What a ride Huey Mack has had so far.  One day he’s an average kid at Morgantown High School, making mixes on a computer and the next thing you know, he’s playing sold out venues all over the world.  The transformation has been both surreal and fantastic and he can tell you all about it this Thursday at Xtreme Sports.  Amped Optics is hosting an in-store meet and greet with the famous rapper from 3:00-6:00 on October 23. 

 

Xtreme Sports, located in Meadowbrook Mall, is the perfect fit for the rising star, as it carries a full line of Amped apparel, Mack’s tour sponsor.  Amped is a line of apparel and accessories that represents the best of the best in music and extreme sports.  Gear will be featured during the Meet and Greet and the first 100 who purchase Amped gear will receive an extra gift. 

 

Mack, whose real name is Joseph Michael, soared to success after dabbling in music as a high school student.  His first song was about his high school football team, which also had a role in his name.  “I was injured as a sophomore football player and at that time, there was a video game called NCAA Football 2009.  In the game, they could not use the real names of the players because they were still in college, so the game generated random names for the each team member.  There was a player that got sustained the same injury I had and his fictitious name was Huey Mack.  Everyone started calling me that and it just stuck,” Mack said.

 

His first mix tape was downloaded over 30,000 times and his videos have been viewed by millions.  His pride in West Virginia is evident in his songs and he is known for being very relatable to his fans.  Part of his appeal is that is so down to earth. Unlike many rappers, his ego is in check and he is humble about his success.  He cites a wide range of influences on his musical style, including Bob Dylan, Vanilla Ice, and the Goo Goo  Dolls.  His newest release reflects these influences and demonstrates a more refined product than earlier work.  “I take my love for all music and put it all into one product,” Mack said.  “I’m just an average kid that did something not so average and a lot of kids look up to that.”