Rap can’t pay the bills forever, even if you have a hit that’s so big it incorporates several other hits within its run time. Mims’ mashup ringtone rap classic “This Is Why I’m Hot” has passed into the annals of 00s music history, but the rapper himself has stayed fairly quiet since then, his last release coming out in 2013 to little fanfare. It turns out that Mims has entrenched himself in the fast-paced world of tech startup companies. The cynics in the world would roll their eyes at that and scoff, “of course he’s doing that. Does he think he’s an entrepreneur?” Firstly, fellow aughts rap hitmaker Chamillionaire is doing just fine in his own tech ventures, and also those cynics fucking suck because Mims won an award and they haven’t.
Back in May, TechCrunch held their annual Startup Battlefield competition in New York, wherein 19 companies sought to impress judges and win a $50,000 prize. Mims, along with his co-developer “This Is Why” producer DJ Blackout, showcased their RecordGram app, a mobile recording studio that looks like a version of GarageBand where both producers and vocalists can upload and share material. Whatever you want to say about it being derivative, the app was strong enough to win first place at the Startup Battlefield, beating out a company that makes a 3D printer that uses metal, which is completely wild when you think about it. Turns out that music is not just Mims’ saviour, but possibly all of ours, as well. Speaking of metal, here’s that rock version of “This Is Why” you likely forgot about.
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Phil will never leave 2007. He’s on Twitter.
