Michael Lafayette Troy (born January 15, 1969), better known by his stage name Myka 9, is a rapper from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship,

Haiku d'Etat Haiku d'Etat is a super group rap trio featuring Aceyalone and Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship and Abstract Rude of Abstract Tribe Unique. All three members are heavily affiliated with Project Blowed, Aceyalone and Abstract Rude being co-founders. ...

and Magic Heart Genies. Known for years as Mikah Nine, he changed the spelling to Myka Nyne with the release of ''A Work in Progress'' in 2003. Since Magic Heart Genies' album ''Heartifact'' in 2008, he has been credited as Myka 9.

History

Originally known as Microphone Mike in the 1980s, Myka 9 was a member of the MC Aces with Aceyalone and Spoon Iodine. He ghost-wrote the Rappinstine song "Scream" on

N.W.A. N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

's debut album '' N.W.A. and the Posse'' in 1987. As a co-founder of Freestyle Fellowship, he was instrumental in the scene at the

Good Life Cafe The Good Life Cafe was a health food market and cafe in Los Angeles, California, known for its open mic nights that helped the 1990s Los Angeles alternative hip hop movement flourish. In 2008, director Ava DuVernay, who had performed at the cafe wit ...

in the early 1990s. Released in 1993, Freestyle Fellowship's second album ''

Innercity Griots ''Innercity Griots'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group Freestyle Fellowship. It was released on April 28, 1993 on 4th & B'way Records and distributed through Island Records. Critical reception Nathan Bush of AllMusic gave the ...

'' is one of the landmarks of Los Angeles hip hop. Their videos for "Inner City Boundaries" and "Hot Potato" brought them to the attention of a wider audience. Myka 9 was also featured on two tracks on ''Project Blowed'' compilation in 1994. In the late 1990s, Myka 9 came together with Aceyalone and

Abstract Rude Aaron Pointer, better known by his stage name Abstract Rude, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is the MC of Abstract Tribe Unique, alongside dancers Zulu Butterfly and Irie Lion King, turntablist DJ Drez and producer Fat Jack. ...

to form

Haiku D'Etat Haiku d'Etat is a super group rap trio featuring Aceyalone and Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship and Abstract Rude of Abstract Tribe Unique. All three members are heavily affiliated with Project Blowed, Aceyalone and Abstract Rude being co-founders. ...

. In 2008, Myka 9 formed Magic Heart Genies with J the Sarge and DJ Drez. Myka 9 has collaborated with The Wailers Band, Prefuse 73, Daddy Kev, Busdriver, Cut Chemist, Talib Kweli, and many others. He has worked extensively with producer and trumpeter Josef Leimberg, who produced the majority of ''It's All Love: American Nightmare'' and ''A Work in Progress''. He has released three albums with Canadian producer

Factor Chandelier Graham Murawsky (born March 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Factor Chandelier (formerly Factor), is a Canadian underground hip hop producer from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He is a founder of Off Beat Production and Side Road Records. Hi ...

Style and legacy

Myka 9 is known for rapid-fire, jazz-influenced, melodic rapping, often incorporating singing and occasionally scatting into his songs. Myka 9 has said of his style: "My rhymes take the direction of a jazz trumpet or sax solo, like

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

or Trane, if I was to rhyme in the same meter as those notes... that’s my concept." Myka 9 has had a large influence on Los Angeles underground hip hop and freestyle rap in general. Discussing the influence of Myka 9's song "7th Seal" on Freestyle Fellowship's first album '' To Whom It May Concern...'' (1991), Ellay Khule said, "'7th Seal' blew everybody's mind for at least 2 years straight. People studied that shit backwards and forwards—even we don't know all those words. That made everybody say like 'I gotta get a tape out' or 'I can't rap like so-and-so no more. I can't be in 80s, now we movin' to the 90s.' That totally transferred our musical thought." Drummer and producer JMD said, "Mike was like the

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

of all these motherfuckers." Pigeon John said, "For me Mikah 9 was like

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

. He was a tall good looking dude, the girls always liked him and this dude just went on stage and there was no effort in him. He was a genius in what he did. He affected and influenced so many people in hip-hop including Mos Def, Talib Kweli, that whole scene. Years before Leaders of the New School, there are stories where Freestyle Fellowship, when they first came out and they went to New York. That whole shouting stuff, they had this ingenious way to do it and they had a backing jazz band before

Digable Planets Digable Planets () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987. The trio is composed of rappers Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving. The group is notable for their contributions to the subgenr ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

ran up to him (Myka 9) afterwards and said 'dude what kind of style is this,' and then lo and behold Leaders of the New School came out. So there's plenty of stories like that, but that's just like a taste of how potent that scene was at the Good Life."

Film

Myka 9 is featured in the documentary '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme'', ''Where We're From: The Elements Documentary'', and the ''Hip Hop Evolution'' Netflix series. He is also featured in the award-winning documentary '' This Is the Life'', chronicling the music movement that was birthed at The

in South Central, Los Angeles. The Good Life Cafe is the open-mic workshop where he first performed with Freestyle Fellowship in the early 1990s.

