Mike Mictlan | |
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![]() Mictlan performing in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2012
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Background information | |
Birth name | Mike Marquez |
Also known as | Mictlan |
Born | July 8, 1982 |
Origin | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Rapper |
Years active | 2001–present |
Labels | Doomtree Records |
Associated acts |
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Website | www |
Mike Marquez (born July 8, 1982), better known by his stage name Mike Mictlan, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California, who is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He is a founding member of the indie hip hop collective Doomtree and the hip hop duo The Mercenaries. Mike Mictlan has released four solo albums and is currently signed to Doomtree Records. City Pages listed him as the 10th best Minnesota rapper in 2012.
Marquez was born in Los Angeles, California to a Vietnam veteran father from Venice, Italy and a convicted American mother, who is from Anaheim. Mike is of Mexican descent. During his childhood, he grew up in Los Angeles with a father who was battling cancer and without a mother as she was in prison for most of the time he was growing up. At the age of 11, he had the dream of becoming a full-time hip hop artist and being part of a hip hop group.
By the time Marquez reached his teenage years, he was sent to live with his uncle in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here, he attended Hopkins High School where he would create the foundations of Doomtree with P.O.S, Paper Tiger, MK Larada and Lazerbeak. When asked on meeting P.O.S on his first day at Hopkins, Marquez stated: "He had a little patch of blue in his hair, and he came up and asked me if I wanted to buy this homemade punk zine he had for $1.”
Following high school, he returned to Los Angeles. During this time, he held various odd jobs, including working as a butcher.
After four years of living in Los Angeles, Marquez participated in a tour with Doomtree in 2004, being openers for Sage Francis. This eventually lead Marquez into moving back to Minneapolis and officially help create Doomtree as a hip hop collective and label.