March 5, 2014 • * ®|e ^Jort lattò (Observer n , • n » i « h \\ « *»»***< » »ì 1 X i 1 < • ’ ** ♦ ' 'M ì t ' À Page 9 , L « '• ■ ancouver East County Beaverton »erteli North. Portland [ 1 » ▼ ? ...a®- \ Y fH '¿si ii» A 1 . photo by D onovan M. S mith /T he P ortland O bserver with his first project titled 16 Bars, Portland sown rapper, songwnter and emcee Mike Bars, is drawing fans from across the country With hi<t firct n m ifir t titiori uiet R a re ” D ^ r t i a ^ t . 16 Bars” Going Worldwide Local emcee boasts global exposure following debut release by D onovan M. S mith Less than two minutes into a sit down interview, a fan rushed into the Sizzle Pie pizzeria off Burnside and approached our table; he wanted to shake the hand of emcee/ songwriter Mike Bars. The adulation might be expected consid ering Bars has racked up over 400,000 plus views on a 4-month-old video alone, and over 3,000 downloads on his 3-month-old debut album. “It’s been happening more and more man, ya nah’m sayin’ which is cool,” he says as the fan leaves, adding with a crack, “and no, I did not pay that dude to come.” With his first project titled “ 16 Bars,” Portland’s own says he’s only just getting started. This album is fittingly 16-tracks (sans the Portland anthem bonus track, “P-town”) and came about as a result of Bars obsessing over another project he has been working on for nearly two years, titled “The Micro phone.” “ 16 Bars was like a relief for me, you know what I’m saying— like a creative relief. I was so focused on The Microphone and doing everything that I was doing, that I didn’t get to write anything new.” This output finds Bars exhibiting his often electic range, spinning on the usual bragga docio-train that’s expected from rappers, to moments of great humbleness and vulner ability. One moment y o u ’ll find Bars rapping lyrics like “Foul m outhed, you Listerine/ I ’m a dish m achine/N asty, you like Mr. Clean/I spit suprem e/W ith a 1000 an hour salary/T hat’s why they kiss the crow n not the ground when they bow down to m e” on “Hit ‘Em H igh” then next you can find continued W ' on page 15