The Beginning:
Michael Shawn McCary was born on December 16, 1971 in North Philadelphia to his mother, Omarnetta Thomas and father, Robert Lewis McCary. His nickname for about five years was Bass because of his deep voice of course. He has two brothers, Rob and James, and one sister, Katesha. Only Rob is his whole brother, the other two siblings had different mothers. Mike's real last name is supposed to be Williams but his father was a convicted convict so he changed his entire name. Mike says that his father never really had a real job, he would have a bunch of different ones that were sometimes no too legal. His mother is now a retired nurse. Unlike his dad (who has now died), Omarnetta was a very kind and loving mother who wanted Mike to go to college and study accounting or law. Because of her loving attitude, his mother was his role model growing up. Mike's childhood wasn't the easiest at all. Since his mother wasn't the kind of mother that got too mad about what they didn't have, their entire family had to live on her happiness and joy. When Mike became a teenager, his voice wasn't just deep and cute, he was smart as well. Always getting on the Honor Rule (a thing that honored kids with at least a 3.5 average in school) and being on the Debate Team for a time. While he was in elementary and junior high school, kids teased Mike for having such an intense feeling for music. Once he got to the Creative and Performing Arts High School, none of that childish behavior was directed to him again since the students there were all interested in some form of entertainment or show business. Then came the day that would change his life forever. Everyone knows the story of Mike getting into Boyz II Men by having to go to the bathroom to the right time when Boyz II Men were in the bathroom singing "Can You Stand the Rain" he decided to put in a bass note. He was later added to the group. Before he was in the group, Nate and Mike were on the same basketball team, and he didn't really know Shawn and Wanya much until he saw Shawn sing his solo in the choir and Wanya was always showing off by singing in the halls of CAPA. Michael and his two good buddies in high school, John Brown and Shawn Brown used to play pranks on the school by sometimes claiming a water fight day and supplying everyone with water balloons and water guns. When asked about Boyz II Men's first real performance, the magical Valentine's Day performance, Mike says that after that performance girls started to notice them more. When that happens, you know you have to stay with that kind of job for as long as you can! Once Boyz II Men met Michael Bivins on that night in 1989, Mike's plans to go to college were drastically put on hold. Much to my surprise, Mike said in 1994/1995 he would still like to go to school and study to do something other than sing. Those plans are now mostly not going to happen, but ya never know.
"We love to laugh."
Since Boyz II Men got noticed with "Motownphilly," Mike has been known as the quiet, deeped voice, and the guy that uses a cool looking cane. The other fellas in the group are always saying that even though Mike doesn't speak much, when he does, you now he's going to have something pretty good to say. The deep voice of his makes the fellas call him a "freak of nature" because there are boy groups out there that have a deep voiced part in a song, and when the guy who does that part speaks normally, his voice is not deep. That's not the case with "Bass" though, his voice his always deep, no matter what. Speaking of the nickname, Bass, a funny thing happened to Mike when the Boyz always said their nicknames wherever they went. When Boyz II Men day was proclaimed on April 22, 1992, the mayor of Philadelphia called Mike "bass" (the fish!), so you know that nickname was going to throw some people off sometimes. The cane came about because of Mike messing up his ankle and knee in high school when he played basketball. He is still using the cane today, he now has many different ones that can be seen in most of the early Boyz II Men videos, and their newest video, "I Will Get There." Something that keeps Mike sane and not big headed is his family treating not like a star, but the same guy he was before Boyz II Men sold over 30 million records worldwide.
On the road, Boyz II Men are just like a family. Mike says that they "do a lot of goofing off, playing video games, hanging, playing music, working on new songs, cracking jokes. We love to laugh. We laugh all day long-but then it's time to crawl into your bunk and say, 'All right. Let me regroup.'" Keeping things serious and funny on the road has helped the fellas stay sane also, and not get wrapped up in the web of the music business and the success.
Mike also has a bunch of hobbies including playing pool, watch movies, shop for clothes, play basketball, write music, and many more things. Since Mike's back went out in about April of 1998, he hasn't been able to dance as much with the other three members during their 1998 Evolution World Tour. Hopefully, when Boyz II Men's fourth non-Christmas/remix/Spanish album comes out, and they most likely will tour for it, he dances along with the rest of the fellas like the good 'ol days.
Outside of Boyz II Men, Mike now helps manage another Philly vocal group, Voices of Theory. He's also appeared in two movies on the big screen in 1997, Hoodlum and How to be a Player. He had very small parts in both movies. He also had his own non-profit organization, The McCary Foundation which held a celebrity b-ball game in the summer of 1997 in Detroit. Like the other three members of the group, Mike is also apart of Groove, their clothing line, and they own a part of the Motown Cafes in New York, New York, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Through trials and tribulations, Mike has become the back bone of Boyz II Men vocally, and socially. The "new Barry White" is definetly a great guy. Without Mr. McCary, Nate, Shawn, and Wanya might have gone insane with only a three-part harmony and without someone to look to for some good laughs or a serious talk. From his kindness towards the fans to his intelligence, Michael McCary is one class act.
Mike Quick Facts:
Full Name: Michael Shawn McCary
Birthday: December 16, 1971
Favorite Color: Black
Old Nickname: Bass (not the fish)
Pets: Clea & Rocky (Clea is a labrador, who is 5 years old, and Rocky is a rotweiller who is 7 years old)
Voice: Bass (duh!)
*Interesting Fact*: Mike is very good friends with one of the Backstreet Boys, AJ McClean.
Weird Fact: Mike is allergic to tomatoes and he got the scar near his forehead and near his nose while in kindergarten.
Some information has been taken from The Boyz II Men Success Story, Defying the Odds & Us II You. Some sources could be wrong, so please excuse me if there are any major mistakes. Also, if you have a Boyz II Men web site, don't even think about taking this biography, logo or background from my page and putting it on yours. I made this on my own and I personally hate it when I see my hard work on someone else's web page. Thank you.