Her music brought together a generation, pushing boundaries and cementing herself as one of Canada’s first hip-hop superstars.
Blending reggae sounds into her rhymes, Michie Mee became the first Canadian rapper to sign with a major American label, but she never forgot her roots.
“The courage. About 30 kids just running around here, saying, ‘You can do it.’ And I was like, ‘okay.” We’ll take on the world and prove to them that Canadians can rap,” Michie Mee recalled on a recent trip back to where the spark was first lit some 40 years ago, Weston Collegiate Institute in Toronto.
Considered the godmother of Canadian rap, she would go on to pave the way with her music at a time when hip-hop was still in its infancy. Her career is now being honoured by Canada Post as one of three hip-hop trailblazers and part of its Black History Month stamps being sold across the country.
“First, I was like, is this really Canada Post? And then it sank in, wow, we’ve arrived in terms of hip-hop being recognized to this level of just recognition.”
Maestro Fresh Wes and Quebec group Muzion are also featured in the collection.
“We are truly blessed by the decision that Canada Post made to give these stamps to a trailblazer like Mishie Mee, someone who created the platform for the commercialization of hip-hop music today,” said former manager Ivan Berry.
“When it came down to deciding, okay, we want to do hip-hop, but which artists should we focus on to really tell that story? We knew we wanted to come down to the roots and these three groups …they are really representative of those early days, the seeds of hip-hop in this country,” added Eli Yarhi of Canada Post.
It’s those roots that she says gave her the courage to push through rejection early on in her career.
“I’m really a product of my environment. I just put words to it, so that being a woman in that case, it’s like, who’s in charge of her? I’m in charge of me. Are you sure? Who’s in charge of her? They always wanna know the Black guy in charge of her and then the White man in charge of him, was my fight for most of my career,” says Michie Mee.
These days, Michie is working on her memoir about the life she’s lived while also mentoring youth, sharing the same message with others that she said led her to achieving her dreams.
“I’m on a stamp. I’m on a stamp,” said a tearful Michie Mee. “I mean, you can’t make these moments up. …Thank you, Canada, merci.”
