RESPECT. Interview: Mike Stud on Trusting The Process

Mike Stud is an artist with an incredibly intriguing story. The story may be what drew a lot of peoples interest when he first started out but the music is what kept them. Over the course of the last few years, Stud has built up a loyal fan base that has followed him on the road throughout his journey and the following has continued to grow in size, from smaller venues to rooms filled with thousands of people.

Mike started out as an all-american pitcher for Duke with his sights set on going to the MLB, but when his dream was crushed, he turned to rap as an outlet. What started out as fun, started growing into a movement. This year, Mike and his life-long friends turned employees are set to release their original TV series called This is Mike Stud in partnership with Esquire Network which documents their adventures on the road, and trust us, there are a lot of wild ones. Mike is basically living out the real life version of Entourage.

I got the chance to sit down with Mike and discuss everything from the new series, to his life philosophies. Mike gets very introspective in this conversation and he is one of the most self-aware artists that I have ever spoken to. For those of you who have been a fan of Mike, this will give you a better insight into his music making process and who he is as a person; and for those who are unfamiliar, allow this to be a good introduction – this is Mike Stud.

RESPECT.: Hey Mike how’s it going?

Hey what’s goin’ on man?

RESPECT.: I just want to say before we start that I’ve been watching the journey since about four or five years ago and I’m really happy for all of your success.

That’s what’s up. I appreciate you bro.

RESPECT.: So before we start, what’s your everyday life like?

Right now it’s a lot of press. We’re running around promoting the show. We got this TV thing coming. It’s coming out in like a week which is wild. We’re doing a lot of that. I’m back in Los Angeles. My day to day changes a lot by time just depending on the circumstances. I’m in LA now and my day to day has been heavy more so in the press world, just cause we’re getting closer. We’re basically doing sessions at night here back in Los Angeles, starting to work on new music. I’m indie still so I’m constantly working on new music. Not necessarily projects but at the same time, if I make something that’s project worthy, we kind of put it to the side. It’s just something like we’re just constantly working and cooking up and working on records whenever I can. I really only work in Los Angeles, because this is my home studio base, and my engineer and producer is here so it’s a lot easier to stay here and work when I can, so I’m doing that. And we’re getting ready to head out on the road for another two weeks. We just did a long, 45 city tour, which is partly what the show is filmed on. We did that about two months ago. Now we’re just doing a follow up two week tour starting next week. Yeah man, we keep the ball rolling whenever we can. My life’s gotten a bit different just this past year just from filming and you know, about to enter this sphere, the TV world. So it’s an interesting time for us. So as far as day to day, my schedule has changed. Things have gotten a bit more sporadic, but things are good man. I can’t complain. This is kind of how we drew it up. Things are starting to pick up, and it’s exciting.

RESPECT.: Is it kind of surreal to think that you’re going to be on TV, or did you always have that in the plan?

I mean, I kind of, in the back of my mind always wanted to, and as much as I love making music I’ve always kind of had a focus on the whole brand itself. And music’s been great but I’ve always tried to build and keep the brand on the rise. You know, I think the brand really helped us get this far in general. When I was in college, and when I did start, I think all of those elements (helped), keeping it completely 100 on the records for the brand’s sake.

As far as being an independent artist, the most important thing is being transparent and being yourself. I feel like people, especially because there are so many artists now and ways to find new artists now, yeah you can have hit songs but do you have fans? Do you have people that actually really support you as a person, and you as an artist and your brand, what you’re standing for and all of those types of things. I think that we did really well. The best part is that we just kept it real and I think the best part is to grow up and grow out of the phase where a lot of people I think kind of stereotyped me one way and kind of thought it would be like a one or two year college thing.

