May 5, 2019. The day our story begins. Following a lengthy stretch of releases, MIKE would go on to tour with Earl Sweatshirt and this would surprisingly or rather UNSURPRISINGLY lead them all the way to the Magic City. Saturn, the venue, MIKE, the performer. Birmingham, a city riddled with graffiti and art on nearly every corner, it felt almost guaranteed he'd find his way here at some point. Hailing from the state of New York, the very fabric of his makeup and upbringing is almost identical to that of my own. Though I hail from the country, my heart will always be in the city due to my career and the doors its opened for me, this being one of them. And although I missed you the first time, I made sure I wouldn't again, even at the expense of my job. MIKE, Live from WORKPLAY in Birmingham, AL, April 27th, 2025 As I walked into the room, getting closer and closer to the stage, I'm immediately met with the aroma of marijuana and the funky sound of Salami Rose Joe Louis (yes, that's the name of the band, and yes, they were amazing). Its sultry. Smooth. Almost reminiscent of Hiatus Kaiyote, a band I've followed since I was 15. The perfect act to get you in that mode. Notice I didn't say opener. Because although they were touring with MIKE, the conviction and confidence they performed with nearly made me think I had walked into the wrong venue and into the wrong show. They play with a presence that almost hypnotizes you and hypnotize it did because I had just remembered I forgot to charge my camera battery the previous night. Absolute novice move on my part. If this had happened to me 3 to 4 years ago, I would've dejectedly walked back to my car and put camera and bag away, but luckily this isn't the me of times past. I had conveniently packed my charger in my bag. Shout out to the guy behind the bar who let me bum an outlet off of him. You're my hero, dawg. But now I'm met with another issue: will I be ready in time for MIKE's performance? I'm checking my imaginary watch and looking around for a clock. "YOU THERE! GENTLEMAN SELLING TOUR MERCH! DO YOU KNOW WHEN MIKE GOES ON?!" In a panicked and dramatic tone, almost Oscar worthy, he replies: "uhhh, probably about 10-15 minutes." Perfect. I still have time. I push my way thru the crowd (politely, of course) and throw my tripod and bag down. I set up my tripod and wait. Seconds feel like minutes, minutes like hours. I'm checking my phone every couple seconds. I'm nervous, but not because I'm afraid of messing up, but because I know I won't. Because I've prepared for this. I've been waiting for this day since the moment I hit "purchase" on my ticket. If anything, I'm more worried about security than myself because I came into this with one goal in mind: I'm getting on that damn stage tonight. That's not an empty statement, it's a promise. I run back to the bar, retrieve my battery, and run back out to the floor. Everyone in a huddle then me to myself in the back of the room. The room is loud. I can feel the speakers shaking throughout the entirety of it and yet it's so quiet. I hear nothing but the clicking of my shutter, the beeping as I adjust my settings. Nothing else in that moment matters. No matter what happens when I leave here or what's next for me, no one can take this away from me. I get everything set. I'm ready. Now, we wait. The feeling in my gut has returned. My anxiety has now turned into impatience. I feel like an animal caged. I'm ready to get to work. I've never been more ready for anything in my life. And then like clockwork, just as I'm getting ready to sit down on the floor, a man walks out onto the stage. Although, I don't recognize him, I can tell he carries himself with the same confidence I do. This is MIKE's DJ, Taka. He plugs in a few wires, puts on his headphones and drops a beat that I'm sure you could hear on the other side of the city. Immediately, I feel my head start to nod. In that moment, everything I was feeling left my body. I close my eyes and nod my head. All I can feel is the music. The entire crowd starts to move and finally, like a scene out of a movie, all I hear is the crowd start to cheer. I look up to try and find the source of all the commotion. And there he was. The hero of our story has made his entrance. MIKE takes the stage I know I'm heaping tons and tons of praise onto him, but this is an artist I've followed for most of my adult life and part of my teens. In a way, I've grown up with his music and whether at my best or my worst, this music has been a constant. This man has traveled the world, literal continents, and yet here he is leaning into the crowd, dapping up fans, and holding conversations. He looks towards me and gives a subtle, but poignant double thumbs up. I smile and throw my hand up as a sign of comradery. Before his set even begins, he makes it not only a priority but a recurring theme throughout the show to thank the fans in attendance, the security, the staff working the venue, and anyone else who helped play a part