If you’d told Mike Posner he was destined to become a hip-hop sensation before he became a college graduate, he might have reacted the way many of us would–a blank stare and a “What the hell are you on?” look as he made his way to his next class lecture. Yet in less than a year, Posner has already been snatched from a somewhat predictable life as All-American College Student, and plunged into a wonderland where his recordings are already taking the ‘net by storm– and he’s only begun his senior year at Duke. Posner spent the better part of his 2008 school year walled up in his dorm room and working on what he calls a “mix tape” (read: CD), churning out the best beats and rhythms he could come up with. In January 2009, he released the music as an LP, A Matter of Time, and became one of the genre’s newest hot topics. Within a couple of months, the CD was out, the bidding war had begun, and Posner had become an overnight sensation (albeit through a great deal of hard work and long hours).

What are you studying at Duke? Is life hectic enough?

Mike Posner: I’m a Sociology major and Business Minor. Yeah, it can be difficult–definitely don’t have a lot of free time. But I make it work. I signed my record deal after my junior year in college, I put out a CD in March for free and it spread word of mouth; then it all just sort of snowballed into this nationwide buzz. There were kids across the country singing the words to my songs, and it had literally been a couple months since the tracks got out. I got to choose who I wanted to be with.

Unless they’re on American Idol or something, it’s pretty rare for an artist to make it big in such a short amount of time. It’s almost like the classic story–a kid is whisked off the street and into the vortex of the music industry…

Posner: After it got out there I got some attention from some pretty well-known people. I ended up getting to choose who I wanted to work with. Sean’s been my best friend since senior year of high school, so that’s how that happened. I just tried to take a hold of whatever connections I could, and talk to who I wanted to work with. DJ Benzi was another guy who I really admired and was fortunate enough to collaborate with on this. A lot of it was just hard work, man.

So on some tracks you’ve got guitar arpeggios that sound kind of jazzy; on others you seem to edge closer to that Motown R&B sound your home state’s famous for.

Posner: Definitely. I mean, I grew up exposed to a wide range of stuff–everything from Jay Z to Paul Simon. As a kid I started listening to Mos Def and Top Quality, and just got curious about where the music came from. I cobbled together some money for a keyboard and some loops. But where I grew up in Michigan especially–the area and people I was surrounded by, the life, that all influenced me more than any particular musician or artist. Race, environment–

Does Sociology sort of feed your music and vice versa? Sometimes listening to your music is seems like you’re just having fun with the lyrics.

Posner: Yeah, both. Where I came from, I’ve seen how the mass media influences people and music and the fans–and in the past few months I’ve sort of become part of it and been on the other side of the fence.

Songs like “Smoke N’ Drive” and “Drig Dealer Girl” seem to be poking fun at the more vapid nature of hip-hop and rock lyrical content. Is it sort of a tongue-in-cheek parody thing?

Posner: I don’t make a huge effort to put large existential sociological themes into my songs. It’s more like I’m putting people from different backgrounds into contact with each other through the content, which most people on some level can relate to. I’m not really into preaching or anything like that so much as having stuff in there people can identify with each other on.

On “Cooler than Me” you recite the chorus from Carly Simon’s “Your So Vain.” You take a good little stab at whoever the song’s intended for–”You don’t even look when you pass by/by the way you wear your shades like you’re cooler than me.”Is it all good fun, or is there anyone in particular that the track’s directed towards?

Posner: It was more just a tribute to Carly Simon, right there. I mean, a couple of girls inspired that song. But after they hear it a few girls have even come up to me and said, “That song’s about me, isn’t it?” They didn’t get that the line in particular was just a reference to Carly Simon.

So on some tracks you’ve got guitar arpeggios that sound kind of jazz I saw that you collaborated with Jackie Chan. How did this happen?

Posner: Who?

(*Shitty Journalism Alert*) Jackie Chan. It says on your Myspace page–

Posner: (laughs) Jackie Chain, man. Not Jackie Chan the movie star.

So, uh, tell me what it was like working with Jackie Chain. Who the hell is Jackie Chain?

Posner: He’s an interesting cat, man. He’s this Asian dude from Alabama who grew up listening to a lot of old school hip-hop. He worked with me on “Smoke N’ Drive.” He’s a really cool guy.

So even though you’ve only really broken out this year, do you have any plans on where you’re gonna go from here? Or is it too soon and time to just finish up Duke and get out?

Posner: Honestly  I can’t even listen to my last CD. I’m already so much better than I was, even 3 weeks ago. I think a lot of it is just because I’m just experiencing so much. I knew I was only 21 when I put it out, and a lot’s gonna change in me, a lot’s gonna mature. It’s not like I’ve dug myself into some hole. I have my own name and personality. I started out with a vision and I knew I was gonna go somewhere. I take pride to sound not like anyone else. I just put down the DNA, and take the strand off that that I like.

Interview by Jeff Nau