The ‘Golden Ora’ of Mikey Vee

A Filipino-Amercan rapper, Mikey Vee, transmuted his “inner demons” into art. He mentioned he was bullied during grade school; however; he found a use for his rhyming and self-expression to be a positive takeaway.

The style of rhyming and clever wordplay all started with poetry in high school. His heavy music influences involved OutKast, Nas, and Most Def. Focusing more on the Bay Area’s innovative artists, he drew inspiration from E-40, P.Lo, and Too Short.

He got his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering at San Francisco State University, and after college, the group “Doyen” formed. The additional members of Doyen, Christian J, and Mr. No Name, pushed his rapping style forward. He explained that doyen is a French origin word for the person with the most range or versatility. He joked that even though they all were Filipino, the group’s name coming from the French language was an exciting contrast. 

If you don’t have range, you haven’t lived. I’ve lived most of my life in fear, and now what I learned is to follow that fear.

Mikey Vee

In the year when the world had to reset, 2020 put him on a different path to rebrand his artistry and go into a solo career. He put the grind to the pavement by taking his music more seriously, producing his beats for his new upcoming album. Even though there isn’t an official release date, he hopes the album is completed by September. 

Before I had a conversation with Mikey Vee, I looked up the music he currently had out. A few caught my eye, but I would have to say his single, “The Artist,” resonated the most. Even with  Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble,” Mikey Vee took on a whole new form of what being an artist meant to him. Even with the switches and the beat-biting lyricism, it created a home for all the inspiration he collected throughout his life.  

The visual aid of “The Artist” was an incursion of Mikey Vee’s mind. He explained that the puppet reference was a tribute to Outkast’s style and his emotional tug-a-war. He felt like some decisions in his life were orchestrated by an external source. The emotional rise of vulnerability in every shot cast a beautiful form of storytelling. He explained that the video set rented by CIDL Creative Spacing was filmed for only $50. He also had to learn the piano segment for filming accuracy. 

After working in the field of Robotics and Engineering, he felt that music was the direction he needed to focus on solely. He formed a new way to market his artistry and build up his community through entrepreneurship. The title of the upcoming business launch is “Golden Oras”; the inspiration for the name came from the meaning of the golden hour.  

No detail is left unturned when it comes to Mikey Vee’s vision. His work ethic is motivational and inspiring. And as Golden Oras is created through networking and community building, other creatives’ individuality is able to shine through just as brightly.