A Macon teen’s music went viral on TikTok. He joined the label who signed Soulja Boy

“I want to carry on the legacy of local legends and make my hometown proud; coming up in a church right here in Macon started it all for me.”

Those are the words of Mike Clark, Jr., a 2022 graduate of Northeast High School. Clark, 19, is indeed on a fast track to make his hometown proud.

Clark recently signed with Collipark Records, the label credited for signing and navigating the careers of well-known artists such as Soulja Boy and the Ying Yang Twins.

The Macon native started singing at a young age in the choir at St. John Baptist Church alongside his parents.

Although Clark excelled at many extracurricular activities throughout his school years, including football, he always came back to music.

During his senior year, while working at the Eisenhower Applebee’s location in the morning and the Riverside location at night, Clark began to record his music on TikTok. It didn’t take long for the Macon teen to get noticed.

Clark said things happened fast in a short period of time.

“It’s crazy to think about how far I’ve come since then,” he said. “Right now, I have over 195K followers on TikTok and have gotten 1.7M likes on a single video - it’s wild.”

Clark, who effortlessly blends the old-school elements of soul music with a classic blues twist, adding rhythmic new-school lingo to carve a musical lane of his own, said he comes from a musical family and has been influenced by both his mom and his dad.

“My dad used to MC parties back in the day and was also the family DJ,” he said. “He not only introduced me to all kinds of music from R&B and hip-hop to country and blues, but he also showed me what it takes to control a party, which is paying attention to the audience and reading their body language.”

“My mom, Cindi Clark, played a major role in me falling in love with music,” Clark said. “She was in the choir also.”

Clark added that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the choir at St. John Baptist Church.

“The church choir taught me about melody, harmony, digging deep in my soul and storytelling,” he said. “That training continues to bless me.”

How did he get the attention of Collipark Records?

“My song ‘Auntie Outside’ started buzzing and DJ Smooth, a local DJ, sent it to Mr. Collipark [founder Michael Crooms] because he knows how to take a hit record to the next level,” Clark said.

Clark has also collaborated with comedian and actor Kountry Wayne.

“It was great to be able to collab with him. I got first-hand experience at seeing how funny and talented he is,” Clark said. “He works so hard and has really built a major platform for himself and other people, so it was inspiring for me to be around that kind of energy.”

“I’m glad I was able to connect with him and make a video that a lot of people related to and found funny,” Clark said.

However, despite his early success, Clark said Macon will always be home and has given him a strong foundation.

“The solid foundation I built here in Macon makes me feel confident that I have what it takes to keep pushing the music culture forward,” he said. “This is home and will always be my home.”

Clark went on to say keeping Macon on the ‘musical map’ for future generations gives him something to work toward.

“It’s exciting and gives me something to strive for,” he said. “It’s an honor to keep the tradition going and to keep Macon’s name on the map for the new generation; we have a great culture here for music.”

Clark said he is proud to represent his hometown and is grateful for the love he’s already been shown by the community.

“I’m proud; the city has shown me so much love. They sing my songs word for word and everyone is really rooting for me to win,” he said. “There’s nothing like having the support of your hometown and Macon has definitely shown up and showed out for me.”

“I want to expose my talent to the world. I love making people feel good and singing did that for me,” Clark added.

Clark currently has shows booked in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. He will be performing in Macon on June 16 at Lake Tobosofkee, and in Forsyth on Aug. 31.

Clark’s journey can be followed on Instagram at @official_mikeclarkjr and TikTok at @famousmikeclark.

For more information and performance dates, visit the Mike Clark Jr. website.

This story was originally published February 28, 2024 at 11:07 AM with the headline "A Macon teen’s music went viral on TikTok. He joined the label who signed Soulja Boy."