DJ Mighty Mi grew up carrying record crates between Philadelphia and Brooklyn at the exact moment hip-hop was becoming something that could change your life. Now a Las Vegas-based DJ, producer, and co-founder of the legendary rap duo High and Mighty and Eastern Conference Records, Mighty Mi sits down with Heidi Hartwig on Friends From New York for a wide-ranging conversation about culture, craft, and staying true to your lane.Mighty Mi's story is one of the great behind-the-scenes journeys in hip-hop. He wrote album reviews for The Source magazine while still in high school, faxing them to founder Jon Shecter at Harvard. He saved two summers of Foot Locker wages to buy a single pair of Technics turntables. He made his bones doing radio promos for the legendary Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia show. And he eventually landed a residency at Indochine, DJing honeycomb hideout parties alongside Jules — during the era when rappers freestyled on stage, Rosie Perez danced in the front row, and the entire nightclub moved as one.In this episode we cover:• Growing up between Philly and Brooklyn in the 1980s, absorbing both cities' hip-hop scenes and smuggling mixtapes between them on the Amtrak• His introduction to hip-hop in a middle school library listening to Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel on headphones• Writing record reviews for The Source as a teenager — including a review of the Artifacts' debut, years before signing Tame One to Eastern Conference Records• How seeing Public Enemy open for the Beastie Boys sparked the idea that he could actually participate in hip-hop, not just consume it• Saving two summers of Foot Locker paychecks to buy Technics turntables one at a time• Doing promos for the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia show as an entry point into the New York scene• The art of building a room as a DJ — why New York parties were designed to start slow and peak late, and why every other city gets it wrong• The death of the dance floor: bottle service, models, and the Wall Street-ification of nightlife• His move to Las Vegas, learning house music from scratch, and watching Calvin Harris and the EDM era transform club culture• High and Mighty's new album 'Sound of Market' — featuring Large Professor, Chubb Rock, King Tee, and Tash from Tha Alkaholics — out now on vinyl, CD, and cassette• Using Twitch as a personal creative sanctuary for uncompromising golden era hip-hop sets• Why consistency — not chasing trends — is the only real career lesson, with the Alchemist as Exhibit A• What it still means to make people dance, and why that will always be enoughThis is a conversation for anyone who loves hip-hop, nightlife history, vinyl culture, and the New York that shaped a generation.Find DJ Mighty Mi's live sets and downloadable mixes at soundcloud.com/djmightymi. Stream or buy 'Sound of Market' by High and Mighty wherever you get your music.Friends From New York is a show about the people shaping culture through music, art, film, and nightlife. Hosted by photographer and director Heidi Hartwig. Follow the show for new episodes and find us on Instagram @friendsfromnewyork.