Publications

In 2022, Myka 9 released a book called ''My Kaleidoscope,'' which features song lyrics, a detailed oral history, and photography by Brian "B+" Cross and more. Myka 9 has also been featured in the books ''How to Rap'' and ''How to Rap 2'' by Paul Edwards, ''The Real Hiphop'' by Marcyliena Morgan, and ''The Yale Anthology of Rap.''

Discography

Studio albums

Solo

*''It's All Love'' (1999) *''Timetable'' (2001) *''A Work in Progress'' (2003) *''Citrus Sessions Vol. 1'' (2006) *''

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

'' (2009) (with

) *''Mykology'' (2011) *'' Sovereign Soul'' (2012) (with Factor Chandelier) *''Gramophone'' (2012) *''Famous Future Time Travel'' (2015) (with Factor Chandelier) *''Teleported'' (2017) (with Freematik) *''A New Suspiria'' (2018) (with Jade River) *''Tonight's Program'' (2019) (with AbnormaL Injustice) *''High Maintenance Jackson'' (2019) (with Slippers) *''In Motion'' (2019) (with Adriatic) *''Teleported 2'' (2020) (with Freematik) *''Nine Clouds'' (2021) (with Profound) *''The Ninth Dimension'' (2021) (with Freematik, as Flavor Wolf) *''FLVRWLF 2'' (2022) (with Freematik, as Flavor Wolf)

Freestyle Fellowship

(Myka 9 with Aceyalone, P.E.A.C.E. &

Self Jupiter Ornette Glenn (born March 16, 1970), better known by his stage name Self Jupiter, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship alongside Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Aceyalone. He is also one half of The ...

) *'' To Whom It May Concern...'' (1991) *''

'' (1993) *'' Temptations'' (2001) *'' The Promise'' (2011)

Haiku d'Etat Haiku d'Etat is a super group rap trio featuring Aceyalone and Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship and Abstract Rude of Abstract Tribe Unique. All three members are heavily affiliated with Project Blowed, Aceyalone and Abstract Rude being co-founders. ...

(Myka 9 with

& Aceyalone) *''

'' (1999) *'' Coup de Theatre'' (2004)

Magic Heart Genies

(Myka 9 with J the Sarge & DJ Drez) *''Heartifact'' (2008) *''Cardiac Arrest'' (2010) *''Pulmonary Artistry'' (2012)

AyeM Ray-Dio

(Myka 9 with Abstract Rude) *''AyeM Ray-Dio'' (2015)

Other releases

EPs

*''The Citrus Sessions'' (2005) *''

Shockadoom ''Shockadoom'' is a 2002 EP by American hip hop group Freestyle Fellowship. Production After releasing ''Innercity Griots'' in 1993, Freestyle Fellowship went on hiatus due to the incarceration of Self Jupiter. In 1998, the group reunited and reco ...

'' (2002) ( Freestyle Fellowship) *''It's All Myka'' (2003) *''Long Ago MMXVI'' (2016) (with AbnormaL Injustice) *''Oeuvre EP'' (2017) *''Prophetic Vision'' (2019) *''Stay Tuned'' (2020) (with AbnormaL Injustice) *''Constellations'' (2020) (with Adriatic) *''People Into Making Progress'' (2020) (with

)

Mixtapes

*''Power Plant'' (2011) (Freestyle Fellowship) *''Discoveries from the Ninth Dimension'' (2020) (with Freematik)

Remix albums

*''To Whom It May Concern... Version 2.0'' (2001) (Freestyle Fellowship with J. Sumbi)

Compilations

*''Haiku de Theatre: The Best of Haiku'' (2017) (

) *''Years (2009-2019)'' (2019) (with Factor Chandelier)

Singles

*''Bullies of the Block'' (1992) ( Freestyle Fellowship) *''Hot Potato'' (1993) (Freestyle Fellowship) *''Los Dangerous'' (1997) (

) *''Can You Find the Level of Difficulty in This?'' (1999) (Freestyle Fellowship) *''Sex in the City'' (2001) (Freestyle Fellowship) *''Temptations'' (2002) (Freestyle Fellowship) *''Mike, Aaron & Eddie'' (2004) (Haiku d'Etat) *''Triumvirate'' (2005) (Haiku d'Etat) *''Citrus District'' (2006) *''Where Would You Be'' (2008) *''On This Earth'' (2010) (Freestyle Fellowship) *''Get Mystical'' (2010) (Magic Heart Genies) *''Momz'' (2012) (Magic Heart Genies) *''Delusions of Grandeur'' (2012) *''Playing Our Song'' (2012) (Freestyle Fellowship) *''Move Beat'' (2012) (Magic Heart Genies) *''PTSD'' (2012) *''Gramophone (Kenny's Cookin' Remix)'' (2013) *''War with Yourself'' (2014) (with

) *''Farewell Welfare'' (2017) (with Otherwize & DJ JahBluez) *''Creeper'' (2017) (with Factor Chandelier) *''Good Lookin' Lady'' (2018) (with Jade River) *''The Sacred Well'' (2018) (with Factor Chandelier) *''Battle'' (2019) (with DJ JahBluez) *''Survive'' (2019) (with DJ JahBluez) *''Sea to Sea'' (2019) (with LaPrada &

Moka Only Daniel Denton (born November 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Moka Only, is a Canadian underground hip hop artist. He has won 3 JUNO Awards, 5 MuchMusic Video Awards, and has been nominated for 11 Western Canadian Music Awards. Origin ...

