Where My Falcons At?

By Michael Blair

The story of how a first generation college graduate and rapper from Cleveland, became the 1st viral college marketing video rapper of the 21st Century and the face of a top ranked university in Ohio. This is based on a true story, and the slogan he created "Where My Falcons At" has reached national attention from some of the biggest platforms i

• Language: English
• Publisher: MAB PINNACLE CIRCLE
• Release date: Jan 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781736208519

Book preview

Where My Falcons At?!?!

How I Became The 1st Viral College Marketing Video Rapper of the 21st Century

Based on the Life of a First-Generation College Graduate & Rapper Who Became the Face of a Major Public University in Ohio.

(Memoir– Based on a True Story)

Mab Pinnacle Circle Publishing

Michael Rosco Blair

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use—other than for fair use as brief quotations embodied—without prior written permission of the author and publisher.

Copyright ©2021 by Michael Rosco Blair

Cover Designer: Jarrhette Burke

Layout Designer: Istvan Szabo, Ifj. - Sapphire Guardian International / Fiverr

Editor: Paige Lawson (United Kingdom)

Publisher: Mab Pinnacle Circle Publishing

(Maple Heights, Ohio)

ISBN-13 (Paperback): 978-1-7362085-0-2

ISBN-13 (ebook): 978-1-7362085-1-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020923499

First Edition

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to acknowledge and give glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I want to also personally acknowledge and say thanks to everyone who ever supported me and taught me something during my time at BGSYOU! I always get asked how I got selected to be a part of the video and wanted the world to know my story from my lens. I didn’t want this huge milestone or my story to get forgotten about with all the new things taking place at the university. As a young black male from Cleveland to become the face of a top public university is a big deal. This video was vital for BGSYOU when it came to enrollment rates during that time and went on to win many prestigious awards for the university. I was also interviewed on Live television by ESPN Sports center, and the first viral marketing rapper to do that from Ohio. The Stroh Center rap video is still the most viewed video on BG’s official YouTube account with over 200,000+ views.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my son Michael Antonio Blair II, and I want him to be able to learn from all the lessons his father discovered in college. I also want to make sure this book Builds Generational Wealth for him and our family forever. This is based on a true story, and I decided to use unique names to reflect different characters and places in the book. I wanted to respect everyone’s intellectual property and apologize in advance. This is a book of my truth and experiences that helped shape me into the man I am today! As you read this book, you’ll personally be able to see college from my lens, and the transitional points of my experience. This book is also dedicated to the entire BGSU class of 2014! We’re still the most influential class that ever-attended BG and helped make the campus what it has become. The final dedication of this book goes to my best friend and brother Samuel Spain Bell, who was murdered during the month of August 2020. I had lots of memories with him during my college experience, and he will forever be remembered. Who would've known a simple lyric like Where My Falcons At and a donor rap video would spark my first official book as an Author!

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Dedication

Chapter 1: John Adams Senior Year

Chapter 2: Freshmen Year

Chapter 3: Sophomore Year

Chapter 4: Junior Year

Chapter 5: Senior Year

Chapter 6: Where My Falcons At?!?!?

About the Author

References

Chapter 1:

John Adams Senior Year

Year: 2010

(Mikey for 3) STAGE

2010 was probably one of the most memorable, craziest, elated and turnt years of my life! I had just graduated from John Adams High School in Cleveland, Ohio with honors; the first to do so in my family. With the motivation and support from my mother LaKicha, my sisters Keerah and Daija plus my Godmother Miss Polen, I always knew I would remain on a path to greatness. My mother has been a beautician since I was a baby and Miss Polen was my 1st grade teacher at Miles School who stuck with me. She basically adopted me but not legally and raised me on the importance of education, finances, and my relationship with God. I credit my mother for my entrepreneurial spirit, family values, work ethic, and mindset of being a strong leader. She made sure I stayed out of the street-life and taught me how to be original. I was always blessed to see both sides of the world due to my upcoming and I spent a lot of time in the neighborhood or Hood of Cleveland along with the Suburbs of Summit County. I’d like to think of myself as a term I created called HOOD-BURB!! This statement is vital because it taught me how to properly carry myself in settings filled with people from the Black, White, Rich or Poor communities! This experience would also go on to equip me for a Predominantly White institution I attended, where I became the Face of the school as a young black student. This would also lead to me becoming the 1st Viral College Marketing Video Rapper along with a live television interview by ESPN. Who would have ever imagined a Cleveland kid from Miles would be featured on outlets like The New York Times, USA Today, NBC Sports, Huffington Post, Bleacher Report, ESPN.com and many other platforms? Well... this is my story!

