So far, so good with the first leak from Mike Murder. Mike Is Like dropped Sunday on DJBooth.net and hit everyone else yesterday. The feedback has been incredible. My guys over at RefinedHype.com, who are sponsoring Mike Murder, recently conducted an interview with Mike Schpitz aka ME, for their interview series called My City. I was extra excited about this interview because it gave me a chance to shed a little more light on MY city, which happens to be the capital of Kansas, Topeka. Check out part of the interview here and the rest only at RefinedHype.com.
My City: Mike Schpitz is Topeka High’s Best……..Rapper……….Ever
RefinedHype: You hail from the rarely hailed city of Topeka, Kansas. Do you feel like some people have a bias towards your work when they find out where you’re from?
Mike Schpitz:. I’m not sure how people feel about me and my music AFTER they actually hear the music and then find out I’m from Topeka but I think it’s safe to assume that not many people are checking for emcees to come out of Topeka, Kansas or any similar town across the country. If they see me and then see where I’m from before hearing the music, I definitely think people automatically write me off. I can’t lie because I would do the same thing. I think once people hear the music it’s a little harder to have that bias. More so than where I’m from, I am finding out that people judge me based on what I look like which for me, is kind of funny because no one expects anything. People are always taken back especially when I hit the stage.
RefinedHype: How do you think your music and career would be different if you lived in a more “major” city like L.A., New York, Atlanta etc.?
Mike Schpitz:. It’s hard to say what I would be doing musically if I was from a more major city. I probably wouldn’t even be doing music. I think it’s probably harder to get respect in bigger cities because you have so many talented people in those cities. In Kansas, there are definitely some talented people but the numbers are way smaller. My influences are drawn from all over too. I think if I was in a bigger city, I am gravitate towards music and sounds from that city or region. It definitely allowed me to be more open to hip hop from all over. Being in Chicago now has helped me really step my game up and go full force. There are so many different artists out here that I have to be able to stand out or I will get lost easily in the crowd. I have taken a lot of aspects of both my hometown, Topeka, Kansas and Chicago and used them in my music.
My City: Mike Schpitz is Topeka High’s Best……..Rapper……….Ever
I’m not sure how true “Topeka High’s Best………Rapper……Ever” is but hopefully I’m top 10.




