Micheal David Larsen (November 9, 1981 – October 16, 2010), better known by his stage name Eyedea, was an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

. He was a freestyle battle champion and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

from

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. Larsen had appeared as a solo artist under the pseudonym Oliver Hart, and as the MC half of the duo

Eyedea & Abilities Eyedea & Abilities (often abbreviated as E&A) was an American hip hop duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Eyedea and DJ Abilities. The duo was founded in 1999 and became a prominent figure of the underground hip hop scene, be ...

(along with longtime friend and collaborator

DJ Abilities Gregory Joseph Keltgen, better known by his stage name DJ Abilities, is an American underground hip hop producer and DJ signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment who is based in Minneapolis. He is a founding member of Eyedea & Abilities alongside Eyed ...

). He was first signed to

Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced ...

's independent hip-hop label

Rhymesayers Entertainment Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent hip-hop record label based in Minneapolis. History Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley (Slug), Anthony Davis (Ant), Musab Saad ( Sab th ...

before founding his own record label, Crushkill Recordings.

Career

Eyedea first stepped into the hip-hop scene battling against other emcees at notable freestyle competitions. Notable wins included a victory at

Scribble Jam Scribble Jam was an annual hip hop music festival hosted in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dubbed "America's largest hip hop festival", sort of like Woodstock. It was co-founded in 1996 by "Fat" Nick Accurso, and Jason Brunson, founders of graffiti magazine '' ...

(1999) and the televised

Blaze Battle Micheal David Larsen (November 9, 1981 – October 16, 2010), better known by his stage name Eyedea, was an American rapper. He was a freestyle battle champion and songwriter from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Larsen had appeared as a solo artist ...

Early life

Eyedea grew up near

, with his mother Kathy Averill, who gave birth to him when she was seventeen years old. He is of Irish and Lebanese descent. He attended Highland Park Senior High School. Eyedea became known as a battle MC, touring the circuit between 1997 and 2001. During this time, he won top prizes at Scribble Jam '99, the Rock Steady Anniversary 2000, and Blaze Battle New York 2000. These battles included him beating notable artists such as

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...

, P.E.A.C.E and PackFM. In 1999, he made his first national appearance on the

Anticon Anticon (often styled as anticon.) was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manag ...

compilation, '' Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop''. He also toured extensively as second MC and support DJ for

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

. In 2001, he released ''

'' with his partner

(collectively, they were initially called the Sixth Sense, but later changed the name to

). In 2002, under his pen name "Oliver Hart", he released the self-produced '' The Many Faces of Oliver Hart, or: How Eye One the Write Too Think''. In 2004, he reunited with Abilities to release the self-titled album '' E&A''. All of Eyedea's releases have been on the Rhymesayers record label, with the exception of the Carbon Carousel EP, which was released on his own

Independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties aff ...

label, Crushkill Recordings. In addition to touring independently and with Rhymesayers labelmates and members of

Face Candy Face Candy was an American improvisational jazz rap group by led rapper Eyedea in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The group released one album, ''This Is Where We Were'', in 2006. The initial lineup on the album consisted of Eyedea, Kristoff Krane, J.T. ...

, Eyedea & Abilities participated in the

Def Jux Definitive Jux was a record label based in New York City. It was co-founded in 1999 by El-P and Amaechi Uzoigwe. History Definitive Jux was initially known as Def Jux. However, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name ...

-sponsored "Who Killed the Robots?" tour, titled by Eyedea.

Music career

He was signed to

and collaborated with

of the

underground hip hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

group

as well as

Sage Francis Paul William "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is an American independent underground rapper from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of Strange Famous Records. Early life and education Francis was born in Miami, Florid ...

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerg ...

, and

Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

. He was also a member of the hip hop collective and super group "The Orphanage" along with Slug,

, &

Illogic Jawhar Glass (born January 18, 1980), better known by his stage name Illogic, is an American indie hip hop artist from Columbus, Ohio.Mills, BradIllogic Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-06-05 He has collaborated with many artists—particular ...