I think most people kind of figured I would die off with the fad that was ‘college music’ or ‘frat rap’ and any of those sub genres that I was kind of was in naturally being who I was. I was just making the music that I wanted to make then, and I still do now, but at that point I was in college and those were the things that I spoke on because that’s really how I was living, my lifestyle. So as much as people might have expected us to die in that genre it’s been fun for me. The TV thing it feels like is all part of this trajectory we’re on as far as just climbing out of that and climbing towards legitimacy. The TV thing, it wasn’t really in the plans but it feels part of it now. I’ve had a lot of caution and a lot of nights where I was pretty worried about this move in general. It was a battle. We shot this pilot like two years ago bro. It was one of those scenarios where like we shot it, people loved it. The networks loved it, my production company loved it, and they were like “hey we could sell this, you could do this now (when I shot the pilot).” I didn’t really like it. I didn’t like the tone of it. I was super skiddish. At that time I was a different dude, I was completely single. The show would have been, as much as it was entertaining, a lot closer to Jersey Shore, crazy girls every night. As much as that was how I was living, it’s not necessarily what I wanted to live on TV. I just feel like it could have been a big hit, but that show would have killed my music career and it would have been less respectable I feel on the whole grand scheme. So we held out. We ended up doing it instead of with MTV or VH1, we did it with Esquire. Esquire, as much as it’s a hip, younger network as well, it’s not MTV type sh*t. It’s really truly not cheesy reality sh*t. It has a docu-esque feel to it. You’ve been following it sounds like, and if you have you’re going to f**k with it. My biggest thing is that, are people who are my fans or who follow my career at all, are they going to f**k with it? Because at the end of the day, as much as it is about getting different types of people and acquiring new fans, it really was important to make something that my friends and my fans will know is real, will know is authentic and will actually like it. And I think we did that. I think Esquire allowed us to make the show we wanna make and that’s why I’m doing promo for it because I really am proud of the whole series. I think the series is really tight, and it’s informative, and I think people are really going to rock with it. So I’m really excited about it.
RESPECT.: Well I checked out the first episode, and at first I was a bit skeptical like you were saying and wondering where you were going to take it but after watching the whole thing, I loved it. I think you did a great job of showing that it’s more than just the music, or an image, it’s a story. Your story, your team, your family, their story. So I think your fans will love it as well.

It does a really good job of being honest. We didn’t produce one thing. I did the deal contingent on that. That we wouldn’t be asked to say one line or do one thing and they were open to it. This really was a collaborative opportunity for us because you know, networks and TV and this industry are about agreeing to one thing and then still making the show that they want to make. So once you take that leap with somebody at a network, there are tons of bad things that could happen and direction could get lost, but they really held us down.

Again, I love the first episode. It is really important because it basically is catching people up if you don’t know who I am. And you’ve gotta catch people up in like half an episode. So as much as it was put in a very small nutshell, I think we did a very good job of telling the broad story and connecting to people. The show is tight man, and it’s not even like you’ve gotta be like ‘oh I love music, I love the music industry.’ You don’t really have to. As much as the first episode you have a lot of you know, music elements, as far as making music and the album coming out and all that type of stuff, the next episode is just about us and what we’re doing and I think people are going to be entertained.

RESPECT.: Definitely. And in terms of what you were saying about being boxed in, I think what’s kept you here is your growth in terms of music and who you are. In an era where the music industry is so convoluted, it’s hard to pick what is going to stay, but I think you and your team have done a really good job of growing with the people and remaining true to yourselves. So overall, what do you want to represent with your brand and with your music?

I appreciate what you’re saying. You know, that’s constantly what I’m trying to do. I’m not naïve to how amateur I was when I started and how as much as I did catch a buzz and was able to start something out of it, I think people get lost in the hoopla sometimes and don’t realize that, especially being independent, you’re making your own decisions and you’re kind of steering the ship. You have to be able to look at yourself and be like, ‘that’s whack.’ You don’t have a whole label choosing what your records are and what you’re doing, and what your direction is, you know? You’re doing it. So you have to be able to look in the mirror objectively and decide when things are dope and when things aren’t, and take things for what they were. And I feel like now, I’m getting closer to closing that gap.

I talk about this thing a lot, if you haven’t heard it you should check it out, or anyone who is going to be reading this. “The Hourglass,“ it’s by Ira Gas, it’s called The Gap. Anyone who is creative or has passions for anything creative, I really encourage you to check it out because it’s kind of how I keep my sanity in terms of like trusting what you’re making and the artist in yourself. And the gap is kind of like, every person starts out creating something. You have to be okay with understanding that the things that you are going to make in the beginning of your career aren’t necessarily what you want to be making, but it’s part of the process to getting to that stage. It’s like a stepping stone. You know, everything you make you might look back.. Like I look back on some of the things I made and I grimace, like ‘ooh I don’t f**k with that anymore.’ But at the same time the theory of the gap is that these are all stepping stones. These moves and accomplishments might not be something you’re going to celebrate now, but really, without making those things, and without making those records that you’ll grimace at, you wouldn’t get to the point where you’re making records that you’ll enjoy. When you’re actually making music that you like and that you’re like, “oh f**k, this is what I wanted to be making.” And I’m finally able to start making it, I’m finally able to start creating it and like making the sound that I’ve been yearning for. It’s all been part of the process for me. That’s kind of what the gap’s concept is and it’s really how I live my life creatively. I try not to second-guess the things that I’m tempted or urged to create. I’ve realized that it’s all part of getting to the place where you feel like you are the artist that you envisioned. And that’s why, I don’t feel like I’m there, but I feel like it’s what has driven me to keep growing. As much as you have to stay completely true to your identity and who you are as an artist, you have to evolve. And I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job of evolving and staying relevant and continuing to hone in on my sound. And I don’t think I have my sound yet where you can really just say, ‘this is me’ but I do feel like I’m getting closer and I’m closing the gap. And that’s kind of what I live my artistic life by. I love creating and I always love feeling like I’m taking steps forward. I don’t know if I answered your question but…

