Shawn Maurice Mims (born March 22, 1981), known mononymously as Mims (

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

for Music Is My Savior), stylized as MIMS, is an American rapper from New York City. He is best known for his commercial debut single " This Is Why I'm Hot", which peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Following the release of his hit single, Mims' debut album, '' Music Is My Savior'', was released in March 2007.

Biography

Born into a Jamaican-American family in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, Shawn Mims grew up influenced by the rappers from his hometown. Despite the fact that he lost both parents by the time he was 13, Mims focused on music (his mother had given him his first set of DJ equipment shortly before she died) and school to keep himself out of trouble. Though he briefly attended technicals remedial college, Mims decided if he truly wanted to make it as a rapper he needed to focus on what was important to him. After graduating from Westbury High School, he began spending time in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

with

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, ...

as an acquaintance. His debut singles, "L.O.V.E/I Made a Vow" were released in 2000, under the temporary pseudonym Mr. Mims. In 2001, he was featured on a Canadian compilation entitled ''Private Party Collectors Edition Vol. 2'', by

Baby Blue Soundcrew Baby Blue Soundcrew was a Canadian DJ group from Toronto, Ontario, specializing in hip-hop and R&B music. The group was composed of Kid Kut, KLC, C-Boogie, and Singlefoot. They are notable for releasing two commercially successful compilation ...

. His guest appearance on the single "Love 'Em All" alongside Choclair, steadily garnered the rapper some commercial attention in Canada. The music video was nominated for a 2001 MMVA award. Soon after his recognition in Canada, he would gain connections with

Blackout Movement Winston Thomas, better known by his stage name BlackOut or DJ BlackOut, founder & CEO of BlackOut Movement, is an American record producer, engineer and composer. Blackout is signed to Nicki Minaj's recording company Pink Friday Records. Blackou ...

. After, he decided to drop the "Mr." from his name and release 2 additional singles under the independent label Push Play Music: "Big-Man Lil-Man/P.I.M.P." (2002) and "I Did You Wrong" (2003). The latter contained a production credit by from the team aforementioned Blackout Movement, who would also produce the rappers breakout single in 2006, " This Is Why I'm Hot." This would not be enough to finalize a legitimate record deal for the artist. In 2006, he began to record tracks for

Latin hip hop Latin hip hop (also known as Latin rap) is hip hop music that is recorded by artists in the United States of Hispanic and Latino descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, a ...

label Urban Box Office. He decided that it would be in his best interests to structure his own label situation. He would also create

American King Music Shawn Maurice Mims (born March 22, 1981), known mononymously as Mims (backronym for Music Is My Savior), stylized as MIMS, is an American rapper from New York City. He is best known for his commercial debut single "This Is Why I'm Hot", which p ...

alongside a few business partners. While "This Is Why I'm Hot" gradually increased in airplay, the song did well enough on local radio stations, including New York's Power 105.1. It also eventually peaked at atop the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. After a multi-million dollar bidding war, Mims finally signed with the labels EMI and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

; whom released his major studio debut, '' Music Is My Savior'', in 2007. Mims released his second studio effort on April 7, 2009, titled '' Guilt''. In October 2008, "Move (If You Wanna)" became the first official single from Mims' new album, peaking at #63 on the Hot 100 charts. The second single was released on April 7, 2009, entitled "

Love Rollercoaster "Love Rollercoaster" is a song by American funk music, funk/R&B band Ohio Players, originally featured on their 1975 album ''Honey (Ohio Players album), Honey''. It was composed by William Beck, Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, Leroy Bonner, Marshall ...

" featuring

LeToya Luckett LeToya Nicole Luckett (born March 11, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a me ...

. In February 2010, Mims appeared alongside

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

and Redman on a song entitled "How to Be an Emcee 2010". Mims' relationship with his record label deteriorated during the making of ''Guilt'', and so after the album's release, he decided to move into the technology field instead of continuing to produce music. Mims collaborated with businessman Erik Mendelson to create an app called RecordGram, which launched in 2016. In 2017, RecordGram won

TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximat ...

