MiKE L!VE is an emcee from Ashville, North Carolina, who has been performing both as a solo artist and as part of the group Free the Optimus, along with C. Shreve the Professor, DJ Jet, and Good Shep. While we’ve gotten some singles from L!VE recently, it’s been a minute since he dropped a proper solo project. That changes now with Examples of _____ to Inspire You.

While L!VE has been part of the Asheville scene for years, this release actually marks his first since moving to South Carolina. He’s still part of Free the Optimus and will still be performing in his usual North Carolina haunts, but there’s something to be said about the distance felt in the day-to-day, which probably helped L!VE get in his own head a little when creating this project. It’s interesting, because this release works as a summer jam, with really bright and bouncy production, and L!VE has so much charisma on the mic. However, it also works as an early morning motivational album as well, since it bounces so lightly and L!VE gets so personal with his lyricism, really getting into the minutia of his day to day life, the ups and downs of being alive, balancing work, family, friends, and music. Ultimately, this is an incredibly easy album to listen to, with great production and big hooks, while also delivering on some technical skills on the mic and personal and emotional lyricism that help you really connect to L!VE on a deeper level. It’s exactly the type of project you want from a veteran emcee coming out in the middle of the summer.

It’s been a minute since we heard a MiKE L!VE solo project, so it’s nice to get to know him through Examples of ______ to Inspire You. It’s a whole lot of fun, but it also has the depth to grow on you with each listen.