INTERVIEW | MIKE DEALZ DISCUSSES HIS MIXTAPE ‘ART OF A DEALER’

By Rishma • On What is New

In the world of music, authen­ti­city and innov­a­tion are the hall­marks of last­ing artistry. Mike Dealz embod­ies these traits as he boldly carves his niche, blend­ing the vibrancy of his Ugandan her­it­age with the grit and energy of Lon­don rap. His latest mix­tape, Art of a Deal­er, is a test­a­ment to this fusion, a dynam­ic pro­ject shaped by his unique jour­ney as an inde­pend­ent artist.

From the motiv­a­tion­al anthems like “Where You Been” to the high-energy car hit “New Benz,” Mike Dealz takes listen­ers on a ride through his per­son­al exper­i­ences and glob­al inspir­a­tions. In this inter­view, he reflects on the chal­lenges and tri­umphs of his cre­at­ive pro­cess, the influ­ence of Afric­an artists break­ing new ground in the UK, and his vis­ion for the future of his music.

Wheth­er you’re a fan of Afro swing, Lon­don rap, or simply a lov­er of authen­t­ic storytelling, Mike Dealz is a name you’ll want to remem­ber. Dive in as we explore the Art of a Deal­er with the artist himself.

Art of a Deal­er is OUT NOW

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“Art of a Deal­er” intro­duces a bold new sound for you. How would you describe the jour­ney that led to cre­at­ing this mixtape?

It’s been a long jour­ney as I have been doing most of the work myself as an inde­pend­ent artist. Inspired by the new wave of Afric­an artists like Naira Mar­ley and NSG that are break­ing through in the UK, I blend my Ugandan roots with the energy of Lon­don rap in this one. I focus on the real­it­ies of Lon­don life and my glob­al exper­i­ences. I would say it has been a learn­ing curve overall.

Your Ugandan roots and Lon­don upbring­ing play a big role in your music. How do these influ­ences shape the storytelling and sound on this project?

I was born in Uganda and I’m now based from in of the UK’s most thriv­ing cre­at­ive hubs in Croy­don. Study­ing in board­ing schools in Uganda helped me to shape up as a strong young man, I learnt the core life skills that I still use to sur­vive all over the world. I’m a grate­ful that I had this exper­i­ence that’s why I share it in my music.

The lead track, “Where You Been,” is incred­ibly motiv­a­tion­al. Can you tell us more about the inspir­a­tion behind it and what mes­sage you want listen­ers to take away?

Where You Been? Music video out now. Music video shot in Hurghada, Egypt. Where You Been is a motiv­a­tion­al anthem encour­aging listen­ers to stay focused and resi­li­ent, no mat­ter the chal­lenges. The lyr­ic speak for themselves.

You’ve cited artists like Naira Mar­ley and NSG as inspir­a­tions. How have they influ­enced your approach to blend­ing Afro swing with gritty Lon­don rap?

I want to make way for musi­cians like me that come from the same back­ground. Naira Mar­ley has done this by sign­ing Marli­ans, an Afric­an artist, to his record label. They are tak­ing over in the Afrobeat side of the industry. The music group NSG have stayed con­stant in pro­mot­ing the Afric­an cul­ture by using their home lan­guage in all the Brit­ish songs they do, this has inspired me to join this wave of Afric­an Brit­ish artists that are get­ting inter­na­tion­al recog­ni­tion and awards.

“New Benz” has already made waves with its infec­tious energy and ambi­tious vibe. What’s the story behind this track, and how did you approach the music video concept?

The song has become a hit that most of the people in my neigh­bour­hood are play­ing. In their cars all the time regard­less of their car, it could be a new Benz, old shape or even a BMW. The song has become a car anthem.

You’ve been recog­nized by industry heavy­weights like Sneakbo. How has that kind of sup­port impacted your con­fid­ence and growth as an artist?

Being recog­nised by one of the UK’s top artist Sneakbo gave me cour­age to keep going with my music and that’s one of the reas­ons why I made a full 13 track mix­tape ‘Art of a Deal­er’. Sneakbo’s brought me out to per­form on his show in Rams­gate. This was proof enough to show me that I will make it in the music industry.

Your lyr­ics are known for their raw authen­ti­city. How do you bal­ance per­son­al storytelling with cre­at­ing tracks that res­on­ate universally?

This comes with the exper­i­ence I have got work­ing with artists all over the world, like Beenie Gunter, the first fea­ture on my mixtape.

All the lyr­ics I write are ori­gin­al stor­ies and per­son­al exper­i­ences. I record music when I fly out of the coun­try when I have a fresh head. I recor­ded half of my mix­tape ‘Art of a Deal­er’ when I went to hol­i­day in Uganda two times this year. I recor­ded the video ‘Where You Been’ on my mix­tape in Egypt, Hurghada to embrace the Afric­an cul­ture, Egypt is one of the biggest Afric­an her­it­age hubs.

The exper­i­ence above has helped me come up with lyr­ic­al strategies, for example ‘Manaco’ the 6th track on my mix­tape advices my listers on how to make money any­where in the world. The chor­us lyr­ics say ‘’Every­where you go, money is the goal! Have you been to Monaco, have you seen it all? Cash is King , every­where you, just stack your doe, you will get it all”

Hav­ing built a sol­id fol­low­ing with Dealz Only, how did that exper­i­ence influ­ence your approach to this new pro­ject? What les­sons did you carry forward?

I will be pro­mot­ing my music more to my audi­ence using tar­geted cam­paigns and strategies, its import­ant for an upcom­ing artist to help them blow up in the music industry.

Croy­don has become a thriv­ing cre­at­ive hub in the UK. How has grow­ing up there influ­enced your artist­ic per­spect­ive and career?

Grow­ing up in Croy­don I have had a chance to inter­act with dif­fer­ent cul­tures, Croy­don is one of the most eth­nic diverse bor­oughs in the UK.

Look­ing ahead, what are your goals for the next stage of your jour­ney? How do you see your sound evolving as you con­tin­ue to grow in the industry?

After releas­ing ‘Art of a Deal­er’ the mix­tape, I will be look­ing to release single tracks col­lab­or­at­ing with dif­fer­ent artist in 2025 as I learn my sound.

See­ing how the year goes, I will be releas­ing a 6 track EP pro­ject in Luganda, Ugandan lan­guage mix­ing it with London’s Afro beat/ Afro swing sound.

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Rishma

Edit­or / PR Con­sult­ant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhali­w­al has extens­ive exper­i­ence study­ing and work­ing in the music and media industry. Hav­ing writ­ten a thes­is on how Hip Hop acts as a social move­ment, she has spent years research­ing and con­nect­ing with artists who use the art form as a tool for bring­ing a voice to the voiceless.

About Rishma

Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless.