Michael Smith grew up in what New Yorkers call “uptown”. According to the map, it’s Harlem, and to those that know, he’s more specifically a resident of “Spanish Harlem.” Michael is a black man. Heavily influenced by the streets around him, the socioeconomic struggles, the magnetism to vices but also the beauty of the people and the culture. His mom made sure that Michael saw and understood more than just the Harlem outside of his door...the Harlem that most people only think exists. She exposed him to the inner workings of Wall Street and the mannerisms of those that run it. When you mix that with the legacy of his “number running” granddad, you get a man that can find success on either side, in either room though never quite able to escape the effect his earth colored skin has on the observer. 

The reality for young black men growing up in Harlem, too often, is presented as being less than stellar; or as a place that can't consistently birth individuals that grow to become actual titans in the worlds that exist just a few miles downtown in the financial center of the world. For many, that's valid...but only as valid as growing up almost anywhere else. If you let the media tell it, you can't be great from here or rather your greatness will never be assumed. That's wack. That idea is a byproduct of the racism that stems from the capitalism that confines so many to the 50 or so square blocks that physically define Harlem as opposed to understanding the universally brilliant nature of its impact on the young black mind. Enter Michael Smith. It's easy to say that he isn't your typical "Harlem" guy...but then you'd be admitting that bias exist and that very bias itself is driven by things that beautiful minds like Michael's can't control but are forced to navigate daily.