paztuhmike

What would you do?

What would you do if one of hip hop’s most well-known A&R reps called you directly, gave your music props, and invited you to perform live for him and his team? Sound too good to be true? Think again. That’s exactly what happened to Paztuh Mike. Read more about how this rapper picks ministry over music.

The Call

It was a typical weekday. Paztuh Mike was at work, busy taking care of a few projects, when his phone rang. On the other end was one of his ministry team members telling him about a “weird” call she got from someone inquiring about his music. She went on to explain, “He said he’s with…” As she struggled to remember the name of the record label, she eventually spurted out enough details to let Paztuh Mike know this was no ordinary call. He told her she had spoken with A&R royalty in the hip hop world. The record label was one of the top in the game.

Paztuh Mike took down the man’s contact information and quickly dialed the New York number. When he got through and verified the caller was legit, the A&R rep went straight to the point.

“My team’s been tracking your music online for about a year,” he said. “We like your style. We want you to come to New York, open for one of our main artists, and then meet with me directly. You cover half the costs, we’ll get the other half.”

Paztuh Mike knew this was part of the test. A chance for the rep to gauge his willingness to invest in his own career. By the time they hung up, word about the opportunity had already spread among Paztuh Mike’s team. Excitement was spilling over from everyone…everyone except Paztuh Mike.

Is God in it?

“I immediately prayed to God,” he recalls, “and asked Him to make it plain if I wasn’t supposed to take this offer. I know it seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime chance and everybody around me was hyped, but I’ve learned no matter how good something looks, if God’s not in it, then I’m not doing it.” “Plus,” Paztuh Mike adds, “even though the rep seemed interested, I wasn’t sure if he had actually listened to my music or was just repeating what his team had told him.”

The fact that Paztuh Mike didn’t have the money to make the down payment made the invite even more daunting. But, when one of his team members offered to help cover the costs, the ball started rolling. The break he had been waiting for seemed just a plane ride away.

Divine Intervention

Paztuh Mike spoke with the A&R rep a few times during the day. Meanwhile, someone from his team drove around town looking for a place that would wire the payment. She kept hitting unforeseen snags, but finally found a service that could handle their request. Despite the hurdles, things seemed to be moving forward.

At the same time, Paztuh Mike was at his team member Candice’s house, on the phone with the rep. As they finalized travel details, in walked Teasha, Candice’s daughter. Teasha had convinced her mom to let her interrupt Mike because she had something important to tell him. When Teasha asked for a few minutes of Mike’s time, he ended the phone call and gave her his undivided attention.

Teasha, who didn’t know anything about what was in the works, began to share: “I had a dream last night,” she said. “In it, you had a big opportunity that everyone was excited about. You had to fly out for this project. While everyone was watching your plane take off and cheering you on, the plane ended up crashing and you died.”

Then this happened…

Paztuh Mike immediately thought about his earlier prayer: for God to make it clear to him if he wasn’t supposed to go on this trip. Within minutes, he was back on the phone with the A&R rep letting him know that he wasn’t going to accept the offer. The rep was floored.

“Do you know how many people want this chance?” he asked.

“I know,” Paztuh Mike told him, “but I’ve got to do what God wants me to do.”

“I believe in God too and know that a lot of times this is how He works, putting opportunities like this in front of us.”

The rep made a few other convincing points, but not enough to sway Paztuh Mike’s decision. His priority, Paztuh Mike explained, was his nonprofit organization, Men Standing Positive. He candidly told the rep that he knew God was calling him to hit the streets and make his service to others his No. 1 mission. “If this will take me away from that, then I can’t do it.”

Paztuh Mike’s passionate talk was met with silence. So much silence he was sure the rep had hung up on him. But the call was still connected. Then he heard these words, “Man, honestly, that’s one of the realest things I’ve ever heard. Seriously, if you ever need anything, hit me up at my number.”

No Regret

With such a huge opportunity right at his doorstep, it would be easy to understand if Paztuh Mike looked back on that time with regret. But regret, he says, is nowhere in the picture.

“When you do things God’s way, there’s never any regret. At the time, I was still promoting myself under the MiNiMe stage name, a label I was no longer proud of. Plus, as I told the rep, I knew I couldn’t walk away from my time in some of St. Louis’ toughest neighborhoods. Those lives mean too much.

“To any up and coming artist,” Paztuh Mike adds, “stay true to what God has shown you. Stay true to yourself. Do things His way and you can’t go wrong.”

* The names of the A&R rep and record label were purposefully omitted