POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Babson Park native who dropped out of high school and once flipped burgers at McDonald’s has become a world-renowned music producer.

  • Mikey Beasley started from humble beginnings in Babson Park
  • Self-taught musician, producer once worked at a McDonald's
  • He now produces music for commercials, TV shows, and movies

Whether he’s cranking out melodies on a guitar or mixing a hook for the latest rap song, Mikey Beasley said he’s now making a living making beats.

“A lot of people think I come into the studio with something in mind, but I don’t. I literally sit down with an open mind and I start going through sounds,” Beasley said.

The streets know him as Mikey B Beats.

“I wake up every morning to payments from all around the world. I have a screenshot to one from Thailand. I couldn’t even read it,” Beasley said.

He said his beats are featured in rap songs and commercials.

" 'Love & Hip Hop' is another one. I’ve been on that,” Beasley said.

The high school dropout has come a long way. His mother said she’s proud.

“Most parents want their kids to have a college degree, a career. When I made my decision to let Mikey drop out of high school, he got his GED, and he got more and more successful with this music, I had faith in him and I knew he was going to go exactly where he was going to go. And I’m very happy he is doing what he wants to do,” Patricia Beasley said.

“I never took any lessons. Growing up, I was always surrounded by musicians. My uncles were musicians, my father was a musician. My father played in band. Everything I know has been self-taught,” Beasley said.

He started playing the drums at 5 and toured around Florida in a band as a teen. When that didn’t work out, he worked at McDonald’s. After spending three years there, he was able to focus on making music full time.

“Every state, there’s a rapper that I’ve worked with. I would say the one thing that I stand out more than anybody is my live instrumentation and that I can do multiple genres,” Beasley said.

His latest project is making the music for the soundtrack of “The Freeway Boys,” which is in post-production. The film is the story of "Freeway" Ricky Ross, a cocaine dealer in the 1980s, and who rapper Rick Ross derived his stage name from.

With more than 20,000 followers on Instagram, Beasley credits social media and persistence to the keys to his success.

“If it wasn’t for social media, I wouldn’t be anywhere, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today,” Beasley said. “The power of the internet, being able to connect with people from all over the world, and network with people from everywhere, has been a huge game-changer.”

Mikey Beasley is known professionally as Mikey B Beats. (Courtesy of Marino DeMeo)
Mikey Beasley is known professionally as Mikey B Beats. (Courtesy of Marino DeMeo)