As a first-generation college graduate, it was always my goal to achieve that for our namesake. I also wanted to set the tone for generations to come in my family, especially my siblings. I wanted to make sure when people heard the Blair name it had a stronger legacy! My senior year at John Adams was special and a lot of monumental things happened. I ran for Prom King and got crowned the 2010 PK, voted Most Popular, and varsity lettered in 4 different sports during my Senior year. I was mainly a basketball star, and everybody called me Mikey for 3 because I was good for knocking down 3-point shots. I even had my own student section and whenever I shot a 3 pointer during games everyone would yell out Mikey for 3! I spent the majority of my childhood playing basketball at the Miles YMCA, which soon became the Earle B. Turner Recreation Center. EBT was like my second home, and it kept me and my sisters out of trouble. I was blessed to be able to attend summer basketball camps all through school thanks to my Godmother, and I had the privilege of playing AAU Travel basketball. I still remember one of the Rec Managers named Coach Sam, who allowed me to play on his (Cleveland Rockers) high school AAU team as an 8th grader. This was one of the top 17u teams in Ohio and we won a tournament at St. Eds that allowed us to attend the National AAU tournament in Orlando, Florida. We drove the entire way on a charter bus, and that was one of my first times out of the state! It was always a dream of mine to play college basketball at the next level, but after a fallout with my coach, I felt like it was never going to happen. I got kicked off the team about 4 or 5 times that season, and still managed to receive offers to play at smaller schools on the D3 level. The only issue was that I always knew I wanted to attend a big school. I had just started making music and hosting events, so attending a D1 university with a network of people would help expand my plan. I was always a genius at marketing and Branding, but never knew what this term meant during those times.

My school had visited (BG) for a college tour earlier in the school year and I instantly fell in love with the campus. I liked that it was only 2 hours away from home and if I ever wanted to drive back to Cleveland especially for Holidays it would not be an issue. I was also in love with the Brown and Orange colors! It reminded me of the Cleveland Browns, and as a Clevelander this made me feel at home. One of my old AAU basketball teammates (D.P.) was already enrolled at BG, and he told me that if I decided to attend the school, he would take me under his wing. I had a lot of respect for him and after hearing some of the great things he was accomplishing at the university, I knew my decision was made. I also knew a bunch of people that had already got selected to attend BG including my childhood friend Shaprice Janes. I ended up applying for BGSU and getting accepted on Academic Probation. I had a 3.3 GPA in high school, but my SAT/ACT scores were not that high. This meant that I had to obtain at least a 2.5 GPA during my first semester to be released from this program. I did not worry at all because I knew I could accomplish it. Getting kicked out of school and having to come back home was something I refused to let happen. It was always a time for Play and a time for Business. I knew my mother, sisters, brothers, and God mother were counting on me to succeed. I did not know what I was going to major in but figured it would be sports management since I loved sports. However, after doing more research, I ended up deciding I wanted to major in Communications and Business. My goal was and is to have one of the next big television networks in the world and produce my own content!

After telling all my family and friends that I would be attending BG in the Fall, everyone kept asking me about basketball. Since that was my first love, I was torn about not getting a college athletic scholarship. I figured that if the Lord wanted me to continue my basketball journey, then I would make the BG Men’s Basketball team as a walk-on. I also figured that since the chance of me going to the NBA was slim, I should start focusing my energy on my other passion. With my love for music, and growing up in a family full of undiscovered musicians I knew this would be my next journey. My cousin Whiz was the rapper in the family, and he was my favorite cousin whom I wanted to be like. He was the one that helped me write my first song at age 12, and I learned a lot from watching him battle rap artists when we lived in King Kennedy Projects. My first big music performance was on a youth weekend trip in High School to Washington, DC 4H Center. They were having a huge talent show, and it was students from all over the U.S. The Jeremih Birthday S** song was popular, and I remade the song talking about my Birthday! The crowd went crazy, and that was where my love for performing was born. I recorded one song during the summer before heading to BGe, and after hearing the finished product I was hooked! It is no exciting feeling like hearing your voice played back over a song. It was a song me and my friend (Tae) had made for an upcoming live performance at one of the parties we were hosting. We got a lot of positive and negative feedback, but the positives were enough to boost my confidence. Whenever I had a microphone in my hand, I felt unstoppable and it was always natural for me to control a crowd.

I moved in with my best friend (LV) and spent my senior year of High