. Although never releasing a full CD to the public, songs were recorded and released. After Eyedea released ''This Is Where We Were'', recorded with his live

freestyle rap Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...

/jazz group

, he created Carbon Carousel, an alternative rock band. They have released one EP, entitled ''The Some of All Things, or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking''. This brought on speculation that Eyedea & Abilities were no longer together. However, in August 2007, the duo announced on their Myspace that they would be at the Twin Cities Celebration of Hip-Hop performing old songs and new material. In December 2007, Eyedea & Abilities embarked upon their Appetite for Distraction Tour with Crushkill labelmate

Kristoff Krane About Kristoff Krane is a rapper from Minneapolis, MN known for his stream-of-consciousness approach to writing, freestyling, and performing. In addition to his solo releases, Krane was also frontman alongside Eyedea (of Eyedea & Abilities) ...

and Minnesotan duo Sector7G. In 2007, Eyedea created a book of poetry and art with painter Louis N. LaPierre, who is also responsible for Face Candy's 'This Is Where We Were' album art. The book was titled ''Once A Queen... Always A Creep''. Only 80 copies were made. The summer of 2009 saw Eyedea & Abilities joining the touring hip hop festival

Rock the Bells Rock the Bells is an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert features a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a mo ...

for a limited number of dates, performing alongside such acts as

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, best known for their song " Ante Up." The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. The group is part of the Gang Starr Fou ...

and the Knux. E&A also performed at the first Rock the Bells concert in 2004, infamous for being

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...

's last performance with the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

. In 2011, an EP of 4 of Eyedea's freestyles, previously released in 2010 but only sold at live shows, were made available for 'pay what you want' download. Guitar Party a group consisting of vocalist (and first grader) Mijah Ylvisaker, drummer J.T. Bates (Face Candy, Carbon Carousel, The Pines) and guitarists Jeremy Ylvisaker (Carbon Carousel, Alpha Consumer, Andrew Bird, The Cloak Ox), Jake Hanson (Halloween, Alaska), Andrew Broder (

Fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

, The Cloak Ox) and Micheal Larsen (Eyedea & Abilities, Carbon Carousel, Face Candy) released a recording of the only live show they had managed to play before Eyedea's death called 'Birthday feel Triangular . The second

album was released on May 24, 2011, on Rhymesayers. This album was recorded in two days at the Winterland studios and one night in front of an audience at St. Paul's Black Dog Cafe.

Style and influences

Eyedea is widely known and praised for his battle rap skills. ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' listed his 1999

battle with P.E.A.C.E from

Freestyle Fellowship Freestyle Fellowship is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. It consists of Aceyalone, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Self Jupiter. The group was a prominent part of the Good Life Cafe collective, and are part of the Project Blo ...

as one of the greatest rap battles of all time. Despite the aggressive nature of MC battling, his music is often described as thoughtful and philosophical, yet it still provides a live aesthetic.

Death

Eyedea died in his sleep on October 16, 2010, in his Saint Paul apartment. He was found dead by his mother, according to a friend. Cause of death was released November 18, 2010, and ruled an accident, from respiratory depression, caused by opiate derivatives, according to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. The specific drugs found in Larsen's system have not been revealed to the public. Various hip-hop artists went on their Twitter accounts to pay their tribute to him, such as

, Mac Lethal,

El-P Jaime Stuart Meline (born March 2, 1975), better known by the stage name El-P (shortened from his previous stage name El Producto), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Starting his career as a member of Company Flow, he has ...

and P.O.S, among others.

