In 1996 his father committed suicide, an event that would send the 16-year-old Mikey soul-searching for the next few years, making him grow up faster than most. He was in the military from 1998 to 2002, freestyling with some of the Southern men in his platoon and adding a Dirty South influence in the process. A move to the Bay Area in 2005 found him quickly hooking up with Abyss for his From Now On album, then Dap Daniel and Abyss for their 2006 effort, West Bound. Two mixtapes, Hunger Painz and Muffin Man, also appeared in 2006, and then 2007 saw the release of Hunger Painz 2. By the end of the year Mikey had signed with the 3sixty5 label and released his official debut album, Focused. The album featured the single "Mikey Mo's Theme" plus 15 other tracks of what Mikey called "reality rap." ~ David Jeffries