Substantially involved in a number of different disciplines -- social activism, theater acting, and spoken word poetry -- Michael "Mike-E" Ellis always discovers ways to incorporate all into his uplifting, Afrocentric hip-hop. The Detroit-based MC was actually born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and moved to the U.S. when he was three years old. Before he launched a full-fledged rap career, he could be seen gracing several television commercials and heard doing many voiceovers for radio. However, Ellis found a national audience for his lyricism on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def...