Legacy

Eyedea & Abilities has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

nightclub First Avenue, recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue. Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh. On December 25, 2013, it was announced on Eyedea & Abilities' Facebook page that a star was registered under the name Eyedea to commemorate Larsen on the web site Online Star Register. Fellow hip-hop artist and friend

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, Fr ...

paid homage to Eyedea on his track "I Miss Mikey" on his album ''

Have a Nice Life Have a Nice Life is an American rock band founded in Middletown, Connecticut in 2000 by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga. The duo is best known for their 2008 debut album '' Deathconsciousness'', which received little attention from professional ...

''. Also, the song "Flicker" from the album Southsiders by

where

describes different sides of Eyedea and their relationship can be called a eulogy. In 2013,

The Uncluded The Uncluded was an American indie folk rap group, formed by rapper Aesop Rock and singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson. In 2013, they released an album titled ''Hokey Fright'', through Rhymesayers Entertainment. The band name is a reference to the M ...

, a collaboration between

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in t ...

singer

Kimya Dawson Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song " Anyone ...

and hip hop artist

paid tribute to Eyedea in the song "Bats" from their album Hokey Fright. Additionally, the songs "Micheal" from the album '' Flowers for My Father'' by

Sadistik Cody Foster, better known by his stage name Sadistik, is an American alternative hip hop artist from Seattle, Washington. He is not currently signed to a label. Musical career In 2008, he released his debut album ''The Balancing Act'' independ ...

, "Toast to the Dead" from the album '' The Martyr'' by

, and "Great Eyedeas Never Die", from the album ''King No Crown'' by

, are also tributes to Eyedea.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' The Many Faces of Oliver Hart, or: How Eye One the Write Too Think'' (2002) (as Oliver Hart) * ''The Many Faces of Mikey'' (2015) (posthumous release) * ''The Orphanage'' (march 21st, 2021) (fan-made release) * ''Thirty Nine Lines'' (December 12, 2020)

EPs

* '' The Whereabouts of Hidden Bridges'' (2000) (with Advisor, Crescent Moon, and DJ Anatomy of the

Oddjobs Oddjobs was an alternative hip hop group from Minnesota formed in 1995. The band released three studio albums and several EPs including 2003's critically praised ''Drums;'' it broke up in 2004 and the members re-formed as Kill the Vultures and P ...

) * ''The Sum of All Things, or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking'' (2006) (with Carbon Carousel) * ''Duluth Is the Truth'' (2009) * ''When in Rome, Kill the King'' (2010) (as Micheal Larsen) * ''Freestyles'' (2010)

Mixtapes

* ''E&A Road Mix'' (2003) (Eyedea & Abilities)

Live albums

* ''Birthday (I Feel Triangular)'' (2011) (with Guitar Party) * ''This Is Where We Were'' (2006) (Kristoff Krane, Carnage, Matza, Casey O'Brien- bass, JT Bates- drums) Face Candy *''Waste Age Teenland'' (2011) (Kristoff Krane, Carnage, Matza, Casey O'Brien- bass, JT Bates- drums)

Singles

* "Pushing Buttons" 12" (2000) (Eyedea & Abilities) * "Blindly Firing" 12" (2001) (Eyedea & Abilities) * "Now / E&A Day" 12" (2004) (Eyedea & Abilities) * "Carbon Carousel Single Series #1" (2007) (Carbon Carousel) * "Nervous" (2007) (Carbon Carousel)

Collaboration albums

* ''

'' (2001) (as Eyedea & Abilities) * '' E&A'' (2004) (as Eyedea & Abilities) * '' By the Throat'' (2009) (as Eyedea & Abilities) * ''Grand's Sixth Sense'' (2011) (with

, as Sixth Sense ecorded in the 1990s, posthumous release * Sector 7g- scrap metal (December 1, 2007) (with DJ Pseudonym, Ecid, Kristoff crane, Eyedea and David mars) Produced by Ecid * self-titled- Saturday Morning Soundtrack, Eyedea (November 15, 2006) Produced by Ecid

