They call him the world changer! And changing the world for the better, is exactly what Mikel Ameen intends to do. On Sunday 20th October, at the Oxjam event in Shoreditch, Mikel defiantly changed a few people’s worlds with his lyrical content and mind-blowing performance.
Mikel had arrived pretty early on in the night, one could consider that his early arrival was to support the other acts across the four venues that night. As he danced energetically in the downstairs room of Mother Bar, Mikel brightened up the room with his smile and embraced others with his calm and warm personality.
As the clock struck 9.30 pm, it was finally time for Mikel’s performance. Once on stage, Mikel informed the crowd on the number of songs he will be performing and that he would be doing without a live band. This meant the DJ was to simply play the instrumental from a cd given to him by Mikel himself.
“You ain’t ever lived till you found something to die for.” Wow, those were the memorable words that poured out of Mikel’s mouth whilst he performed his first of four songs. If you glanced around the room during this performance, you would see that the entire room was in a trance and was completely hooked and amazed at the poetic, positive words that Mikel rapped.
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Song choice nUMBER 2 was announced by Mikel to be dedicated to a special woman. The lyrics to this particular song were defiantly heartfelt and extremely touching. The song expressed how a woman chose to be with and support Mikel even when he was at a low point in his life and when obtaining money was not easy. Lyrics such as “she chose the tramp, she sees the man, she chose the king, she knows who I am” and “… holes in my socks like my toes have just had enough, I go to the shop and its coppers I’m adding up, it’s not enough” are just a few of a very detailed insight into his personal life.
It was time for Mikel to perform his second to last song ‘Winner’ but before doing so, he requested that the crowd joins in and vibes with him. “I want everyone to join in right now because those who know me know I like to vibe in general. Yeah! So, I want you lots to just give me the same energy that I give you. That’s all I ask, yeah” The crowd cheered, and his off. Once again, Mikel had the crowd hyped up in a trance, and as ‘Winner’ came to an end, he informed everyone that that was what you call world-changing music and that all should go and check it out and see how positive music can change the world.
It is a shame if you missed Mikel’s set as it truly was inspirational and interesting to see how rap music was used in a positive and influential way. However, music is not Mikel’s only love, as he is brother to actor Aml, it is no shock that Mikel also has a love for acting, and is currently a motivational activist.
The world changer has arrived! And his name is MIKEL AMEEN.
Also, check out the article about the Oxjam Shoreditch event.
By Sanchez Nelson