RESPECT.: No I think that’s dope. I always say trust in the process and I think a lot of people overlook what it takes to get where you want to be in terms of all of the mistakes, all of the lessons you learn and in terms of just running with your gut feeling. Because sometimes your gut tells you something at one moment, you might not like it the next moment but maybe your gut lead you there for a reason, and having trust in your instinct is what gets you to the next spot in your life. Are you big in the belief that you are right where you’re supposed to be and believing in the process of things?

Absolutely man. That’s been my whole thing. My whole mantra for this project is ‘these days are the glory days.’ Really, when we talk about what we want my brand to represent, that’s it. You know, my story is kind of on a broader scale about persevering. I think a lot of people related more to my story than to the music, or they related to the lyrics. They might not have loved the way it sounded or thought it was the best rap they’ve ever heard or the best hip-hop they’ve ever heard, but in the beginning I think that people were just drawn to the story. I think a lot of people can relate to that. Things get taken away from people everyday, the common person, people who have passions like sports realize that they’re not good enough to continue on, or they get injured, or all these things. But really it’s not even about sports, it’s about life. The “these days are the glory days” mantra is all about living in the right here and the right now. I spent my time as a baseball player, I was constantly looking forward. Looking ahead to my main goals of being a professional baseball player, getting drafted, all of these childhood goals and dreams that I had and I was finally right in front of them. And I really feel like I let those good times and memories pass me by. I was so focused on what was going to happen and what was supposed to happen next year. And I think that that life lesson, I really took that and ran with it. And I try as much as it might sound preachy, it’s like a constant reminder for myself because I struggle with not looking ahead, I struggle with not enjoying the moment. And the ‘right here, right now’ mantra is exactly what “These Days” is about. It’s about looking around, and as much as there is no time for complacency, there is time for enjoying this moment and enjoying these days. And as much as it doesn’t really feel like work for me, I’m blessed to have a job to create music and do what I’m doing, it’s not really a job at all, but I do urge the kids and people that listen to my music to realize that no matter what’s going on, that it’s all part of the process. I think every person has a place that they’re meant to be, and I feel like no matter if it’s awful or awesome, I feel like everything is happening for a reason. It’s just what you do with it. It’s like life is giving you an opportunity. When things feel terrible and then awful things are happening, it’s a lot easier said than done, but I’m urging kids to fight through that because I had that. I went through days in my life where I was very unhappy because I couldn’t play anymore, and look what that turned into for me. It really did. It turned into a whole other opportunity, a whole other passion, a whole other reason for me to wake up in the morning. So it’s one of those things where it’s really hard to put into words, you have to go through it, but if you really listen and dialled into this last project, that is a lot of what I’m tryin’ to say with my music. I’m trying to express that if you can live in the moment and enjoy, no matter what happens, try to enjoy where you are, then you’re going to be rewarded for that down the line. It might be tomorrow, it might be a year but the positivity and understanding that every day, every event is part of the bigger picture, that’s my message. And I think if you can really kind of dedicate yourself to that, good things happen.

RESPECT.: Definitely, and I think it’s tough because tomorrow is never promised and you kind of found that out. I think there is a difference between complacency and enjoying the moment. Appreciating where you’re at and how far you’ve come to get to the moment that you’re living in right now is so important to practice.

You can appreciate it more internally, I’m talking just reasons to wake up and feel driven. A lot of fans always ask, ‘how did you get here?’ or ‘how did you keep going when things were really rough, how did you push through?’ And I think it’s all mental. Internally you have to understand and trust in the process of life. There are tons of peaks and valleys. I honestly feel like that’s just life. If you’re an A-list celebrity, or the man on the corner, I do feel like, obviously the perspectives are much different, but everyone has peaks and valleys, and it’s really about persevering and understanding that it’s all part of the process. I try to just share that with the people that listen to my music and follow me.

RESPECT.: It must have been tough to come to terms with the baseball ending, so at what point did you come to terms with the end of that dream? And at what point did you think that your rap dream could actually become real?

