MICAH FREEMAN // walk the line.. — ARTIST TO LOOK OUT FOR

"I BRING FORMLESSNESS INTO FORM AND TIMELESSNESS INTO THE PRESENT" - Micah Freeman

Get familiar with our next featured artist: Micah Freeman, an Atlanta based vocalist, rapper, producer, and songwriter.

Micah has been in the music industry for a while now, collaborating with artists like Father, Rejjie Snow and Nappy Roots, and providing show support for Tyler, The Creator, Miguel, Big Krit, ILOVEMAKONNEN, Mereba, and many more. Formerly a part of AWFUL Records & WERC CREW, Micah recently launched his own, independent label, EVERPRESENT RECORDS, and just released a 7-track EP: ‘I WASN’T BORN YESTERDAY’, produced by multimedia visual artist and Grammy award-winning producer, REO.

The EP is a funky, bold, whimsical, and introspective collection of songs that really speak to one’s multidimensional nature. The soulful singer expresses comfort in discomfort, highlighting the grey area of humanity– the beauty, the chaos, and everything else in between. His latest single off the project, ‘Walk The Line’, explores “multiplicity, intersectionality, and the struggle to find balance between opposite roles in the world, but mostly within oneself.”

Photograph by Donte Maurice; Designed by Micah Freeman

When asked what inspired the title, he said, “I wasn't born yesterday means you can't bullshit me – you can't get one over on me. It’s about how I have been doing this for a while now, you know, I'm older, I'm wiser.... I’m just wise to the bullshit.”

As an independent, self-managed artist, Micah has worn many hats and has learned many lessons along the way, the most important of which has been betting on himself. Fear can either cripple you or motivate you to demand more. Our artist is choosing the latter. “Shit isn't gonna be perfect, you're gonna get it wrong sometimes, and you know, you just gotta fail upward.”

Read more below.

What inspires you to create music?

It varies. Mostly, life experiences. The bullshit I have to deal with day to day; traumatic, emotional experiences throughout my life, or funny moments, inside jokes. Sometimes, I’ll be reading a book, or listening to an album, sometimes I'll be riding in the car or even on the toilet – you never know when inspiration is gonna strike.

Congrats on your latest EP, ‘I Wasn’t Born Yesterday’! What’s the story behind the title?

I wasn't born yesterday means you can't bullshit me – you can't get one over on me. It’s about how I have been doing this for a while now, you know, I'm older, I'm wiser. I think also it’s partly the things that I've had the privilege of seeing happen. Like I've seen a lot of people close to me blow up and go through their own experiences in the industry and in life, their families and relationships, drugs and partying. I’m just wise to the bullshit.

How does this project mirror you as a person, as an artist?

I’m multidimensional. I think, especially with ‘Walk The Line’, the subject matter is about my ability to navigate different worlds that kind of oppose each other at times. It’s possible for there to be conflicting sides within one person; there are different sides to me. I feel like that theme is in the music lyrically, but I also feel like it’s in the music in general. As far as genre, styles of instrumentation, or even genre blending, I feel like that’s the direction that I’ve always been moving in. It’s ok to not box yourself into being one thing.

What do you like best about working with or collaborating with other artists?

Watching their process. It’s so easy for me to get stuck in the same process, the same momentum, and like, sometimes it's dope to just see how someone else starts, or like how they keep it interesting, how they move from the beginning of a song to completing it. Being a part of their process can totally change the way that I start things or how I shake up my own process. I produce too, so producing your own songs is one thing, but it’s like I approach my own production a certain way, but I might approach someone else’s production a completely different way and it might bring out a whole other side of me that I would not have been able to access on my own.

As an independent artist, what conversations do you wish were happening in the music industry?

Honestly, I feel like a lot of the conversations that I wish were happening are happening, which is really interesting to me. One of the things that I'm really grateful for is just the demystifying of all of this bullshit surrounding how your favorite artist, who you think is independent, probably secretly signed a record deal and has an endless budget. It’s their label that makes it look like they popped off organically and really, you know – it probably is good music, but there’s money behind it. Money talks, and I feel like there's more people talking about that right now. The other thing that I'm really glad is happening is how independent artists can use technology to their disposal. We have some pretty dope tools to learn who our fans are and really dial in on our digital marketing, our engagement. It helps empower independent artists to implement more mom and pop style business practices, where you know your customers and you know your supporters and you can actually have a relationship with them instead of the label or whoever handles that for you.

How has your outlook changed since starting your music career?

I’m realizing that I am capable of a lot more than I thought I was. I’ve always been in the spirit of DIY, but the amount of shit I have learned how to do myself over the years: I've drawn up video treatments, I’ve co-directed videos, I've been a session engineer, I've learned to produce, I've learned to write for other people, done my own PR digital marketing, I manage myself, booked my own shows, designed all of my album/single covers. Of course, I’ve had the help of my friends and my network and stuff, which I'm grateful for, but I’ve learned that I don’t need to depend on or wait around for people to believe in me. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to bet on myself, and really dig in and use my skills to the utmost capacity.

You’re in a vulnerable profession to say the least - can you speak on the role fear plays in your life?

I think my biggest fear has always been ‘it being too late’, or me being old and being like ‘shit man I really should have tried harder’, or like ‘I should have really believed in myself more’. It’s not even about accomplishment, it's more about ‘did I really give it all I had’. So I feel like that motivates me to go hard because I don't want to ever be in that situation. Also, I definitely am afraid of making the wrong choices sometimes and I overthink things and instead of doing something I will just ponder about what the right decision is. But, that's the thing that I constantly have to work on and outgrow. Shit isn't gonna be perfect, you're gonna get it wrong sometimes, and you know, you just gotta fail upward.

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Interview by Rahel Tekle