‘Party in Boone’ video gains 25,000 views

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Created on Wednesday, 18 January 2012 21:40

Junior business management major Michael D. Taylor, more commonly known as Mykey T., released a music video for his song 'Party in Boone.' Photo courtesy of Jackson Young

In a mountain town embedded with the cultural resonance of folk music and country stars like Doc Watson, one junior is trying to add a little hip-hop to the mix.

“Asheville and Boone are more known for the hippie lifestyle. Whenever a hip-hop act comes to Asheville, though, it sells out right away and there are so many students in Boone that love hip-hop, which is why I want to bring more of it here,” junior business management major Michael Taylor said.

Taylor – who goes by the name MykeyT for his rap career – posted a music video titled “Party in Boone” on YouTube Dec. 15. Since then, the song – a remix of Mac Miller’s “Party on Fifth Ave” – has spread through social networks like Facebook and Twitter. It had gained 25,149 views as of press time.

 

“I have been wanting to do a song about Boone since I got here, but I was waiting for the right beat,” Taylor said. “When ‘Party on Fifth Ave’ came out, App had just been voted the number one party school in North Carolina and then it just clicked: ‘Party in Boone.’”

In the video, Taylor is seen driving down East King Street, walking through the free expression tunnels and standing on a hill overlooking the football stadium.

The footage was shot by Taylor’s high school friend and fellow rapper Andrew Anderson, a senior at Blue Ridge Community College.

“The video was a spur of the moment thing, but we got the whole image of Boone,” Anderson said. “I’m just a film student chasing a dream, and now the video is the most popular of mine.”

Growing up on a farm in Asheville, Taylor always loved hip-hop. He began memorizing lyrics and performing songs until his freshman year of high school, when he started writing his own material.

“I always noticed that in English class I could always write faster than the other kids,” Taylor said. “My freshman year of high school, I started writing poetry, which became the lyrics to my songs.”  

Taylor said he has wanted to be a rapper since high school, but back then, many of his classmates didn’t believe he would make it, but Taylor never stopped working toward his music goal.

While succeeding musically, he has also succeeded academically. He is the first person in his family to attend a four-year college.

“He made it known that he wanted to be a rapper in high school, but no one really believed that he could do it,” said junior science major Andrew Kryzanek, Taylor’s roommate. “In the past two years, he’s been working on perfecting his sound and now he is actually doing it.”

Though “Party in Boone” has become more popular than Taylor ever expected, he’s not taking a breather any time soon.

From his studio in his bedroom closet, Taylor is currently working on his first mix tape. He just released his newest song, a remix of Tyga’s “Rack City,” as a nod to Asheville.

Since the video debuted, he has also received requests to collaborate on music from students in the Hayes School of Music.

“Rapping is my passion and it is what I’m going to do forever,” Taylor said. “I’m studying the business end of the music industry now so I can create my own record label, sign myself to it and also give people a chance in the music industry who would be passed over.”

MykeyT will perform Saturday at Klondike Café. For more information, see the Facebook event “Klondike-A-Palooza!!”

Story: MEGAN WRAPPE, Lifestyles Reporter