Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Beke.
Hi Michael, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing up, both of my older brothers played guitar and sang. I always wanted to follow in their footsteps so when I was 10 I begged my mom to let me take piano lessons. From there I started writing my own music when I was 12 and continued to grow in my abilities as a I grew as a person. I would write song upon song for years just to play at talent shows or recitals, but finally when I was 16 years old, I moved to Savannah, GA and was able to get an old used Mac for school. With this, I finally taught myself to produce in GarageBand. I continued to learning and producing music trying to develop my sound more to fit who I thought I was at the time. I went on to record a multitude of songs and even a 15-track album. Some of the more notable songs were “The Depressed Insomniac”, released in 2018, and when I was featured in Canada-based rapper Roderick Porter 2018 album “Rainy Tapes, Vol. 1”. As of late, I am coming back to music slowly but surely after taking a brief break due to health complications. I am continuing, to this day, to release music while pursuing my bachelor’s in Marketing.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For years, I struggled with severe stomach issues that I just would try my best to ignore. Finally, after four years of trying my best to play it off as not a big deal, I decided to try to improve my diet and that seemed to help for a few years. Then, unfortunately in the summer of 2020, I began to get sick and no matter what I did, it wouldn’t get better. It took several months of hospital visits to finally get diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. This diagnosis changed my life drastically. As a young man that hadn’t even turned 21 yet, getting that diagnosis essentially meant, in my eyes, that I had lost the ability to have fun. I had to get 8 hours of sleep, I had to eat an extremely specific diet, and I had to figure out how I was going to continue to afford my very expensive medication. To this day, I have definitely adjusted to this diagnosis for the most part, but I definitely still have moments where the reality of it sets in again.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I try to make music that captures my thoughts while also experimenting with sounds to express something specific in my life that other people might have also been through. I have always had a hard time expressing myself through just words, so having that medium of music gives me essentially a diary to write in.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
When I was little, I used to stay at my brother’s house in the summer. He was the musician I always wanted to be and when he saw that he decided to help me produce a song. It was probably terrible being produced by a 9 year old but it was so much fun and definitely a happy memory I look back on.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/mikebeke?fbclid=PAAabB6Fe4sLmRbHVVnrbFFWZlztqRM-BHDhSGRe7Z8hdbN5pA5Gvave770DQ_aem_th_AcXLoOGJFmMGE9zcIBovuGJcF5OfiFbH9hbl9ZuUsB8Cr3nCilRiFOUZv0GpjY7nxO0
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/michaelbeke?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-beke-970270230?trk=people-guest_people_search-card
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MichaelBekeMusic
- SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/4vgxLckBd9bqKc1P7
Image Credits
Jacqueline Kyuseo Kim
