The way Mic Nickels sees it, hip hop used to be a joyful rebellion against the oppression faced by inner city kids. But that feeling has disappeared as the genre has grown older and focused more on gangsta rap, drugs and violence. 

“If you really pay attention to those earlier groups, they just have this mentality where it’s like yeah that exists and we’re going to talk about it but we’re not going to let that push us down, we’re not going to let that suppress us,” he says. “Over the years with gangster rapping and street hip hop, that feeling got lost. A lot of my contemporaries want to resemble that and embody that. They’re scowling and looking mean because they don’t want to show weakness, they want to show they’re tough.”

But expressing yourself genuinely is the real power, Mic Nickels says, even if it takes the form of a smile or laughter. That’s the underlying message behind the music from the New York City emcee and producer. 

He addresses the issue directly with his playful new single, “Rappers Don’t Smile.”

“Rappers don’t smile,” he raps on the track “They mean mugging, act vile. All the while they the ones probably be looking for acceptance.”

That song was released in November, and Mic Nickels followed it up with another single, “Sky City,” in December. He even jumps out of an airplane on the “Sky City” music video.  Both tracks are part of his newest project, Bars for Days, which is accompanied by an autobiography of the same name. 

“People that really love hip hop that has a message and substance are going to be drawn to what this is,” he says. “It’s a unique experience to listen to an artist and really know who they are on a deep, personal level and the book just leads up to where the album was created. You really get to understand how I got to that moment.” 

Mic Nickels grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, 100 miles from New York City, amidst the rise of hip hop music. “I grew up with it,” he says. The book covers his struggles as a child whose mother had addiction problems while his father wasn’t in the picture. In college, he met someone on his dorm floor who was already recording as a rapper and the pair formed a group called The Linx in Miami, Florida. 

“That whole experience is really where I harnessed my craft as an artist,” he says. 

The group split after a decade and Mic Nickels moved in with a girlfriend in Brooklyn and started releasing mix tapes and albums, launching his career as a solo artist. But that’s not the whole story of his career. 

He spent the better part of a decade as part of a group called Nickel and Dime Ops, which released three albums together. He also worked as a bartender at a comedy club and a jazz club in Miami and met several industry icons like Dave Chappelle and Tracy Morgan, and also Jimmy Cobb, a jazz drummer who played with Miles Davis. 

“The book is a montage of short stories that are real vivid,” he says. “I want people to read it almost like fiction. Ultimately, my goal was to just inspire people to live, just take chances and step outside their comfort zone because in my opinion I’ve had a fulfilling life because I’ve had those chances and I feel like there’s something to it.”

While he still works with Nickel and Dime Ops – the group is hosting a release party in December – he’s also returning to his roots: beats and rhymes hip hop, and releasing his first solo album since 2012. 

“Bars for Days is just a return to the beats and rhymes style of hip hop,” he says. “I make my own beats but for this one I didn’t want to focus on that, just focus on the lyrics. I reached out to all of the producers I’ve worked with over the years from all over the place. A lot of it is in the boom bap vein, that’s my comfort zone. I wanted to push my own envelope so some tracks have a more contemporary feel to them. Lyrically it’s all over the place. There’s ‘Rappers Don’t Smile’ which is an interesting track about MC’s in general not liking to smile in public. ‘Sky City’ is a motivational track, an inspirational track to get people to keep pushing forward. There’s another track called ‘The Phantom’ where the message is you can’t get rid of me as hard as you try.”

The 14-track album also includes some standout features like Method Man and Timbo King. Both the album and book were released on the same day; people who buy the book will receive a QR code to stream the album. 

In addition to his solo work, Mic Nickels is also involved in a group called MHB (Money Hungry Bastards). The group features MC’s and producers from around the world and will be releasing a project in 2022. Nickel and Dime Ops are also planning to release an EP. 

“This upcoming show is the first we’ve done since COVID,” he says. “We’ve been shut down with everything. It’s going to be the first of many.”

For more, follow Mic Nickels on YouTube, and on Instagram and Twitter @micnickels.