TGLR: Hey Mike, how have things been since we last talked to you?
Mike Posner: Amazing, I actually shot the video for “Drug Dealer Girl” last week with Rosa Acosta, who if you don’t know you should google, or youtube rather. Then, I had a show at Duke on Friday and then I did Michigan State on Saturday. And I’m just having a blast. I’m back at school now working on some new music.
TGLR: Sounds good; so our first question is how do you feel to be signed to a record label?
Mike: It feels great. It’s something I dreamed about for a long time. And for the last few years, I knew was going to happen at some point. I actually thought it was going to take me a little bit longer to get a record deal. I thought it would take me two mixtapes. But, the buzz in the industry was really really strong after the first mixtape. I’m at a very great place in J Records. I had the opportunity that a lot of artists don’t get to pick my label. Most artists don’t get a record deal. And most of the artists that do get like one offer and that’s the one they got to take. But, I was lucky to be in a position that I had offers from a lot of places. So, I got to pick the best one and that was J Records.
TGLR: In our last interview, you shared with us that you were planning a new mixtape for the fall. Any news on when that is going to drop and what the title of the mixtape will be?
Mike: You can expect it late October. I’ve narrowed down the titles to a few things. But I haven’t decided yet. So I’ll let you know soon.
TGLR: Are you going to have a cool album cover?
Mike Posner: Will I have I have a cool album cover? Of course I’ll have a cool album cover man.
TGLR: Okay that’s what I expect from you. That’s what people expect from you.
Mike Posner: I’m very interested in using graphic designers or people that I work with creatively that no one else uses. The person that did my last album cover, his name is Cleveland Thrasher and he’s a student at Michigan State. He had never done an album cover before in his life I don’t think. But, I knew how good he was. So I just gave him a shot. And he murdered it. You like it?
TGLR: Yeah. While we are talking mixtapes, record labels, and albums, I recall you telling us that your first LP release will be named The New Deal. Can you give us some background about what that album will be about and what the theme of that LP will be?
Mike Posner: Well basically you can expect, on my album, the direction of my mixtape just on steroids. I’m about halfway done with it now. It’s like the mixtape but it’s just way better. If you were a fan of the mixtape, then you’re gonna go nuts when you hear this. It’s really game-changing music. I don’t mean to be cocky; I’m not like a pompus guy like anybody that met me will tell you that. But when it comes to my music, I have 500% confidence in how good it is. I just know that this album is gonna be a game-changer.
TGLR: Looking forward to that.
Mike Posner: Thanks.
TGLR: You’re from Michigan. I know that’s your home-state. You must follow the big college sports here. If you had to pick a team to win this year’s Michigan State University vs. University of Michigan football game, who would it be?
Mike Posner: Aw dude, c’mon. I’m a Wolverine at heart! I got into Michigan and I almost went there. And my whole family went to Michigan. I’m definitely a Wolverine at heart. I’m more worried about Ohio State than Michigan State. That’s not to say I don’t have love for Michigan State! It’s the same thing with North Carolina. I’m in an awkward position a lot. People ask me questions and try to get me to hate on North Carolina really bad. I have a lot of fans there and I got a lot of love for the people that support me there. I’m a Duke fan; I’m a Michigan fan. I love Michigan State and I have love for North Carolina as well.
TGLR: We all know what happened last year in college basketball when Michigan went up against Duke.
Mike Posner: You forget that we whooped your ass once also. Let’s not get it twisted. There was an ass-whipping last year also.
TGLR: We have a lot of pride at University of Michigan. At our football game, they were advertising for college basketball, and they didn’t show our season record or how far we got in the NCAA tournament. But they did show our win against Duke: 81-73.
Mike Posner: The day that Michigan beat Duke in basketball, I had to turn my phone off for about five hours. I was hearing it from everybody I went to high school with that’s a Wolverine now. I root for Michigan every other game that they’re not playing Duke in.
TGLR: I respect that. I recently heard you on a track with Detroit rapper One Be Lo; what was it like working with him?
Mike Posner: Very humbling man. One Be Lo is a guy that’s been doing music for a very long time and I have the utmost respect for people like him that have been doing this longer than me and in many ways, paved the way for me and opened a lot of doors for me. The chance to work with him was a no-brainer for me. I just kept my ears open and listened to what he was saying to me, whether it was about music or life or not. I just have a lot of respect for him.
TGLR: You’re a real inspiration to other people who are trying to get their music up. You got to represent Michigan and show you’re from Detroit and other people can do just the same as you if they work hard.
Mike Posner: That means so much to me. I never set out to do something like that. I was always making music for myself because it has been such a personal revolution for me. If I didn’t make music, I’d probably just curl up and die. You’re probably one of the first people that said that to me, besides a few individuals here and there. That just really means a lot to me and I hope I can continue to do that on a larger scale. As my success grows, I’m sure that we’ll be able to inspire more and more people.
TGLR: I met someone at Hillel yesterday, who he saw my Mike Posner shirt, and he actually could play the beginning of “Smoke and Drive” for me. I did not expect that. He was in an A Capella group and he was in front of a piano and he played it right there for me.
Mike Posner: Yeah, Hillel goes for me hard! I love Hillel! I actually just did a version of “Drug Dealer Girl” with a A Capella group at Duke. It was really really dope.
