 Hailing from a unique cultural background consisting of American and Panamanian descent, Mike Roach (born Michael Lynn Roach) was born on March 12, 1990 in the small city of Burlington, NC. Since the young age of six, Mike Roach has lived in a single-parent household, thus allowing his upbringing to favor his mother’s Panamanian heritage.

            At a young age Mike developed an appreciation for the hip hop culture and music; listening to and following popular artists including Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, T.I., Juelz Santana and others. After graduating high school in 2008, Mike spent two semesters at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, NC before deciding that school wasn’t a good fit for him at that point in his life. Shortly after leaving school behind in 2009, Mike would move to Panama, Central America to find a new beginning. While there he started a music career, recording Dancehall and Reggaeton music with LA Records, Blok3 and Anakhin as “Mikey Mikess”. In 2011, Mikey Mikess released his first single, “Su Nombre”, which garnered much attention on local radio stations in Panama City, Panama.

            In late 2011, he returned to Burlington, NC to start and focus on hip hop music under the moniker “Mike Roach”. Mike released his debut mixtape, “Sleep When I Die,” in March of 2012. The collective project featured songs and music videos for “I’m just Say’n” and “Cloud 9”. Mike released his sophomore tape, “Back To America” in November of 2012 which features singles and music videos for “I’m Gone”, “Her Style” and “Porno Music”. The tape features other artists such as “Crime Luciano”, “O-Dot Holiday”, “Guap Dizzle”, and “Von D”.

            In listening to Mikes work you can definitely hear the southern hip hop influence, but even with that, Mike is working to create his own sound by combining his southern influence with his Panamanian influence to produce hip hop that has yet to be heard.  As of currently, Mike continues to strive to make a name for himself in the hip hop game. “Product of The Struggle”, Mike Roach’s third mixtape, is set to release in May of 2013 and will prove to be is strongest tape thus far.

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