By DJ Louie Styles
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
There are a lot of artists from New Jersey who are beginning to make their impact on a national landscape. Of course, most of the attention is going to Fetty Wap, and rightfully so. But, there are a flock of newer artists who are emerging as major forces.
Mike Hardy is among the New Jersey rappers who is beginning to make an impact on the game. He has found success with “Shotgun Shawty,” his popular single. The song has done well and many fans are wondering when he will return with more new music.
Recently, Mike Hardy talked to Hip Hop Vibe, giving us insight on his plans for the game. During the interview, Mike Hardy spoke on the New Jersey hip hop scene and his work. There was also discussion about the “Shotgun Shawty” single and what comes next.
Read the entire interview below:
Being a native of New Jersey, who are some of your favorite legends from the area? Off the top of my head I have to say Redman, Naughty By Nature, and Sugar Hill Gang.
How do you feel about the emergence of Fetty Wap as a superstar? Man, Fetty Wap deserves everything good thats happening for him, I don’t know him personally, but he seems like a very humble guy,
he puts in a lot of work in and out of the studio and overall i like the fact he is a solid leader right now for NJ, def somebody to look at as an role model.
You have had success of your own with the single, “Shoutgun Shawty,” can you tell us more about that? The journey has been amazing so far with this song with me only being about four months in with it and independent, a lot of good feedback from DJs, a lot videos from fans and I’m just loving all the support from everyone including my label EMG. But just to get a little bit behind the scenes of the record, I wanted to challenge myself to start a new trend, and being that I have a very solid female fan base I wanted to come up with a name for those ladies that hold down their significant other and vice versa, because lets be real theirs not a lot of songs that acknowledge our loved ones. So, as I was vibing to the melody in the chorus i start to sing to myself “All I need is one for me, that one to ride with me, shotgun yeap…” I instantly thought of the name like oh SNAP! That be my “Shotgun Shawty” ! LOL and from there i just wrote how I felt. Thanks to the producers RicAndThadeus for putting this together.
What is the next single you have planned for the fans? I have a couple that should be a good follow-up for “Shotgun Shawty,” but my next single just might be “Bonnie N Clyde” which is one of my favorites right now.
Are there any major collaborations you have in the works? As of right now, no but hopefully soon.
What is the next move you see yourself making? I see myself moving forward in my career and being further than I was yesterday.
Where can fans follow you on social media? Twitter: @WhoMikeHardy, Instagram: @TheRealMikeHardy, Soundcloud: MikeHardyMusic, mikehardybby.com.
Follow DJ Louie Styles on Twitter @DJLouieStyles.
