Little-T and One Track Mike was a hip-hop duo from New Jersey, USA. It is mostly remembered for its only hit, "Shaniqua", which was popular on MTV during 2001.
History
Timothy Sullivan was given the nickname "Little T" as a child by his older brother. While attending Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1998, Sullivan introduced himself to dorm mate Michael Flannery, "the lanky kid on the next floor with the computer and four-track", looking for someone to help him launch a career in rap. After the completion of their first demo together, Sullivan gave Flannery the nickname "One Track Mike". The two recruited keyboardist Dan "Shank Bone Mystic" Saks, bassist Jesse "Savior" Saul, and percussionist Jason "J Ride" Riddle to complete the band lineup. Their witty hip hop songs became so popular with students at Rutgers that they began playing shows throughout the tri-state area. When members of MTV's Lyricist Lounge Show saw the group perform at the Mercury Lounge in New York City, they introduced the band to Lava Records who quickly signed them. Prior to the release of their debut album, the group performed at the last four stops of the Vans Warped Tour in August 2001. The band's first single "Shaniqua" found moderate success on MTV and alternative radio stations, effectively building anticipation for the release of their debut album Fome Is Dape. The album dropped in late August 2001, but a record release party scheduled to happen in Manhattan on September 11th was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center that morning. The band toured for two years with Outkast, Blink 182, Green Day, Ben Kweller, My Morning Jacket among others. "Wings" was chosen as their follow-up to "Shaniqua" because the band felt it more accurately reflected their sound, where "Shaniqua" which made them appear to be just another white hip hop act. The group disbanded before releasing a sophomore album. Subsequently, frontman Tim Sullivan performed in a "bad ass rock and roll" group named Homeschool and an "acoustic twangcore" project named Mudfite before going solo and signing with ANTI- Records under the stage name Tim Fite.
"Don't Rain on My Parade" from Artist Amplification 6
Videos
"Shaniqua"
The song "Wings" was made into a video which briefly aired on MTV in the UK. The song and video were associated with the 2001 filmMean Machine. According to posts by the artists on the Little T and One Track Mike Lava Records forum, the video was filmed on location at the prison setting of Mean Machine.
