Eloquent MC and supreme lyricist JSWISS is on a mission to be amongst the best on the hip-hop scene based on what he says and how he says it and not so much because of how much he sells. The bright NY native, now a matriculating Carolina Tarheel, knows the two don’t necessarily go hand–in-hand with many getting the nod with less than stellar skills on the commercial hip-hop skyline. So with workman-like focus JSWISS has been steady grindin’ and honing his flow and oh yeah, kids are starting to check him – For real. After releasing his first mixtape, I.M.R.O.B.O.T. late last year the affirmative buzz got lit and fuelled even more the admitted hip-hop junkie’s pursuit of its r.e.s.p.e.c.t. upping both his booth and stage time on the NC club scene. He’s been droppin’ single song gems through a Facebook campaign since August called “New Music Mondays leading up to this, the release of his flavor-filled EP, Michael In The Middle. And that JSWISS buzz? Oh yeah, it’s getting’ kicked up a notch. On Michael In The Middle, JSWISS, who sites an eclectic list of influences that range from A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, The Roots, and JDilla to Vikter Duplaix, Jamiroquai, Soulive, and Raphael Saadiq pulls the lion’s share of production duty and spits with unabashed confidence clever prose that recalls classic hip-hop jewels, but with a new millennium sheen. From the top through to the last track you catch SWISS adroitly shifting through modes, at once, rippin it up hard, riding infectious beats and boasting indelible hooks like on the tight lead track, “What U Been Waitin’ For” and then shooting vivid thoughts to the mind on the provocative, “Role Play.” This project shows without a doubt JWISS is a talent on the rise looking to earn his props old school style through hard work, driven by passion and respect for those in the game who put quality first.