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Michael "Mike" Wansley (born October 9, 1961), better known by his
stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
s Wanz and TeeWanz, is an American R&B singer. He performs in various genres, including rock, R&B,
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
, and pop. He was featured on fellow
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
-based duo
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...
' international hit single " Thrift Shop", which received two
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.


Life and career

Wansley started performing in church, school, and on the street. He was introduced to jazz and pop music early and studied jazz at school. He has been performing since the early 1980s. At 21, he formed a band called Boys Will Be Boys. Their repertoire included covers, including
INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
songs. In the early 1990s Wansley went on to become the bass player in the Seattle band The Rangehoods, taking over for Bruce Hewes. He also was the bass player and singer for the original hard-funk band, Lifering, with David Scott Cameron on guitar, Jeff Stone on guitar, and David Nielsen on drums. He later on fronted a band called the Ghetto Monks and saw some success.Caulfield, Keith (October 17, 2012).
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Heist' Album Debuts At No. 2 On Billboard 200, Mumford Holds at No. 1
" ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''.
He sang
hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
s in recordings by D. Sane and Street Level Records for a decade. He also took part in the summer of 2011 in the opera ''
Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...
''. Wanz graduated from Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington. Prior to the break-out performance of "Thrift Shop", Wanz was a full-time software test engineer for companies such as
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
, Adapx, and Volt. Sane called him and introduced him to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to do the hook for "Thrift Shop" in 2012. Wanz has toured with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and performed with them on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'', ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,
'' and ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. He is also featured in the official music video of the song. Wanz has written a book about a series of sayings he has coined over the years, to be called ''#The Book of Wanz'' and has a Ted Talk called "You Too Can Be Your Own Unicorn". In 2015, Wansley returned to his career as a quality-assurance engineer for the software company Tableau and has been working with at-risk youth and other causes as well as working on new music.


Discography


Albums


Extended play

* ''Wander (2013)''


Singles

;Featured in


Appearances

*2003: "Pull with Me" (Dividenz feat. Wanz) (5:24) (on Dividenz album 'Hollow Point Lyrics') *2004: "Take This Flight" (Crytical feat. Dividenz & Wanz) (4:16) (on Crytical's album 'Crytical Condition') *2006: "Rain" (Dividenz feat. Wanz) (5:15) (on Dividenz album '10% Rap, 90% Hustle') *2006: "No Way" (Dividenz feat. Wanz) (4:16) (on Dividenz album '10% Rap, 90% Hustle') *2010: "I'm Gon' Preach" (The Competitive Hustle League feat. Wanz) (3:53) (on Competitive Hustle League album 'CHL') *2012: " Thrift Shop" ( Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz) (3:57) (on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis album '' The Heist'') *2014: "Family" ( Ridsa feat. Wanz) (3:32) (on Ridsa's album ''Mes histoires'') *2014: "To:
Nate Dogg Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American rapper and singer. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals on several hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning him the ...
" (feat.
Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. ...
, Grynch & Crytical)
(3:37) *2015: "Still Believe" ( J-HAZE feat. Wanz) *2018: "Back to Work" ( Wizdom feat. Wanz) (3:24)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanz 1961 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Central Washington University alumni Software testing people American hip-hop singers American contemporary R&B singers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American street performers Grammy Award winners for rap music Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American bass guitarists American male bass guitarists