2023 THE YEAR OF THE MICROPHONE PHINE

Andrew "The Drew" Williams, Member of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Group “Public Enemy” and the visionary creator behind "The MICROPHONE PHINE'' a brand new take on a century old device used for the projection of sound. 

 

The Drew spent decades working as a sound engineer for Hip Hop Legends including but not limited to, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame rap group Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Leaders of the New School, Ice T, KRS-One, De La Soul, and Monie Love, producing songs for artist such as Flavor Flav, Bonnie & Clyde and producing the sounds track for movies such as "booty call" and "Burn Hollywood Burn"  and the steadily working behind the scenes to ensure the high quality of audio for productions around the world. 

 

"The MICROPHONE PHINE" gives anyone holding it the comfort of efficiency in an otherwise very pressured situation. The Drew currently serves as the chief Sound Engineer for the award winning recording Gospel artist Pastor Donnie Mc Clurklin at Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport NY. 

 

 For decades, artist have held the Microphone in a way that felt most comfortable. As a Sound Engineer, The Drew noticed the distortion of sound quality when artists or public speakers held the Microphone by cuffing the head of the mic. By doing so they smothered the diaphragm and muffled the sound, so he decided to provide a solution. The Drew fixed this by designing a microphone that can be held this way without smothering the sound. 

 

"In the early 90s Ice Cube called me before his show at the Apollo.  He needed a skilled sound engineer who knew rap music so he reached out to me because in the rap community, I am known as the “Sound Assassin”.   

This is the first time that he is going solo with “Da Lench Mob” live at the Apollo and two successful shows ending with people actually throwing money on the stage, Ice Cube asked “ Drew, what are you doing for the next three weeks”?   I said “if you need me I'm there,” and Cube said that he did, so they drove the tour bus from the Apollo to my home in Roosevelt, NY and I packed while Ice Cube and Da Lench Mob got off the bus and played football in the street with the kids on the block. 

 

Soon after we got on the road, one of the dates on the tour stopped in Ohio where Chuck D happened to be in town to perform the song “endangered species” so he asked me to walk him to the stage while he rapped his part. With security in front of us escorting us through the crowd, suddenly they stopped and so did I. This caused Chuk D who was behind me holding the mic cupped to his face while still rapping, to chip his tooth on the mic. 

That night after the show I went to the hotel and developed a design that would be a solution. A Mic that allows you to grip it in comfort without muffling sound. 

 

In searching to name my innovation, there was one phrase that came to mind. Throughout history we as a people have worked to define our experience and rap is an embodiment of this. A system devoted to telling the stories of our communities and connecting the world. It is those who embody a true passion for this part of our culture and craft that can call themselves a Microphone Fiend. With the negative connotations around the word fiend itself, I decided to redefine the brand with a different meaning and use “Phine” to honor my mother Josephine, who has always supported my dreams into successes and as I told my father before his passing, that I would one day do in naming it after her.  That is how the Microphone Phine was born.....