Mike Jones, a legendary underground rapper, released his debut album “Who is Mike Jones?” on April 19. But who is Mike Jones? Mike Jones was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He was an inspiring basketball player, but dropped out of high school in 1999. Inspired by his grandmother, Mike began to rap.

“Out of ten people, my grandmother was the only one who said I could do this rap thing. I went against all nine and went with her,” states Jones in an interview posted on the MSN website.

Mike’s late grandmother, who passed away in 2002, wanted him to use his real name as his stage name. Mike believed that people would hear his name and would say “Who is Mike Jones?” Thus began the repeated slogan. In 2001, Mike formed Ice Age Entertainment. While on tour, he began to write songs for exotic dancers. He believed that if he could get the women to dance to his music he would be able to get men to purchase it. This proved to be successful and as a result, he met manager T. Farris in 2002. Now he is a rising star in the Swisha House label.

Jones is known for using his name on every track. But this is not a tactful “F-A-B-O-L-O-U-S” slogan that northern rapper Fabolous uses, no it is simply “Mike Jones” followed by a questioning “Who?” In an article posted in the Vibe magazine Jones states “Ain’t no one gonna promote you like you, so whenever I get on TV or radio, I make sure I say my name and tell people to call me anytime.”

And they do, by also giving out his cell phone number on every track, “281-330-8004.” Jones claims that he receives up to 15,000 calls a day.

“A lot of people starting booking fake Mike Jones shows,” said Jones during a MSN interview. “I had to give out my number so people could call me.”

Jones has a deep southern slur that makes you think he’s naturally screwed up which means the slowing down of an audio track.The debut album from Jones is a double CD, 28 tracks in all. The first CD is the album which includes 15 tracks. The second CD is a screwed version of the album. This album is catered to fans that have a love of southern hip hop. Out of the 15 tracks on the first CD there are nine good tracks including the hit single “Still Tippin.” Among the other good songs on the CD are “Know what I’m sayin” featuring Bun B and Lil’ Keke. Guest appearances include Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Bun B and a number of label mates.

• Jason Pugh