Yeah, both sides of that question were really like a process. In the beginning I was still a student athlete, even through the first three or four songs. I was still trying to make the comeback and I remember making the songs and putting them out. I was like, ‘alright, this is cool’ but I didn’t think anything was going to come of it in terms of a longevity thing. I thought it was cool at the moment, but I didn’t really think anything. I think both of them happened kind of subsequently and simultaneously.

I think the fact that they happened simultaneously right in front of my eyes, it might have driven me further towards music because it was happening at the same time. I realized that I enjoyed making music and people were starting to listen. My passion for playing the game was fading because really I wasn’t as good. My arm wasn’t working the same. So, it was almost like a perfect way of keeping my mind off it and as much as it might have felt like it was a hobby to start, it really did kind of feel like medicinal almost. You know what I mean? I would just go and make music, and stay up in the room at night and experiment. It didn’t really happen on one day or one time. It just kind of happened as a process.

RESPECT.: Is there a moment then, in your journey where you feel like your whole life has changed? I mean after the fact that you knew you were going to be doing music.

It’s funny man. Like, I think someone like you who has been following me for a while has seen that it’s been pretty steady. I haven’t made any deals, you know? We haven’t made any big moves. The only deal we ever made was for “Closer”. We did a distribution deal because we knew that we were going to try to take a song to radio. Taking that song to radio and it did pretty well.

A lot of the big, ‘my life is changing’ moments are tied to your business decisions in this world. There are obviously certain limitations when you don’t have a record deal, you know? You’re not necessarily going to get the huge feature, or you’re not necessarily going to get to play on Kimmel, or those types of things. Those are all types of things that are part of the gig when you have a deal. So to answer the question, that’s also been a process. We’ve kind of taken it day-by-day and things just keep getting better and cooler and we’re just trying to focus. My decision-making has been based off of, what can we do next? If we’re not going to do a record deal, how do we keep this thing growing and building? Some of it.. a lot of it has just been making better music. Over time, people realize that the music is getting better and cool, and the shows are getting bigger. That’s been the slow eye-opening process. It’s like, “holy sh*t, we’re selling a lot of tickets!” We used to go to these venues and play the B or the C stage and now we’re playing ballroom and the theatre room and those types of things. And that’s been a process.

I think the TV thing really has a chance of feeling like that. Like, ‘oo, damn. This was a big move.’ Really, even that’s been a process, but it does have a feeling of, there are some bigger decisions to make you know, there might be some bigger moves to be made this coming year.

RESPECT.: Do you think that staying independent has put you in a separate lane in terms of hip-hop? Because hip-hop can be inclusive as a genre but can also be somewhat exclusive in certain respects, so does it feel like you have your own lane?

I do. I don’t think it even has to do with being independent, I just think it’s who I am. I get it. A white rapper from Duke named Mike Stud (laughs) isn’t your typical, or you don’t really want to accept that as the hip-hop culture. I think people are very, especially the high end, ‘hip-hop snobs’ are just trying to protect what hip-hop is, and I don’t really give a f*ck to be honest. I think it’s cool and I understand it, but I’ve learned very quickly that it’s not about any of that for me. I know that I’m creating the music that I want to be, no one’s telling me what to make and I know I’m passionate, I know I’m improving. But really, I know we’re onto something. I don’t need a blog to post me to understand that we’re onto something. This isn’t even to throw shade at anyone else in music whatsoever, but as far as creating a following and touring independently, we’re doing a lot better than the people you hear on the radio. Or people that are posted on Complex or Fader or any of those really cool big music blogs.

