Mikey Smit Brings "Soul & Gutta" Hip Hop to the Forefront With "Money Need Me"

Los Angeles-based MC, producer, and songwriter Mikey Smit has spent years building a sound from the ground up, and he's got a name for it: Soul&Gutta Hip Hop, music he describes as something you feel in your chest. It's a fitting label for an artist who's been recording since age 15 and has since taught himself nearly every part of the process, from writing and production to engineering and visual storytelling. That do-it-yourself instinct traces back to Mikey's early years, when a love of hip hop turned into a deep study of the craft. He cites Prince, Nas, Stevie Wonder, DJ Quik, J Dilla, and Flying Lotus as touchstones, artists he admires for refusing to stay in one lane. That same refusal shows up in his own music, which blends East Coast roots with West Coast soul into something distinctly his own. Mikey is preparing to release "Money Need Me," hosted by DJ Lazy K, on September 26, 2026. The track marks the first single from his upcoming mixtape, The Cloak, and the next step in a broader creative rollout that includes new visuals and continued work under his label Not For Everybody, along with Soul&Gutta, a music division he founded under Ha La Entertainment. Both platforms reflect the same guiding idea: individuality over conformity. For Mikey, the music itself is meant to carry weight beyond entertainment. He wants listeners to feel something honest, to think differently, and to see their own lives, ambitions, struggles, growth, and love, reflected back at them. As he puts it, you don't have to fit into one box to be yourself, a philosophy that runs through his multidisciplinary approach as much as his lyrics. With "Money Need Me" on the way and The Cloak taking shape behind it, Mikey Smit is positioning himself as an independent artist building his own lane, one record, one visual, and one chapter at a time.