My City: Mike Schpitz is Topeka High’s Best…Rapper…Ever (Exclusive Interview)

As he gears up for the release of his upcoming "Mike Murder" album, RefinedHype regular, "Love Potion Number 9th" creator and Topeka, Kansas native Mike Schpitz takes a moment to join our My City series and talk about small-city bias, the wonders of Taco's El Sol and why if you see him coming with some water balloons, you should probably start running.

RefinedHype: You hail from the rarely hailed city of Topeka, Kansas. Do you feel like some people have a bias towards your work when they find out where you're from?

Mike Schpitz:. I'm not sure how people feel about me and my music AFTER they actually hear the music and then find out I'm from Topeka but I think it's safe to assume that not many people are checking for emcees to come out of Topeka, Kansas or any similar town across the country. If they see me and then see where I'm from before hearing the music, I definitely think people automatically write me off. I can't lie because I would do the same thing. I think once people hear the music it's a little harder to have that bias. More so than where I'm from, I am finding out that people judge me based on what I look like which for me, is kind of funny because no one expects anything. People are always taken back especially when I hit the stage.

RefinedHype: How do you think your music and career would be different if you lived in a more "major" city like L.A., New York, Atlanta etc.?

Mike Schpitz:. It's hard to say what I would be doing musically if I was from a more major city. I probably wouldn't even be doing music. I think it's probably harder to get respect in bigger cities because you have so many talented people in those cities. In Kansas, there are definitely some talented people but the numbers are way smaller. My influences are drawn from all over too. I think if I was in a bigger city, I am gravitate towards music and sounds from that city or region. It definitely allowed me to be more open to hip hop from all over. Being in Chicago now has helped me really step my game up and go full force. There are so many different artists out here that I have to be able to stand out or I will get lost easily in the crowd. I have taken a lot of aspects of both my hometown, Topeka, Kansas and Chicago and used them in my music.

RefinedHype: What in your hometown inspires you to make music?

Mike Schpitz:. I think the biggest thing that inspires me about Topeka are the people. I lived in Topeka for 18 years and know so many people and for the most part, everyone is really excited about what I'm doing. The amount of support and respect from people that weren't even my good friends is crazy. I have people hitting me up all the time telling me how much they like the music and respect what I'm doing. Most of my best friends are from Topeka. There are so many cool people out there that it's refreshing to see and hear their support. I think Topeka also allows me to appreciate everything that happens. There aren't many opportunities, not only for music but for a lot of different fields back home so, any success that I see, I can really appreciate it. That makes me want to work even harder so everyone back home can be proud of this random ass dude from Topeka making good music.

RefinedHype: If I'm rolling through Topeka where can I find you?

Mike Schpitz:. You can find me at a bunch of different food spots. Tortilla Jacks, Taco Casa, Bobo's. I hit Westridge Mall and see how late we are on all the new shoes. I go to Bullfrogs Live, Skinny's, Spanky's, The Celtic Fox. I always hit TJ Maxx when I go home. Taco's El Sol, Harold's Prize Package. Lately when I go back, I really like to drive around to different parts of town and just look at the homes and neighborhoods. I have so many memories from almost every place in Topeka, it's a cool feeling. I went back to my high school, Topeka High, last time I was in town and talked to a few of my old teachers. I try to spend as much time with family and friends as I can too. I might even call some of my guys and hit Randolph or Whitson and play some ball.

RefinedHype: Last words? Confessions? Shout outs?

Mike Schpitz:. I definitely want to shout out everyone in Topeka. There are WAY too many to really shout out but everyone knows who they are. Everytime I go back and perform, I meet "new" people who love the music and appreciate what I am doing so the base grows stronger all the time. It's cool because most people back home know me as Mike Jones and we were cool before I really started doing music and to see everyone support now is such a cool thing. For my confession, I want to apologize to everyone who got hit with waterballoons while driving their cars back when I was in high school. We used to ride around with a trashbag full of waterballoons and just unload on cars. We were hitting people in convertibles, dropping them in sunroofs and just blasting people going like 35 miles an hour. That wasn't cool of us so, I'm sorry about that. Shout out to all my teachers too, from Randolph Elementary, Robinson Middle School and Topeka High School. If anyone makes it to Topeka High, look for all the soccer trophies. We used to dominate.

(Bonus: Check out Mike's new track "Mike Is Like" below and keep it locked for the release of "Mike Murder", coming soon via DJBooth.net.)