several months later the group would drop another single TOUT MOUN SOU BLOF. Even with Baby One King out and Don MC not rapping on the new single but still part of the group, the song was still a major hit. BOP, Top Tchoukko, Posse X, Money Mike shine with their respective verse; Top Adlerman's verse with his ragga swing and his jab at the corrupt pastors stuck in people's minds. Nevertheless, Money Mike took a shot at Supa Denot in his verse. In the video, once again Money Mike swag was nothing but that of any US rapper around that time. In 1996, ORS released its long-awaited album, KE POPOZ, which is considered a classic. The CD was musically and lyrically a bomb. Some straight rap tracks with R&B flavors, many ragga songs, some rap and ragga mixture, the album catered to all. Out of the 14 tracks on the CD, Money Mike raps alone in 4 songs (A TOI, PARDON, MESI, Whose STYLE IS THIS) and features a verse in 4 other (TANPERAMAN CHANJE, KE POPOZ, BAGAY DWOL, and TOUT MOUN SOU BLOF) Money Mike once again proves to the doubters and haters he is the best or the second to it in this Haitian Rap game. He went from dropping soft rap flow in songs like MESI, A TOI and PARDON to going hardcore in WHOSE STYLE IS THIS, TANPERAMAN CHANJE and KE POPOZ. The lyrical and emotional depth of songs like PARDON and A TOI always make me think that Money Mike would be a bigger star and would be able to live financially off his music if he was in a country like France. Other Money Mike's tracks like WHOSE STYLE IS THIS, THAT'S HOW WE RIDE (off ORS' 2nd album "N AP TOUJOU LA), and BEAT SA HOT shows that Mike had a lot of potentials and could have possibly made it in the USA if he was living there. TO BE CONTINUED