bleed moxie

With a career spanning over 15 years, Mitchel Paulson has brought to life several characters to convey the messages of his music. First, he was twentysomething rapper Moxie, a character that was finding his place in the world and in hip hop (though he realizes now he had found his place in neither).

An emo leaning skater kid who partied more than he should have, the Moxie character provided the vessel for Mitchel to express the fast livin, party hard days of his 20s while simultaneously navigating the immense pain of a failed engagement. Moxie was the character that first garnered Mitchel radio play, regional notoriety, and a dedicated fan base. The Moxie character stayed with Mitchel until 2015, when he retired the character after a long, successful run. 2016 brought a new chapter and a new character in the form of The Mox & J. Project with noted vocalist Jess Davis. This character saw Mitchel diving into themes of life in his 30s: relationships and career successes and stressors while still trying to maintain a youthful outlook on life.

2020 brought the worldwide pandemic and the breakup of a long-term relationship for Mitchel, spawning the MJ FLAWS character. Alone and isolated for the first time in many years, MJ FLAWS was created as a means of processing the hurts of the breakup, the uncertainties of the future of the world, and the intense isolation experienced at the time.

With recording studios shut down, the MJ FLAWS character became a stripped down, lo-fi, living room recorded, emo pop punk phase of Mitchel's career that eventually saw him leave his beloved Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and relocate to Denver, CO. Now, after settling into life in the mountains, Mitchel is back with a brand new character that reflects this new stage of his life, enter "bleed moxie".

Rooted in the idea that the initial Moxie character still lives deep inside yet feels mostly dead after years of slowly bleeding out of Mitchel, bleed moxie is a car crash of a life with so much promise that seems almost over in so many ways. Still, the youthful energy with which Mitchel dreams remains, as strong as ever. bleed moxie represents the vessel that brings Mitchel's first solo studio hip hop album since 2015's "Smile, beautiful".

Recorded with renowned Producer/Engineer Hayden Hallatt at legendary Denver recording studio CCM Studios on Colfax Ave and featuring support vocals from Kate Fern of buzzworthy Denver band May Be Fern, Violin from Sarah Hubbard of acclaimed Denver hip hop band Flobots, and featuring production from Ryan Hayes from Minneapolis band Nur-D, bleed moxie presents the haunting, expressive, cinematic "women's society".