About Mickey Avalon
Mickey Avalon December 3, 1975) is an American rapper from California. His debut self-titled solo album was released in 2006 on Interscope/Shoot to Kill Records in association with MySpace Records. Frequent topics of Avalon's songs are his experiences with substance abuse and prostitution.
Avalon was raised in a Jewish family and had a turbulent childhood. His paternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors who were imprisoned at Auschwitz. Though his father cleaned up his act and began attending Alcoholics Anonymous, he was struck and severely injured by a drunk driver leaving a meeting. At age 19, Avalon made the decision to take his father off life support, ending his life.
During his late teens, Avalon briefly adhered to Orthodox Judaism in an effort to stay off the streets. Avalon continued as a sex worker and drug dealer until finding success in the music industry. By his early 20s, Avalon married, had a daughter, and moved to Portland, Oregon.
While battling drug addiction, Avalon moved in with his sister, also a drug addict, with the hope that they could aid each other in recovery. During this time, his sister relapsed and died from a heroin overdose. Deciding that he wanted more out of life, Avalon moved back to Los Angeles to make a final attempt to clean up his act. It was shortly after this return to Southern California that Avalon met Simon Rex and began to gain recognition for his music.
The majority of Avalon's work has themes of hard drug use, particularly in reference to his consumption of heroin and crack cocaine, an unusual style in hip hop, where the artist more commonly refers to the sale of such substances. Another popular theme in Avalon's music is his seduction, and sexual encounters with men and women. This is coupled with his overtly sexualized image, often performing with heavy eye makeup and no shirt.
Upon moving to Los Angeles, he was befriended by ex-MTV VJ Simon Rex who encouraged Avalon to rap and collaborated with him. The two began passing out demos to Hollywood clubs and soon developed a following among fans of the Santa Cruz nightclub scene.
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