CCMusic.com

Born in South Florida to Jamaican parents, Mickey Ruption became interested in music at a young age and it became evident early on that young Mickey had a natural gift. His ears were quite keen and his sense of pitch was immaculate, as one of his early music teachers marveled. By the time he was a teenager, he was often occupied writing songs and recording them at home, using whatever meager tools he had available. By the time he was 21, he found his way to Los Angeles and was asked to join a new soul/funk outfit that was just starting up as lead vocalist. Mickey agreed and was soon writing songs for the group. They began playing once a month at a local venue where they would work out new material. On one such occasion, Mickey's cousin, Busta Livingstone, an established Jamaican rapper working out of Miami, happened to be in Los Angeles on a business trip and stopped in for a drink. Busta wasn't paying much attention to the band, but when Mickey began to sing, Busta took notice. He not only liked what he heard but was surprised to find out that the singer was his cousin from Miami, whom he had not seen in years. Mickey was just as surprised to see Busta. After a few drinks, Busta convinced Mickey to fly back with him to Miami and help Busta work on his new album. Mickey agreed, and one of the first tunes they worked on was a tune Mickey wrote that Busta remembered hearing Mickey sing in Los Angeles. The song, "Jump In The Pool," with a combination of Mickey's smooth as silk voice paired with Busta's gruff Jamaican toasting style, became Mickey's first single as an artist on a commercial recording. The single was released and immediately began to receive rave reviews from DJs and industry insiders alike. When Mickey began playing Busta his home-made tapes that he had been compiling since his teenage years, Busta suggested Mickey make an album of these songs he had backlogged, convincing him that he had some great material that "needed to be out there." Busta hooked Mickey up with the production team he's been working with, and soon Mickey had almost 20 songs ready to go. The resulting debut album, "Life Is A Carnival," plays like a soulful, funky, reggae-tinged electro-pop dream and truly exposes Mickey as a musical force that demands to be heard. Stay tuned, there's more to come.