Mickey Avalon went through years of tragedy and pain in his early life, and has managed to come out on the other side as a successful and oftentimes controversial hip hop artist.
Avalon (born Yeshe Perl) grew up in Los Angeles. When he was young, his father passed away. In his early 20s, Avalon married, had a child, and relocated to Portland. Avalon hit rock bottom when he divorced his wife and became a heroin addict. Years after moving in with his sister and trying to recover, she tragically died from a heroin overdose.
The soon-to-be-hip hop artist moved back to L.A. and lived in a sober living facility. Eventually, he crossed paths with former MTV VJ Simon Rex (aka Dirt Nasty), who encouraged Avalon to take up hip hop. After successfully selling out shows at L.A. clubs and launching an impactful guerrilla marketing campaign, Interscope Records signed him in 2005.
Avalon’s raw, painfully honest lyrics resonated with music fans. He soon opened shows for major musicians like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Travis Barker and DJ AM, Snoop Dogg, Stephen Marley, and Slightly Stoopid. Debauchery and hedonism are aplenty at Avalon’s live performances, where scantily-clad women dance on stage, and fans sing along to the racy lyrics.
In April, his sophomore album Loaded was released, with song titles like “I’m Hot,” “More Junk,” and “Girlfriend.” The album has picked up traction and continues Avalon’s trend of take-no-prisoners, risqué hip hop music.
Experience Mickey Avalon’s CD release parties on Tuesday, June 12th and Wednesday, June 13th, at Dante’s. Orange County electronic pop duo Millionaires will open the show both nights.
