Mikar-The-Vipar

Meet Chesham based rapper Michael Kamara, aka Mikar-The-Vipar.

Born in Sierra Leone and pushed out to Ghana by civil war aged just 5, Michael’s journey finally brought him to Chesham, where he arrived as a young boy of 9 years old, living in the Pond Park area of the town. He describes his early memories of settling here as ‘really tough’, feeling culturally isolated and having to adjust to the UK’s cold climate. Michael’s tale demonstrates the strength of character required to settle in a foreign land, where some people may seem hostile and unwelcoming and the ways of its culture hard to decipher. He hasn’t, however, allowed the challenges he has faced stop him chasing his dreams, and is testament to the power of believing in yourself. Michael’s philosophy is that ‘you alone make yourself or break yourself’. He has released several singles on iTunes, including his debut Gimme Love, and earlier this year, topped the iTunes World chart with his track Flashing Lights featuring guest rapper, Young Free. Introduced by a mutual friend, Chesham Tales first met Michael when he was about to jet off to Sweden to record collaborations with Swedish rappers Eazy-B, Freezin’ Point and G-Force.

An ex-pupil of Chesham Park School (now Chiltern Hills Academy) where he completed his GCSE’s, Michael is also a talented sportsman, having represented his county and district for football. Rapping started off for Michael whilst still at school, simply as ‘messing around with mates’, though slowly it started to get more serious and he had his first release, ‘Feelin’ This Way’ in 2011, aged just 19.

Clearly a hard worker, when he’s not recording or playing shows, Michael works full time in a residential school. He also volunteers for local ventures, such as the ‘At the Edge Project’ which works to engage young people on Chesham’s Pond Park estate, using sport to ‘reduce anti-social behaviour and promote community cohesion’. Through this, Michael helped establish the Pond Park Rangers football team. To speak with Michael, there’s a sense of humility, appreciation for life, and nothing is taken for granted.

When UK based, Michael records in London, though prefers living in picturesque Chesham, where the pace is calmer, less manic and fresh. Amongst his achievements so far, Mikar-The-Vipar has performed at the O2 Indigo and O2 Academy supporting Rudimental, though he remains clear-headed and is determined to stay grounded – ‘I’m not hyped up about all this as I know I’ve still got a long way to go – I’m not there yet’. But he’s enjoying the journey, and is making the most of it, heading out to Sweden again to record before the year is up.

You can download Michaels music right now from iTunes: Mikar-The-Vipar

Follow Michael on @mikethevipar or MikarTheVipar