The BupGrade Ten:  One person.  Ten minutes.  Ten Questions.  5 of the same.  5 new.  A final BupGrade recommendation.

The first time we tried to interview Mick Boogie, he got a call from Lil Wayne, requesting he hand deliver beats for an upcoming project they’re working on together, and that was the end of that. But who is Mick? When Lebron has a party, when an artist (Q-Tip/Busta/Kweli/etc) wants to make a dope remix or mixtape, and when true music aficionados want classic presentations for their iPods, they call him.  He’s a DJ extraordinaire, boutique co-owner, and urban tastemaker.

BG: Who are you and what do you do?
MB: My name is Mickey, but the world knows me as Mick Boogie.  I am a DJ/Entrepreneur/Husband.

BG: Who do you have a crush on?
MB: My lovely wife Rana.

BG: What makes your toes curl?
MB: Ummm . . . (silence).  I don’t know what ‘toes curl’ means.

BG: What are you addicted to right now?
MB: I’m permanently addicted to my iPhone and Blackberry.  I’m currently addicted to the remix of Kanye’s “Love Lockdown” by LMFAO.  I am also addicted to Brooklyn because I just moved there and I love it.

BG: If you had to go to Mars tomorrow for the next three years, and could only take two people and three things, who and what would you take, and why?
MB: I would take my wife, I would take both of my cats– because you could add them up into one person– and my three things would be: my computer, a bible and some wet wipes, so we could have sex and clean ourselves up on Mars.

BG: You started off as a DJ with a college show.  Now, you basically have a brand: you do high profile parties, projects, etc.  How did you make that happen?
MB: A lot of hard work, a lot of marketing, a lot of God-blessed talent and a lot of luck.

BG: So you hear most things before most people.  What will we have on repeat on our iPods in the next couple of months?
MB: There are some songs on the new Jay-Z album that are absolutely phenomenal.  Also, I’m working on a project right now that coincides with VH1’s Hip Hop Honors with a bunch of new school rappers honoring the people being honored on VH1, and some of the covers are incredible.  I’ve been working on this shit for the last couple of days—its remarkable.  I thought of it basically last Friday, and it will be out in about a week.  We move quick!

I got Freeway remaking Naughty by Nature, Kidz in the Hall remaking “La Di Da Di”.  I got The Cool Kids remaking De La Soul shit; I got Dilated Peoples remaking Cyprus Hill.  Its just ridiculous, and its all reproduced tracks from all my producer friends.

I’m gonna try to create an annual project. I’m doing it with my blog in conjunction with NahRight, which is the biggest hip-hop blog.  Its gonna be nuts—its all groups people care about, and the final product will be really good.  I’m really excited . . . its fun.  I love it.  Its what I think I was put here to do.

BG: You’re a white man working in a field of black entertainers who entertain a largely white audience.  What is that like?  Do you ever feel any tension, or feel any responsibility regarding that?
MB: No.  Not as much as I used to.  It was odd at first, but the world has changed a lot over the last ten years, you know? Black kids listen to rock music, white kids listen to hip-hop, racism has died down, and we’re about to have a black president.  Everything is everything.  And my wife is black . . . and will slap me if I say anything different.

BG: What has been your best experience on a project and why?
MB: It’s a three-way tie.  Working with Busta Rhymes on the Dillagence project, and helping get that coordinated and out to the masses, because Busta was sitting on a vault of unreleased Busta/Dilla songs– and those guys together are a match made in Heaven.  Putting something out like that with him and really helping it get streamlined and coordinated the right way, marketed the right way, so that all their fans can appreciate it was an honor and a privilege that I’ll always remember.  You know, just working with somebody like that, and honoring someone as talented as Dilla.

The Little Brother project, And Justus For All, was a great project because it was the first time I really got to delve into the A&R side and really make a lot of decisions, versus just collating other people’s songs.  It was something that we all put together from scratch.  Which kind of leads into my third project, which is the Hip Hop Honors project, because I’m involved with everything from finding the right beats, to making sure the producers are right to making sure the rapper’s verses are correct.

BG: What living person has had the most influence on hip-hop, and will have the most influence going forward?
MB: Jay-Z.  Simply because he went from being an underground rapper to a street rapper to a pop rapper and now, he’s basically royalty.  The guy has enriched hip-hop, and shown a great example for how hip-hop can be grown, can be adult, can be respected.  He travels the world, and gets treated like a foreign diplomat.  No other rapper can meet with presidents and CEOs and still make some of the most relevant music today.  What he’s done is an influence to others, and is going to continue to be, moving forward, a great blueprint –no pun intended– for everyone to follow.

BG: Who or what needs a BupGrade?
MB: My toes need a BupGrade.  I’m trying to get a pedicure, but the hotel I’m staying at right now—their spa is closed.  Crunchy.

(photo)