in this tour. So, now that the introductions are out of the way, we get to the music. You can only imagine the joy that filled me when he opened with "Burning Desire". He asks the crowd to get as loud as they can and join him in singing the chorus before letting out a boisterous and raspy lead into the intro in a way that only MIKE can. The crowd gets louder and louder as he gets more and more into the performance. It feels as though everyone is on the same wavelength. For a second, I forget I'm there for work. Time to pivot. I move around the crowd and shoot from the back of the room. They look ok, but I know I can do better. The lighting's not the best, but that's why God gave us flashes. I'll provide the light I'm lacking. As they say in the south, "now we're cooking with hot grease." I move around to the side of the stage, the speaker now right in my ear. The sound is so loud, I can feel the wind hitting my face. I'm now, inches away from MIKE and I'm just under the light. Again, it's good, but I know I can do slightly better. I take my camera off the tripod and start shooting straight from the hip. I'm locked in. I can feel my blood start to pump more and more the longer the show goes on and for a moment, everything's perfect. But this is a story of triumph, remember? And what's a good underdog story without a little drama and conflict? My batteries in my flash start to die. And unlike my camera battery, yes, they're rechargeable, but I didn't bring the charger for those. I didn't think THAT damn far ahead. I'm only human. But like any great photographer in a pinch, we adapt, we overcome. Now, I have no choice but to get closer to the action. So, finally, we've reached the climax of our story. Time for me to make my move. This is it. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. I look around the room, I look for security, and lastly, I look for the exits in case I need to make a fast dash out of the venue. I take one final look at the crowd and take everything in. If this is it and I get tackled and carried off this stage, I take pride in knowing I took a chance at all. What I could do I did, what I couldn't do, I tried. I put my camera down and I make that long climb onto the stage, and for a second time stops. The crowd freezes, the music fades, its just me and my camera. All I can do is smile. I now have a perfect view of the crowd and of the performance. Just as I raise the camera, I hear a familiar tune start to play. Its one of my favorite songs, one I anticipated hearing before I even got there. Its the song I hear playing in my head as I navigate thru life: "No Curse Lifted". The song deals with themes of love, loss, past relationships, and success and the changes that come with it. The triumphant swell of horns throughout the song almost offers a sense of comfort that clashes with the underlying subject matter and serious tone. It's almost as if MIKE is saying "you're going thru it, but I'm going thru it too. We gone be alright, trust." For the first time during the entire show, I put my camera down, I put my phone down, and I took it all in. I don't record it; I don't post it. Just relish in the moment. Because who knows? I could be gone tomorrow. It could be another 6 years before he returns. Just for the moment, I'm gonna enjoy every second I have. Nothing else matters right now. And honestly, that in itself is a surreal feeling. THIS is what I live for. THIS is why I do this. After the song ends and the outro begins, MIKE speaks to the crowd again. He thanks everyone in attendance again as well as security because they quote: "weren't the police" (that definitely felt like a nod to me. THANKS MIKE!). But then his tone changes. He gets serious again. This time, it feels like he's speaking directly to each one of us. He asks the crowd to make some noise and show some love to his late mother. The crowd claps and cheers louder than they have the entire night. Its somber. Its sincere. Its everything that encapsulates MIKE and his music. No matter the album cover, the title, MIKE's music offers a feeling of humanity that we all can relate to. It's full of loss, it's full of heartbreak, it's full of love. It's full of life. Not just the highs, but the lows as well, because when you've hit rock bottom, you can only go up from there. MIKE finishes the set with a soft ballad. Clearly overcome with emotion, he asks to perform it one more time, but this time, he leaves the stage and walks out into the middle of the floor to perform with the crowd. Everyone raises their phones and their flashlights. The light surrounds him and gives an almost angelic aura and look to him. But maybe it's not the flashlights. Maybe it's nothing to do with the lighting at all. Maybe it's just MIKE. The lights not surrounding him, its exuding from him. It engulfs every stage and room he walks in and is reciprocated in the energy the crowd gives back. Gives a whole new meaning to the song and phrase "GOD'S WITH ME" doesn't it? So, as I pen