Guest appearances

* "Best Kind" by Slug of Atmosphere (1997) * "Native Ones Live @ The Entry" by Atmosphere on ''Headshot: Vol. 6: Industrial Warfare'' (1998) * "Monster Inside" by Anomaly on ''Howle's Book'' (1998) * "Savior?" by Sole,

and Eyedea on '' Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop'' (1999) * "Embarrassed" by

on '' Sick of Waging War'' (2001) * "Even Shadows Have Shadows" on rap sampler ''We Came From Beyond'' (2001) * "Gotta Love Em" by

& Eyedea on DJ Murge ''Search and Rescue'' (2002) * "The Stick Up" by Atmosphere on " Headshots Se7en" (2002) * "More From June" by

Deep Puddle Dynamics Deep Puddle Dynamics was a collaborative group featuring underground hip hop artists Sole, Doseone, Alias and Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. T ...

on "We Aint Fessin" (2002) * "We Aint Fessin (Double Quotes)" By Deep Puddle Dynamics on "We Aint Fessin" (2002) * "Miss By A Mile" by

, Eyedea &

on ''We Came From Beyond, Vol. 2'' (2003) * "Play Dead Til They Kill You" By Saturday Morning Soundtrack on ''Saturday Morning Soundtrack'' (2005) * "Quality Programming" by Booka B on ''Basementality'' (2005) * "L-Asorbic Acid" by The Crest & Eyedea + Carnage on "Skeptic" (2005) * "Everything's Perfect" by

Awol One Anthony Charles Martin, better known by his stage name Awol One, is an songwriter, alternative hip hop artist and graphic designer based in Los Angeles, California. Discography Albums Awol One * ''Souldoubt'' (2001) (with Daddy Kev) * ''Number ...

on "War of Art" (2006) * "Frisbee" by

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

(2006) * "Dopamine" by Playaz Longue Crew on ''Hype Hop'' (2007) * "Thanks But No Thanks" by Sector 7G on "Scrap Metal" (2007) * "Head Tripping" by

on "This Will Work For Now" (2008) * "Is It Right" by Kristoff Krane on "This Will Work For Now" (2008) * "Dream" by No Bird Sing on "No Bird Sing" (2009) * "Best Friends" by Kristoff Krane on ''Picking Flowers Next To Roadkill'' (2010) * "Dead Wallets" by Feat. ECID on "Movement 4:6" (2010) * "Rockstars Don't Apologize" by ECID Feat. Awol One, and Kristoff Krane on "Werewolf Hologram" (2012) * "Purest Disgust" by Debaser on ''Peerless'' * "Cataract Vision" by Eyenine on ''Afraid to Dream'' * "Perfect Medicine" by Serebe * "Savior Self" by

Feat.

CasOne Casone is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Pitigliano, province of Grosseto, in the tuff area of southern Maremma. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 130.Sadistik Cody Foster, better known by his stage name Sadistik, is an American alternative hip hop artist from Seattle, Washington. He is not currently signed to a label. Musical career In 2008, he released his debut album ''The Balancing Act'' independ ...

on ''

Ultraviolet Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...

'' (2014) * "Burn Baby" by COOLETHAN on ''You Can Never Go Back'' (2024)

Other media

* In 2016, Brandon Crowson released a documentary based on Micheal Larsen's life called ''The World Has No Eyedea''. * In 2025, Parker Pubs (in collaboration with Eyedea's mother Kathy Averill) released a book called ''The Many Facets of Eyedea: Selected Writings & Oral History''. * Eyedea was featured in the storyline of the main character in ''Nobody's Hero'', an independent novel by Melanie Harvey, p. 164 (2010)

Rap battles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyedea 1981 births 2010 deaths Musicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota Rhymesayers Entertainment artists Midwest hip-hop musicians American people of Lebanese descent Drug-related deaths in Minnesota Underground rappers 20th-century American male rappers Rappers from Saint Paul, Minnesota Face Candy members 21st-century American male rappers