First up can we get a bit of history on how Bee Mick See got to this point, for the people out there not familiar with yourself. Also can you pick one song of yours that best sums that journey up to you?
You’ve a very in your face style of performing and I don’t think I’ve once seen you do the whole gig standing on the stage, where do you think that comes from?
In my first band I played guitar and attempted to sing. I did this for a few years. When I took the guitar off to rap I didn’t know what to do on stage. I felt lost and exposed. I felt like I needed to be doing something else while I was up there to compensate for my lack of guitar.I can be a fairly frantic person. I find it difficult to sit still in most situations. My attention is constantly wandering. I move quite quickly. All these sides to my personality began to become heightened while I was on stage.
There was a band called The Evangelists that used to play around Belfast. They were fucking nuts and hands down my favourite local band growing up. The singer (Eamon) looked like he had ADHD and about 6 litres of Buckfast in him. He didn’t. He was usually fairly sober to the best of my knowledge. But he was a lunatic on stage. I loved it. He always seemed really shy offstage as if playing a gig brought out this completely juxtaposing side to him. Eamon definitely influenced my in your face performance in the beginning. I loved how he involved the crowd in his performances and that’s something I strive to do in mine.
Seeing as you’re American Born and some what Northern Ireland raised, who do you think are your influences from both sides of the pond?
I began with West Coast gangsta rap as a child. I was then heavily engulfed in the Seattle grunge scene as a pre teen. Upon my relocation to Belfast I was introduced to trance music, which I didn’t like. I quickly found local punk bands and other musical forms of social protest to take me through my teenage years. My 3 favourite artists at this very moment are Krispy Kreme, David C Clements and A$AP Rocky.
The new EP is called Birds over Nupes. I’ve no idea what a nupe is. Do explain?
A “nupe” to some in Belfast is slang for a pound. I think it comes from an old colloquial expression for a “new penny”. In Belfast girls are often referred to as “birds”. “Money over Bitches” is an often-used expression in gangsta rap circles. It is an expression that demeans and objectifies women proclaiming that money is more important and of more value than that of a woman. Basically saying that women are worthless.
Birds over Nupes is a reversal of that expression; a term that is intended to show respect for women. Because let’s face it, women are brilliant; they are our ma’s, our girlfriends, our grannies, our sisters, our aunties, our nieces and our friends. To treat them with anything less than respect is a shameful way to live your life.
It’s a collection of songs I recorded with Rocky O’Reilly during the summer. I wanted to make something musically different than my previous material. I let my guard down over the past few years and started to embrace modern pop music. And after a lot of encouragement from others I decided I didn’t need to shout all the time! This EP is like musical Yoga in comparison to my last album – Tales of Self Preservation Gone Wrong.
It seems very much tied in with the videos, which seem to be improving in quality with each one. Do you think the videos have become part of the over all Bee Mick See experience?
while listening to their song can have a major influence on my first impression of a song. I have used my own market research to influence how I promote myself as a rapper.
There’s a new rapper called Krispy Kreme. He released 11 songs last year with a video for each. These 11
songs made up his 1st album. I absolutely love what he does. He’s funny as fuck and incredibly inspiring.
That said, without the videos to support each song I don’t think I’d be into his music half as much as I am now.
The EP launch is next Sat 26th Jan @ Auntie Annies.
We’ll be posting a review of the EP next week.