's Startup Battlefield in New York.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

*2007: ''The Future'' *2008: ''More Than Meets the Eye'' *2008: ''Crazy Shotta'' *2011: ''Open Bars'' *2012: ''Fuck Yo Feelings''

Singles

Guest appearances

2001

feat. Choclair and Mims - "Love 'Em All"

2006

* Cassie feat. Mims - "Long Way 2 Go" (The Coalition Network Remix) * Lloyd feat. Lil' Wayne and Mims - "You" (The Coalition Network Remix)

2007

* Bad Seed feat. Mims - "Daddy" * Bang City feat. Atiba and Mims - "Say Cheese" * Black Heff feat. Mims - "Bottle of Patron" * DJ Nasty feat. Mims, Red Cafe,

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

and Currency - "We Really Do This" * Maroon 5 feat. Mims – " Makes Me Wonder" (

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen b ...

Remix) * Enur feat. Natasja Saad and Mims - "

Calabria 2007 "Calabria" is a song by Danish DJ/producer Rune Reilly Kölsch. It was originally released in 2003 by Credence, a sublabel of Parlophone Records. The song has been remixed or released in numerous other versions by different artists, the most suc ...

" (Remix) * El Arma Secreta feat.

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

and Mims - "Por Eso Estoy Pegao" * Leah Kauffman feat. Mims - "I Like a Boy" (Remix) * Liyah feat. Mims - "Fooled" * Page feat. Mims - "Ballin' Is My Hobby" (Remix) * Prince Ty feat. Mims - "Coulda Woulda Shoulda" * The Untouchable DJ Drastic feat. Mims - "Muthafuckaz" * Willie Joe feat. Mims, Blood Raw and B.o.B - "Get 'Em, Got 'Em" (Remix)

2008

* Colin Munroe feat. Izza Kizza & Mims - "What The Young Man Says" * Katy Perry feat. Mims - "

I Kissed a Girl "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single of American singer Katy Perry from her second studio album, '' One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song wi ...

" (Remix) *

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

feat. Mims - " All I See" (Remix) * Ryan Leslie feat. Mims - "Diamond Girl" (Remix) * Mr. Vegas feat. Mims - "Energy Rock" (Remix) * OB feat. Mims - "Ms. Goodcookie"

2009

* Bad Seed feat. Mims and Precious Paris - "Bout My Bread" Produced by YaBoyMartell

2010

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. Career Levy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bl ...

feat.

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, ...

and Mims - "Watch Dem (Murderer)" *

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

feat. Mims - "Cyber Love (Remix)" *

feat. Redman & Mims - "How To Be An Emcee 2010"

2011

* The Grind Kings feat. The Untouchable DJ Drastic and Mims - "The Real in Me" * Mod Sun feat. Mims - "Live Like A Movie"

2012

Timati Timur Ildarovich Yunusov (born August 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Timati (russian: link=no, Ти́мати), is a Russian rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. Biography Early life Timur Ildarovich Yunusov ( ...

feat. Mims and

Mann Mann may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Mann (chess), a variant chess piece which moves as a king * ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Bollywood motion picture * ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine * Mann Theatres, a theatre chain corp ...

- Get Money

Awards history

* 2001:

MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio MMVAs were an annual awards show broadcast on Much to honour the year's best music videos that was last held in 2018. Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Awards, the awards were renamed in 1995 to the MuchMus ...

, Best Rap Video, "Love 'Em All" (Nominated) * 2007:

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

, Monster Single of The Year, "This Is Why I'm Hot" (Nominated) * 2007:

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

, Best New Artist (Nominated) * 2007:

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, a ...

, Rookie of The Year (Nominated) * 2007:

, People's Champ (Nominated) * 2007:

, Best RingTune (Nominated)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mims 1981 births Living people American rappers of Jamaican descent African-American male rappers East Coast hip hop musicians People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Rappers from Manhattan 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people