Mickey Avalon - Biography

Mickey Avalon (born Yeshe Perl on December 3, 1975) is an American rapper from Hollywood, California. His debut self-titled solo album was released Nov. 7, 2006 on Interscope/Shoot to Kill Records in association with MySpace Records. Frequent topics of Avalon's songs are his experiences with substance abuse and prostitution.

Early life and struggles

Avalon's family upbringing was tumultuous. His mother sold marijuana for a living (which Avalon began doing as well) and his father was a heroin addict. He was raised Orthodox Jewish. By the time he was out of his teenage years he had prostituted himself in order to get money to support his heroin addiction. He spent time as a prostitute and drug dealer before finding success in music. By his early 20s, Avalon got married, had a daughter, and moved to Portland, Oregon.

Career

Upon moving to Los Angeles, he was befriended by ex-MTV VJ Simon Rex who encouraged Avalon to rap and collaborated with him. The two began passing out demos to Hollywood clubs and soon developed a following among fans of the Santa Cruz nightclub scene. Avalon is a member of the Los Angeles-based graffiti crew CBS (Can't Be Stopped / City Bomb Squad)

Dyslexic Speedreaders

Mickey Avalon, Dirt Nasty, Andre Legacy, and Beardo were the four members of the rap group, Dyslexic Speedreaders. Andre Legacy was Avalon's friend since elementary school and Beardo had been in the modeling business with Avalon before they gained fame. The last song to feature Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy was the song, "What Do You Say". Avalon had announced on his Myspace that this was the last Dyslexic Speedreaders song.

On November 7, 2010, Avalon announced on theFIVE10 Radio that he was leaving his label and that his relationship with Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy had been strained due to money issues. He told JC of theFIVE10 Radio that Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy never paid him back for all the money he had put into developing them and that was the reason they were not talking. He did say that there was still room for reconciliation stating, "No one slept with anyone's chick."

Controversy

In March of 2007, Avalon was booed off the stage while opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in Oklahoma City. During his set, Avalon threw his microphone at the audience in frustration, and walked off stage angrily. The next day, former Red Hot Chili Peppers' lead guitarist John Frusciante wrote a letter to the band's fans in Oklahoma City, accusing them of booing Avalon for personal issues, and having a lack of "regard for humanity." A similar event happened when Avalon opened for the band at a show in the Netherlands where he left the stage after 25 minutes.