this from my bed in my newly bought MIKE tour tee, I look back at this entire experience with joy and adoration. Adoration for the city, the people, the culture, and the homie, Big. F***king. MIKE. This show had everything from hype to emotion and delivered in every way possible. I could sit here and tell you I'm surprised by how great it was, but the truth is I'm not. MIKE did what he always does and that's kill every track, every song, everything he does. I know his mother was in that room with us that night and she had the biggest smile on her face. Your baby boy's a star. They say music is the one thing in this world that can bring everyone together and I've never felt more united than I did in that room with all those people. Even though it's been 6 years since MIKE last stepped on a stage in Birmingham, it felt like no time's passed at all. I take pride in knowing I got to be a part of this and add just a bit more life to an already OVERABUNDANTLY alive event. So, to MIKE, thank you for putting on a show and making this one of the best nights of my entire 23 years of life. PLEASE don't let it be another 6 years before you come back though. To everyone in attendance, thank you for showing out and making me feel comfortable in my element. Because although I didn't know you before I came there, I definitely know you now. And to YOU, the reader. I hope this letter finds you well. I hope you read this and get just an ounce of the fire that this event gave me. But all in all, you just had to be there, man. Hate you missed out, but I hope I catch you at the next one. If you see me, don't be a stranger. Till then, I'm signing off. Sincerely yours, Ty Peterson of mAD iMOTiON (Alexa, Play Evil Eye by MIKE.)

"Welcome". Is that right? Does that sound ok? Or maybe "what's good?" Definitely not. No introduction feels proper enough to encapsulate the magnitude of this moment. It's one I've anticipated for quite some time, though it still feels so surreal. This is the debut of or rather lack thereof, my website. Seeing as it's been in development for so long (if you've ever met me, odds are you've heard me mention it SEVERAL times) to finally have not just the gratification, but the PHYSICAL proof of everything I've worked towards for the last 2 to 3 years is very satisfying, and yet I still find myself feeling numb. Almost empty. Why? Because what does one do once they've done everything? What do you offer someone who has everything? What more can I give to you after I've given you all that I have? So is my dilemma. I find myself feeling stagnant most days but never content. I long for more. More accolades, more obstacles, more validation, because there is nothing in this world more satisfying than uttering the phrase "I told you so." Well, this is my big hurrah. My coming out party. No matter where I go from here, no matter what happens, no one could ever take this feeling away from me. I did it. Everything I said I would. And I did it my way. No help, (well maybe a bit from some very nice developers, much appreciated boys. And some VERY nice-looking models and designers. Did I mention I have a PERSONAL videographer? But I'll save you those stories for another time), no shortcuts, nothing but my drive and COPIOUS amounts of food and alcohol (I said it wasn't easy, I never said it wasn't fun lol), and if it's one thing I learned during all of this it's that these. Things. Take. Time. Time to work, time to grow, time to reflect. You only get one first time to do anything, but I feel at times I forget that there's also a last time for everything. One day, I'll take my last breath, and all of this will be over even quicker than it took to build it. And when that day comes 200 years from now, I hope that my long distant relatives and great great great great great great great great grandchildren can take pride in knowing their great great great great great great great great grandpappy did all he could to establish himself and leaving a lasting legacy of longevity that'll live far longer than I could've ever even imagined (cause 200 years is a LONG ass time to remember. Probably why I failed my freshman history class. Long Live Mr. Gooden). Before I go any longer on this tangent, I thank you all for your continued support. Whether you found this website or it found you, were told about it (cause lord knows I told a LOT of people), ever shared a link or shared criticism, it's all a form of support and it's all appreciated. I thank you for taking this ride with me because it has been a wild one. I look forward to whatever life will throw at me next. And I hope you'll join me for this next portion of the trip. Continue to create, build, and grow and continue to cause madness every opportunity you get. (LEGALLY OF COURSE. TY'QUARIUS PETERSON AND MAD IMOTION © DO NOT ENCOURAGE, CONDONE, OR ADVOCATE THE ACT OR INCITING OF ANY RIOTS, TERRORISTIC ACTS, THREATS, OR ANY ACTIVITY THAT COULD CAUSE BODILY HARM OR DEATH TO YOURSELF OR ANYONE ELSE. cheers.)