Contributed
Mims is from the 'hood', but went to college. He dropped out to focus on music.

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Despite personal tragedies, international rap star MIMS' flame has never burnt out and now he's on a mission to show the world why he's hot.

Born Shawn Mims to a Jamaican-American family, it didn't take Mims long to come up with a title for his debut album, Music Is My Saviour, for which his name is an acronym.

By the time he was 13 years old, both of MIMS' parents had died and it was his love for and dedication to music that kept him focused on success and out of trouble. Hailing from Washingto New York, a community that is filled with Caribbean nationals, MIMS has created waves with his song This Is Why I'm Hot and the remix features deejay Baby Cham and singer Junior Reid. MIMS has also kept the dancefloors rocking with the equally catchy Like This.

Now signed to Capitol Records after four years of trying to get a record deal, before MIMS was a hot commodity he was a young teenager messing around with his DJ equipment. He told The Sunday Gleaner, "I started out when I was 13 by DJing. At 15, I went into engineering, producing and writing. I started off young. Before my mom passed away, she had bought me equipment to work with, whichwas helpful."

While MIMS maintained good grades in high school and enrolled into college, he eventually dropped out to pursue his passion. According to MIMS, he has had no regrets - music is where his love is.

Jamaican principles

He attests that his continuous strength and steadfast determination to achieve his goals come from the principles of his Jamaican family. "My family is from Jamaica, my mom, grandparents. We grew up listening to reggae music, so I have a strong Jamaican influence dem bringing from there and I still have that influence. I guess growing up in a Jamaican household, there was a strong belief in God/spirituality, the idea that God has plans for everything, everything happens for a reason. When my mom passed away, I took it hard, but I think it made me a stronger person," he said.

A sign of his strength, according to MIMS, and his major break in the business, was the independent release of his hit song This Is Why I'm Hot. As proof that the rapper is indeed 'hot', according to wikipedia.com, on February 23, 2007 the song reached the top spot on the United States iTunes Store 100 most-downloaded songs, surpassing Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart, selling 140,874 downloads. The song has sold 2.5 million ring tones.

By early March 2007, the online release of the song had propelled it from number 32 to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in one week. This was the third longest leap to number one in the history of the Billboard Hot 100.

The remix of the song only propelled the rapper further. MIMS told The Sunday Gleaner the remix of This Why I'm Hot with Baby Cham and Junior Reid has gotten far more airplay than the original, which is even better for reggae music. Mims attests that he never imagined he would one day work with Junior Reid, who he admires. "A mutual friend of mine, DJ Blackout, he's also from Jamaica, they said they could get Reid on the remix. Ididn't think it was possible. It's incredible working with him, he's a legend in my opinion. The One Blood record is amazing. From me growing up in America listening to reggae music, to Bob Marley, I would never imagine I would do a remix wid a legend like that," MIMS said.

Some influences

Other than Reid, he is a great admirer of other Jamaican artistes such as Cham and newcomer Shawn Kingston, who is also of Jamaican parentage. The remix of Like This features Shawn Kingston, Vybz Kartel and Mr. Vegas.

"Now the music might get more attention. One thing I love about it, I respect reggae music but it's hard to push into the ears of people who aren't familiar with it. The success of this remix puts reggae into a new light, a new area, a different culture of music," MIMS said.

While many persons mistake MIMS for a Dominican due to where he grew up, he is quick to tell people his family is Jamaican. Unfortunately, Mims has only been to the island once. He was planning to return for a family reunion but had previous bookings in Japan.

However, with success comes the naysayers, who comment that his album Music Is My Saviour is far too 'pop' for a rap artiste. However, MIMS is glad for the exposure to all types of audiences. "Anyone who passes into the pop world is criticised, but they can criticise all they want. I love doing music, I want to appeal to as many people as possible, I want to take my music out of the rap world. I want to have old people singing my music. I'm not ashamed of being considered a pop artiste. I believe my music is broad enough to be considered in any environment. There are no boundaries on my album, there's a song for everyone," he stated.

While his career has just begun to hit seriou MIMS sees himself in music for a long time. "I love doing what I'm doing - that's making hit records," he said.

After all, this is why he's hot.