I’ve never really lived in that world. That’s part of it. I was never a kid growing up that would go to all the music blogs and that would go to all the concerts, you know what I mean? I was a student athlete and I loved music but I just didn’t grow up in this world. So the fact that I’m in it as an artist is awesome, but I don’t really find myself caring or wanting to be on like that. It was really more so, if I knew that real people and fans were f**king with my music, and people were tweeting me saying, ‘hey I liked your sh*t’ or, ‘hey I followed you I liked the music!’ I truly feel like that’s more important. If you have real fans and real supporters you can really go do a lot of things. And I think I’m kind of an example of that. I’m not someone who gets posted by XXL or even someone who is considered ‘hip-hop’ in a lot of ways. I’m really just kind of my own thing. I think a lot of my music is very much hip-hop. It’s good, but I’ll f*ck around and do a country cover and I’ll make songs that I don’t even rap on at all. Somebody like Drake and all these people who are bending the genre are really helping guys like me because I really do like to make all styles. That might be why I haven’t done a record deal. The record labels want to understand what type of music you are, what type of artist you are, how to market you and how to make money. For me, right now I’ve been doing more urban stuff but we’re working on stuff that’s a little more progressive as well. I’m really interested in pushing the genre and trying to make different vibes and different sounds. I think my fans individually, I know they appreciate the variety and the pretty obvious effort to be me in the sense of, yeah some things may sound like Drake or some things may sound urban or what the fad that’s going on musically in hip-hop, but I really do try to make records with a variety of different sounds. Even with the Sunday Stud Day things, I came up on doing these remixes but I would kinda choose weird songs that a lot of hip-hop artists would never choose. Like Ed Sheeran, or a One Direction song and then sing the chorus. I tried to do these things where I would open at least my followers minds up to like ‘hey, I’m just going to make a bunch of different genre-type music and at the very least you know it’s coming from me. You know it’s me. But I really am going to try to do a bunch of different things.’ And that might be a reason why hip-hop might have a problem completely embracing it, because some of it might sound ‘too pop’ or whatever, but at the end of the day it really is me. And I’m just here making the music that I wanna make. People seem to really like it so I’m just running with that. I’m not worried about what it’s considered or who is going to like it, because people like it. And if they do then we can just keep going. Keep rockin’ n rollin’ you know what I mean?

RESPECT.: Yeah, well I liked what you were saying because people try to box things in in order to understand them. In terms of what you’re doing, you’re making the music you like to make and people obviously like it, but I think the most important thing is the impact you’re making. And it’s clear that you’re making one. There’s the girl’s life who you with your music, so I think that’s really all that matters.

Yeah, I appreciate you man. I really have had some awesome experiences with music meeting people. The way we tour we are right out there with people a lot, so you get to meet a lot of people and talk to them face-to-face and when you realize that you’re impacting kids you’ve never met before, it really kind of certifies what you’re doing. There’s times where I’ve thought, ‘should I focus more on one part of the genre more, or should I do a record deal and should we try to make this bigger?’ and making these decisions. But it really is awesome. When you’re actually writing songs by yourself about sh*t that you went through and it’s impacting the kid that lives in f**king Iowa that you’ve never met before. Once I started to see that face-to-face, it was very clear for me that we’re on the right path and really that I’m doing the right thing. That’s kind of how I base my decisions; based off feeling like if I’m in the right place and doing the right things, and I feel like I am. I feel like I have been. And I feel like we’re right where we’re supposed to be and I’m enjoying it so I really don’t have any regrets up to this point. This has been a good ride man. And I feel like we’re still in the beginning of it, but I really do feel like it’s been a good journey and we’re in the right place. I have no complaints

RESPECT.: Exactly. And just to end off here, you already talked about trusting in the process and living in the moment, is there any other life philosophy that you like to live by every day?

Yeah I have this, it lives in the same world, but I have this mantra, ‘ya neva know,’ and we all have YNK tattoos. Me and all my homies, and it’s really just an extension of my story. People don’t really understand how much of a long shot this all is for me. Even me personally, I didn’t really foresee all of this coming. And you know, when I was talking about the right here, right now, living in the moment and understanding the good and bad is meant to be. It’s all part of what’s next, but you really don’t know what’s next, ever. It sounds kind of typical for lack of a better word, but really it’s not for us. It’s just like, ‘you really never f*cking know (laughs)!’

RESPECT.: Some crazy sh*t could happen! 

Crazy sh*t could happen! This whole sh*t is crazy. The fact that we have a f**king TV show is crazy. We never thought this was going to happen so it’s really part of my message. Bro, if you have a dream or a vision or anything, just go chase it. Because you really don’t know. You might be exactly what you think you are. This might be exactly what you were looking for. That’s why I try to urge anyone who really f**ks with me, just take my story as a lesson. I try to evolve and keep it in the lyrics so people can understand it, but really that’s it. Just go, go chase it, because really there is no way of telling what’s going to happen. Really the only thing you’ll have if you don’t do it is you’ll have regret. You’ll look back and be like, ‘I wish I did that’ or, ‘I wish I chased that.’ You never know man, so go chase it. Ya neva know… ever.

Follow Mike on Twitter and Instagram @Mike_Stud and look out for the premiere of This is Mike Stud on Esquire Network tonight at 10pm ET and tune back in for reviews of the show.

Check out the trailer for the TV series below:

Suggested Articles: 

Interview: Mike Stud on Life After Baseball, Being Deeper than Frat Rap, and the Macklemore Formula

Video Premiere: Mike Stud – “Fuck That”

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