User:Polow Dude

Polow Dude, the Gulf Coast’s premier reggae rapper, was born Mikhail Ocketto Earle on April 20, 1985, in Clark’s Town, Jamaica.

Growing up in the part of Jamaica they don’t show the tourists, Mikhail felt the pressure to succeed from an early age. His grandmother struggled to raise him and his siblings in a crowded home with a leaking roof and no indoor plumbing. As the oldest, Mikhail knew he must help provide for his family. As soon as he was able, he went to work and spent his teen years working at the local market, in a bakery, even as a picker for a nearby marijuana plantation, before training to work as a professional welder.

Despite the obstacles facing a poor Jamaican kid, Mikhail fell in love with the power of music. Inspired by such legends as Bob Marley, Tupac and Kenny Rogers, he began writing his own songs when he was just 14 years old. He sang live onstage for the first time when he was 15 and was soon performing in local venues.

Even then, Mikhail knew how to get a laugh with his goofy antics. It was during these early performances back home that Polow Dude’s signature energy—the fun, upbeat vibe he is known for—was first conceived.

Mikhail left Jamaica for the Gulf Coast in 2006, joining his mother in Biloxi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. For a kid who’d grown up on the promise of America, the devastation was a far cry from the future he’d imagined. But it wasn’t long before his new home was living up to all his expectations, rebuilding itself from the ground up before his eyes.

Realizing it was time to build his own future, Mikhail threw himself into his first love of music, and Polow Dude was born. The result was something different and something distinctly Mikhail, what he calls hip-hop with a Jamaican accent. Not to mention, a healthy side of authentic reggae music.

Today Polow Dude spends most of his time working on his music. When he is not in the studio, he is out drawing inspiration for his next track. He never leaves the house without a pen and paper because he never knows where he will find his next muse. Driving around his adopted city, spending time with family, even cartoons might serve as inspiration for Polow Dude’s next hit. Polow Dude release a slash hit single in may 2013 "the motocycle dance" which is getting big buzz all over the internet with over 500,000 hits on youtube in two months.