Mic Righteous

Mic Righteous is a British rapper prominently known for his angst-ridden social commentaries and his collaborations with household names such as Emeli Sandé and Ed Sheeran. Born Rocky Takalobighashi and raised in the seaside town of Margate, he had a tough upbringing; subjected to abuse and neglect from his parents, he eventually went to live with his brother, former light-middleweight boxer Mehrdud Takaloo. Dealing with pent-up anger and frustration, the future hip-hop star began to pen his own lyrics and started to record his own tracks at a recording studio near his brother’s house. This quickly led to a cohesive and feral collection of songs with the budding creative artist renaming himself Mic Righteous to represent his sound. He quickly experienced success, with his mixtapes receiving downloads in the thousands and his tracks becoming YouTube hits.
With his popularity continuing to increase, he also began receiving recognition from fellow artists on the scene, namely the Game, Devlin, and Wretch 32. The success didn’t stop for Takalobighashi; in 2012 he featured on the New Machine Remix of Ed Sheeran’s song “Give Me Love” and a remix of the Naughty Boy and Emeli Sandé song “Wonder.” His aggressive style was encapsulated in his first official independent release, the Open Mic EP in 2013. The release received widespread acclaim, garnering stylistic and lyrical comparisons with heavyweights of hip-hop such as Plan B and Eminem. He went on to tour in support of Kano and Wretch 32, cementing his status on-stage and further reiterating that his persona and opinions were as combative as they were on track.
In September of 2016, the rapper was invited to perform at the Climate Revolution Presents IOU event in London, where he shared the stage with guest speakers Vivienne Westwood and representatives of Project O. The following month, Mic Righteous released his debut full-length, Dreamland. The record received further acclaim and was commended for its inventive lyrics. In 2019, he briefly rebranded himself Mic Reckless for the album I Am Reckless; the following year, he returned to the Righteous moniker and dropped the album Suicycle, which dealt with the aftermath of the suicide of his sister’s fiancé. ~ Rob Wacey