) *''Life or Death'' (2019) *''Upliftment'' (2020) *''Waves'' (2020) (with Magik Eyes Only) *''Walking with God'' (2020) (with Profound) *''Cloud Nine'' (2021) (with Profound) *''Joy & Pain'' (2021) (with Profound)

Guest appearances

* Aceyalone - "Know Nots" and "B-Boy Kingdom" from ''

All Balls Don't Bounce ''All Balls Don't Bounce'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Aceyalone. It was released in 1995 on Capitol Records. In 2004, it was re-released on Project Blowed and Decon Decon'' is a New York-based creative studio that houses produ ...

'' (1995) * The A-Team - "Slower Traffic to the Right" and "O.G. Crew (Heavyweights Round 3)" from ''Who Framed the A-Team?'' (2000) * Prefuse 73 - "Life Death" from '' Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives'' (2001) * Daddy Kev - "First Things Last" from ''Lost Angels'' (2001) * Busdriver & Radioinactive with Daedelus - "Weather Locklear" from '' The Weather'' (2003) * Josh One - "Afterhours" from ''Grey Skies'' (2003) * Pigeon John - "Originalz" from '' Is Dating Your Sister'' (2003) * Busdriver - "Sphinx's Coonery" from ''

Fear of a Black Tangent ''Fear of a Black Tangent'' is a studio album by American rapper Busdriver. It was originally released on Mush Records in 2005. In Europe, it was released on Big Dada. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out o ...

'' (2005) *

Blue Sky Black Death Blue Sky Black Death (abbreviated BSBD) was a production duo based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It consisted of Ryan Maguire, better known by his stage name Kingston, and Ian Taggart, better known by his stage name Young God, or, later, Televa ...

- "Grimey Styles" from ''

A Heap of Broken Images ''A Heap of Broken Images'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop production duo Blue Sky Black Death. It was released by Mush Records in 2006. The album title comes from the T. S. Eliot poem ''The Waste Land ''The Waste Land'' is a ...

'' (2006) * Mochipet - "Hope Again" from ''Microphonepet'' (2008) * Factor - "Good Old Smokey" from ''Chandelier'' (2008) * BK-One with Benzilla - "MJage" from ''Radio Do Canibal'' (2009) * Busdriver - "Manchuria" from ''

Jhelli Beam ''Jhelli Beam'' is a studio album by American rapper Busdriver. It was released on Anti- in 2009. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an avera ...

'' (2009) * Awol One & Factor - "Stand Up" from ''Owl Hours'' (2009) *

- "Thynk Eye Can (Haiku D'Etat Mix)" from '' Rejuvenation'' (2009) * Lazor Sword - "Cosmic Ride" from ''Lazor Sword'' (2010) * Factor - "That's How I Feel About It" from '' Lawson Graham'' (2010) * Noah23 - "Sea of the Infinite Wave" from '' Fry Cook on Venus'' (2011) *

K-the-I??? Kiki Ceac, better known by his stage name K-the-I???, is an American rapper and producer based in Los Angeles, California and currently signed to Fake Four Inc. History K-the-I??? began recording in 2002. He released several small-issue records ...

- "Social Misfit" from ''Synesthesia'' (2011) * Headnodic - "Viles" from ''Red Line Radio'' (2011) * Acid Reign - "Fantastic 4" from ''Diversity'' (2011) * AmpLive - "Get Served" from ''Murder at the Discotech'' (2011) * Sixo - "Trees" from ''Free Floating Rationales'' (2012) * Abstract Rude - "The Media" from ''Dear Abbey'' (2012) * Substance Abuse - "Paper Tigers" from ''Background Music'' (2012) * AF the Naysayer - "Imagerial Denouement" (2013) * Factor - "Denied" from '' Woke Up Alone'' (2013) * Notorious BEN - "Human Horse Race" from ''Mind of Many Voices'' (2013) * VNDMG - "Daggers at Dawn" from ''Million Minds'' (2014) * Pseudoubt - "One Place" from ''Where Nothing Grows'' (2015) * Milo - "Zen Scientist" from ''So The Flies Don't Come'' (2015) * The Mighty Rhino - “The Shit That Will Fuck You Up” from ''We Will No Longer Retreat Into Darkness'' (2018) * Jesse Dangerously - "Life Jacket" from ''The Rap Hundreds'' (2018) * Timi Hendrix - "Autist" from ''Tim Weitkamp Das Musical'' (2018) * Ronesh - "Float" from ''Olive Branches'' (2019) * Factor Chandelier - "First Storm" from ''First Storm'' (2020) * Factor Chandelier - "Time Invested" and "Village Required" from ''Time Invested II'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Magic Heart Genies
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Myka 9 Alternative hip hop musicians American hip hop record producers Rappers from Los Angeles West Coast hip hop musicians Living people 21st-century American rappers Record producers from California Project Blowed 1969 births