Mike Duke: Behind the Scenes
The path to success has never been easy, and this 21-year-old from Philadelphia is just trying to make a name for himself through music. Mike Dukewitz, a rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is currently working to achieve his dream of becoming a famous rapper. The young rapper, who goes by “Mike Duke” is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at West Chester University; however, all of his spare time consists of writing, recording, and releasing music.
The rapper attended Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Pennsylvania, and gained a lot of local attention his senior year after dropping his debut mixtape “Zoom”. On the tape, he describes obstacles he has faced, and pays tribute to loved ones and close friends that have recently passed away.
“During our senior year Mike went quiet and said he had been working everyday on a new passion, but wouldn’t tell anyone for a while what it was” his childhood friend Marty Dolan said in a very brief interview. “We just want to see Mike make a name for himself, and a lot of people can relate to some of the messages he puts out.”
The mixtape consists of 11 tracks, many of which describe his current lifestyle. On other tracks, he addresses common issues that others are facing such as mental health and depression.
Just a few months after releasing his debut mixtape, Dukewitz began gaining attention from Philadelphia radio stations after requests from local teens for his music to be played on the air began to surface. After increased attention and online streams, Dukewitz began building a fanbase that stretched outside of his high school friend group for the first time.
These days, an ordinary week for the college senior is very busy. “I have classes every Monday through Friday, then on the weekends I go to the studio and record the music that I’ve been writing”, said Dukewitz. “On weekdays after class I work as an Uber driver, any extra income I can pull in goes directly to the music.”
Dukewitz drives himself from school in West Chester, Pennsylvania to Jumbo Sounds Studio, a recording studio in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. He travels there on a bi-weekly basis to meet his producer, who goes by Jumbo. This routine was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; however, with restrictions being lifted, Mike is back to recording frequently.
Jumbo is a well-known producer in the Philly area that has produced for many famous rappers. Years ago, he recorded songs for Meek Mill and Beanie Siegel, two of the most well-known artists to come out of Philadelphia.
“I don’t even accept offers to produce for people unless I really see potential. If I don’t think a person is serious, I will tell them to go find another producer,” Jumbo said in a phone call. “When I met this kid Mike, I won’t lie, I laughed at first. The kid said he was serious so I made him rap for me before even showing him the studio. Next thing you know, all of this took off pretty quickly man! I think he has a shot.”
When he was a sophomore in college, Dukewitz headlined a concert called “Music for a Movement”. The event took place at the college he attends, West Chester University.
Mike and other performers donated all of the proceeds from ticket sales to The Children’s Heart Foundation. Proceeds to the foundation funded research for congenital heart disease.
The concert gained Dukewitz a lot of attention, while at the same time benefiting a cause that he strongly supported. Shortly after the performance, he released more music on Soundcloud and gained even more attention.
“I remember everyone at the school recognized Mike on campus and you could hear his new music at every party you went to,” West Chester student Joe Sweeney said in a text message. “He really started to blow up fast around here after that concert”.
After his music began going more viral, Dukewitz began receiving attention from legitimate concert booking agencies. Last year, he got the opportunity to open for successful Charlotte artist: DaBaby, at NOTO NightClub in downtown Philadelphia. This opportunity gave him a real taste of success as he got to take the stage at a large venue to open for a very famous artist.
Since then, Dukewitz has been lying low. He claims to be working on a new album, and hopes to release it later in 2021. “It will be available on every music platform you can think of, and I’m expecting a lot of buzz from it”, the rapper said. “I really think we are witnessing the early stages of what could be the next big thing,” Dukewitz’s producer Jumbo finished with.
Be on the lookout for new music from Mike Duke, he releases updates on his instagram frequently and is expected to release new music in the upcoming weeks.
