Mr. Midas is, as the name would imply, the man with the golden touch. Originally from Long Beach California, it would be life’s experiences and changes that would turn him into the man who runs the town in Colorado. More than a rapper in name only, Midas touches on the story-telling and cultural necessity in rap often lacking in today’s music. Taking his experiences as the son of an addict, along with his propensity for strength and tenacity, rather than become overwhelmed with the hand he was dealt, Midas flipped the struggles in his life and displayed them as art. From the bottom up, and Son of the Crack Era was born. What Midas has created with Son of the Crack Era, his latest release, is an album that tells not only his story, but the stories of many people whose lives are also shaped by hip-hop. Fashioning himself after the influences of the stories that drive his art, there is no glorification of the crack epidemic and its harshness, but an incredibly adept description of ghetto life. On the whole, music has always been a part of his life, yet it is Jay-Z that quickens the inspiration for Midas. As a rapper, there is no mistaking the laid back, relaxed, confident flow Midas emits all throughout his career, and in the performance realm, there is a space of coolness the emcee lives in, which makes him all the more compelling. The elements of rap that most define Midas on the whole are lyricism and creativity. He says he spends countless hours on each song to make sure his message is being conveyed articulately. “I rarely say the same word twice in my music. I feel responsible to the great lyricists I grew up on such as Jay-Z, Ras Kass, Korupt, and Tupac Shakur, to uphold a certain standard.” Made up entirely of survival and determination, Mr. Midas is a well- rounded artist of the most creative proportions. Able to maneuver in and out of sentences with surprising dexterity, the mass appeal lies in hip-hop purity. Beats, rhymes and stature, with a touch of old school flow. Midas is a progressive voice in the ever changing soundscape of hip-hop, and a willful ambassador to the streets.