league, after Proof & Bizarre. It
was called Animal House, where
you saw Big T, Calicoe, and Prince
Lord. It can go further, but in
every city everyone wants to be
the man, so I’m not sure where it
will go from here. We don’t want
anyone to destroy what we worked
so hard to build.
Sean: Aside from yourself, who
helped build that?
Miles: Proof, Bizarre. Marvwon
was one of the first to travel out of
state. Super MC, from Highland
Park — our home. X, of course.
Calicoe is helping bring attention
to Detroit. Michigan as a state: Ill
Will, M Ciddy, Sno — I like him,
he’s dope — JC; everyone as a
collective has played a part in the
success of helping Michigan move
forward.
Sean: What is the current status of
the Midwest movement as a whole?
Miles: It’s come a long way. I
don’t like all the bickering and
fighting. When we started the
Midwest Movement, people took
it wrong. We just wanted to show
our talent, before anyone had
big names; it was great. I think
when egos came into play, things
fell apart. Before people gained
notoriety, it was great. People start
trying to branch off, not realizing
what it does to the team. Wanting
to be the highest paid takes away
from that; the unity is out the
window.
Sean: How do you feel about
Michigan battle rap and hip-hop in
general?
Miles: I love it. I love to see the
new emcees. I love to see that it’s
moving. I like all the different
music. I think it’s going to get
bigger as time goes on.
Sean: What’s the relationship
between Michigan battle rap and
Michigan hip-hop in the industry?
Miles: There’s always a
relationship, but the music
industry has changed. Before,
mainstream artists didn’t mess
with battle rap. They were like
big brothers. Now people are
forced to rock with battle rap.
Before, mainstream artists weren’t
messing with us youngsters in the
underground. Where we came
from, Eminem was a battle emcee
who will always have ties. Of
course, he made a movie about
it. That’s where the culture came
from. Now that record sales are
falling, they want to deal with us.
The underground following is so
large that [mainstream artists]
want to show the public they
support us. Now they need us just
as much as we needed them. It’s
an even playing field.
Sean: Did you feel that you got
the appropriate respect from the
industry when you first came in?
Miles: If they watched battle rap,
it was behind closed doors. When
it first started, I’d travel and get
recognized. People who were on
TV knew who we were, but the
mainstream didn’t acknowledge
us. Business is bad now, so guys
want to host and be judges at
e ٕ