Mike Ladd (*1970, USA) Mike Ladd sets himself apart from his American rap colleagues with his use of iambic pentameters. What attracts him to rap is the challenge of metre. With a Masters Degree in poetry in his pocket, the Harvard graduate ignores the restrictions of fashion and stereotypes and constantly breaks musically with the expectations of his audience. His lyrics, at first glance cool and easy-sounding, together with an original mix of music, develop an oppressive effect, lending additional emphasis to the social-critical message of his texts. Mike Ladd delivers an idiosyncratic, independent and visionary form of rap as one of the most essential art forms of our time.
In Anthologies:
Swing Low, Black Men Writing, NY 1993
Aloud, Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café, NY 1994
In Defense of Mumia, NY 1996
Bum Rush the Page, NY 1998
Sons of Lovers, IL 2000
Capital Art, CA 2001
Por La Victoire, France 2001
Everything But the Burden, NY 2003
Rip It Up, NY 2004
Velocity, UK 2004
Diskografie:
Easy Listening for Armageddon, Scratchie/ Mercury 1997
Welcome to the Afterfuture, Ozone 1999
Mike Ladd Live from Paris, Home Style Cooking 1999
The Infesticons, Gun Hill Road, Big DaDa 2000
Vernacular Homicide, Ozone 2001
The Majesticons, Beauty Party, Big DaDa 2002
In What Language, Pi 2003
Nostalgialator, K7 2004
Negrophilia (The Album), Thirsty Ear 2004
Father Divine, ROIR 2005
Still Life With Commentator, Savoy 2007