TGLR: That something that definitely the A Capella at the University of Michigan will be willing to do with you. Out of all the mixtapes in 2009, which were the best, just to name a few?
Mike Posner: The best mixtape of 2009 for me was Drake’s. I’m a total believer in the Drake movement. He’s worth all the hype. Mine…and Sean’s…probably my favorites. That’s really all I listen to.
TGLR: What do Mike Posner fans have to expect in the near future? We know you have the mixtape coming out soon.
Mike Posner: We have the video for “Drug Dealer Girl” coming out soon. I also have a filmographer following everything I do. We’re gonna be putting out webisodes every two weeks. The series is gonna be called “One Foot Out the Door” because I’m in college but I’m also doing my thing. So people will be able to live this experience with me. Being a senior in college with a record deal is a cool experience for me and I want other people to go on the journey with me. We’ve shot some amazing footage and they’re cutting it up and putting together the first couple right now. You can expect that and you can expect the mixtape which is gonna be stellar. The mixtape is gonna be better than the last mixtape and the album is gonna be out of this world.
TGLR: I’m expecting greatness.
Mike Posner: I shall deliver.
TGLR: Where can we find your webisodes in the future?
Mike Posner: My website will come up soon and they’ll either be on youtube or vimeo.
TGLR: We’ll have to check that out and let our fans of Mike Posner know where they can find you because webisodes have been a huge hit with a lot of people coming out of high school and college. I’ve seen a lot of good ones in the past.
Mike Posner: Mine’s going to be the best.
TGLR: Who is on your list of people to watch out for In 2009 and 2010? Either they have mixtape coming out or they just started producing music or people you have been in touch with that you really think can blow up soon.
Mike Posner: I think Drake. It’s not a secret at all. I think he’s really gonna deliver on the hype man. He’s really really good. There’s no way around it. It’s not like the hype’s about nothing. I tend to get asked a lot of hip-hop questions. Recently I’ve been listening to this group “Miike Snow.” It’s “Miike” with two “i’s”; “The Flaming Lips.” I’ve just got back onto Michael Jackson a lot. I feel bad answering who’s the next big rapper. I really don’t listen to that much rap, except for like the really good people.
TGLR: Are any people that you’re working with that have sent you their tracks that really surprised you with their talent?
Mike Posner: XV is really dope, HeyChamp, Bagraiders. I lot of people I listen to are just off hype machine. I really don’t know who they are or where they’re from. Oh dude, Raw Talent! There are these producers from Detroit named Raw Talent that are super super dope that I’m gonna be working with.
TGLR: Can you tell us how you and Big Sean began making music together?
Mike Posner: Sean and I began making music together the summer after I graduated high school. I was interning at Hot 102.7 and Sean used to go on the air and rap on 102.7. Sean’s best friend Pat Piff was also an intern with me so I was giving beats to Pat; and Pat told Sean that I had the beats; He told me Sean had the rhymes. We met in a parking lot outside the station. First, the radio station had given us these free tickets to a movie. A whole bunch of us went to see this movie and when I first met Sean, he had the most beautiful girl with him ever waiting in line to see the movie. After he came over to the house and I just played him a bunch of beats and he was really lovin’ em. He asked if he could get one…and I gave him one. And the rest is history. So on this song called, “Live and Let Die” was the first song we did together. I was working as a producer for about 2,3 years after that at which point I got tired of always having to push my creativity through an artist. I would be writing songs and hooks and try to sell them to people. But, no one could pull off my lyrics, I grew to learn. I was writing stuff that was in a different lane than anybody out there. So the only thing I could do was grow into the artist that could sing these lyrics and that’s what I did. I asked Sean to get on “Cooler Than Me” the summer before this one and he did his part in my mom’s basement and I did the rest of the song at Duke. The rest was history.
TGLR: What are your plans for after college? You’re majoring in business and sociology. Do you plan on continuing making music, or going to grad school?
Mike Posner: After college, you can expect my music career to be through the roof. I don’t plan on stopping for a while. You will not find me in a grad school class. I think I’m the first person to get a record deal and then go back and finish.
TGLR: That’s very inspirational for a lot of people who are in college now producing music and attending classes. I met some people here who love your music and they love people that are coming up. It really inspires them to create greatness.
Mike Posner: Aw man that means so much to me. I signed my deal in July and I was getting kind of bombastic at first. I had just got this big check. Why am I going back to school? The point of going to school is to get a job. I already have my job. What am I doing? My mom was not having it at all. That’s exactly what we do. I wanted to be an example that you could do both and succeed at both. I have a 3.6 (GPA) now and my career is doing better than it has ever done before.
TGLR: That’s phenomenal. Thank you again for taking the time to do the interview with us. We’re really looking forward to hearing more of your music in the future.
Mike Posner: Thanks so much. It means a lot. I really appreciate the love you guys are showing me from the beginning and I’ve really taken notice.
Be Sure To Check Back Here For More Updates On Mike Posner’s Upcoming Mixtape, Album, and Webisodes
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POSNER! You’re supa dupa cool. I can’t wait for your new music!
mike posner. you are adorably sexy. cant wait till your album come out!
@basketballman: haha I second that!
Making music and still attending classes…now THERE’S a unique concept!
A Rebel… LOL!