Shawn Maurice Mims (born March 22, 1981), known mononymously as Mims (

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

for Music Is My Savior), stylized as MIMS, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New York City, he is best known for his 2006 commercial debut single " This Is Why I'm Hot", which reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Following the success of his hit single, Mims' debut album, '' Music Is My Savior'', was released in March 2007.

Biography

Born into a Jamaican-American family in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, Mims grew up influenced by the rappers from his hometown. Despite the fact that he lost both parents by the time he was 13, Mims focused on music (his mother had given him his first set of DJ equipment shortly before she died) and school to keep himself out of trouble. Though he briefly attended technicals remedial college, Mims decided if he truly wanted to make it as a rapper he needed to focus on what was important to him. After graduating from Westbury High School, he began spending time in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

with

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

as an acquaintance. His debut singles, "L.O.V.E/I Made a Vow" were released in 2000, under the temporary pseudonym Mr. Mims. In 2001, he was featured on a Canadian compilation entitled ''Private Party Collectors Edition Vol. 2'', by Baby Blue Soundcrew. His guest appearance on the single "Love 'Em All" alongside

Choclair Kareem Blake (born March 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He was one of the most successful rappers in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Choclair has been nominated for six Juno Awards, winning four ...

, steadily garnered the rapper some commercial attention in Canada. The music video was nominated for a 2001 MMVA award. Soon after his recognition in Canada, he would gain connections with Blackout Movement. After, he decided to drop the "Mr." from his name and release 2 additional singles under the independent label Push Play Music: "Big-Man Lil-Man/P.I.M.P." (2002) and "I Did You Wrong" (2003). The latter contained a production credit by from the team aforementioned Blackout Movement, who would also produce the rapper's breakout single in 2006, " This Is Why I'm Hot." This would not be enough to finalize a legitimate record deal for the artist. In 2006, he began to record tracks for Latin hip hop label Urban Box Office. He decided that it would be in his best interests to structure his own label situation. He would also create American King Music alongside a few business partners. While "This Is Why I'm Hot" gradually increased in airplay, the song did well enough on local radio stations, including New York's Power 105.1. It also eventually peaked at atop the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. After a multi-million dollar bidding war, Mims finally signed with the labels

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

; whom released his major studio debut, '' Music Is My Savior'', in 2007. Mims released his second studio effort on April 7, 2009, titled '' Guilt''. In October 2008, "Move (If You Wanna)" became the first official single from Mims' new album, peaking at #63 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

charts. The second single was released on April 7, 2009, entitled " Love Rollercoaster" featuring LeToya Luckett. In February 2010, Mims appeared alongside

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

and Redman on a song entitled "How to Be an Emcee 2010". Mims' relationship with his record label deteriorated during the making of ''Guilt'', and so after the album's release, he decided to move into the technology field instead of continuing to produce music. Mims collaborated with businessman Erik Mendelson to create an app called RecordGram, which launched in 2016. In 2017, RecordGram won

TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. I ...

's Startup Battlefield in New York.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

*2007: ''The Future'' *2008: ''More Than Meets the Eye'' *2008: ''Crazy Shotta'' *2011: ''Open Bars'' *2012: ''Fuck Yo Feelings''

Singles

Guest appearances

2001

* Baby Blue Soundcrew feat.

and Mims - "Love 'Em All"

2006

* Cassie feat. Mims - "Long Way 2 Go" (The Coalition Network Remix) * Lloyd feat. Lil' Wayne and Mims - "You" (The Coalition Network Remix)

2007

* Bad Seed feat. Mims - "Daddy" * Bang City feat. Atiba and Mims - "Say Cheese" * Black Heff feat. Mims - "Bottle of Patron" * DJ Nasty feat. Mims,

Red Cafe Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, Pitbull and Currency - "We Really Do This" *

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

feat. Mims – " Makes Me Wonder" (

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

Remix) * Enur feat. Natasja Saad and Mims - " Calabria 2007" (Remix) * El Arma Secreta feat.

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (; born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee (), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "Honorific ...

and Mims - "Por Eso Estoy Pegao" * Leah Kauffman feat. Mims - "I Like a Boy" (Remix) * Liyah feat. Mims - "Fooled" * Page feat. Mims - "Ballin' Is My Hobby" (Remix) * Prince Ty feat. Mims - "Coulda Woulda Shoulda" * The Untouchable DJ Drastic feat. Mims - "Muthafuckaz" * Willie Joe feat. Mims,

Blood Raw Bruce Stan Falson (born April 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Blood Raw, is an American rapper. He was part of the Atlanta-based rap-group U.S.D.A. until 2010. U.S.D.A bio Allmusic His debut album, '' My Life: The True Testimony'', pe ...

and B.o.B - "Get 'Em, Got 'Em" (Remix)

2008

* Colin Munroe feat. Izza Kizza & Mims - "What The Young Man Says" * Katy Perry feat. Mims - "

I Kissed a Girl "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single by American singer Katy Perry. It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from her second studio album, '' One of the Boys'' (2008). Perry co-wrote the song with Max Martin, ...

" (Remix) *

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

feat. Mims - " All I See" (Remix) * Ryan Leslie feat. Mims - "Diamond Girl" (Remix) * Mr. Vegas feat. Mims - "Energy Rock" (Remix) * OB feat. Mims - "Ms. Goodcookie"

2009

* Bad Seed feat. Mims and Precious Paris - "Bout My Bread" Produced by YaBoyMartell

2010

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist from Clarendon, Jamaica. Career In 1977, Levy formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bla ...

feat.

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

and Mims - "Watch Dem (Murderer)" *

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 m ...

feat. Mims - "Cyber Love (Remix)" *

feat. Redman & Mims - "How To Be An Emcee 2010"

2011

* The Grind Kings feat. The Untouchable DJ Drastic and Mims - "The Real in Me" * Mod Sun feat. Mims - "Live Like A Movie"

2012

Timati Timur Ildarovich Yunusov (; born 15 August 1983), better known by his stage name Timati (), is a Russian rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. Biography Early life Timur Ildarovich Yunusov (, ) was born on 15 August 1983 i ...

feat. Mims and

Mann Mann may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama * Mann (chess), a variant chess piece * ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine * Mann (rapper), Dijon Shariff Thames (born 19 ...

- Get Money

Awards history

* 2001:

MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in ...

, Best Rap Video, "Love 'Em All" (Nominated) * 2007:

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

, Monster Single of The Year, "This Is Why I'm Hot" (Nominated) * 2007:

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

, Best New Artist (Nominated) * 2007:

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was first ...

, Rookie of The Year (Nominated) * 2007:

, People's Champ (Nominated) * 2007:

, Best RingTune (Nominated)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mims 1981 births Living people American rappers of Jamaican descent African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers East Coast hip-hop musicians People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Rappers from Manhattan 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians