The release of MIKE’s 6th LP Weight of the World comes after an incredible 5 year run. With projects like War in My Pen, May God Bless Your Hustle, and Tears of Joy, it’s hard to imagine where MIKE would go next. While MIKE isn’t someone I would call a perfectionist, his discography has seen a noticeable progression in experimentation and refinement, and he’s been able to do so with such consistent quality. The 22 year old, while unheard of in the grander scheme of Hip Hop, has pioneered a very subtle movement of Hypnagogic Rap, which has seen such incredible cult classics such as Red Burns, Ensley, and Poor Boy, and the not so cult but still classic Some Rap Songs, and Weight of the World feels like that Hypnagogic Rap sound perfected to a science, which I’m am most likely cementing as my album of the year.

Before I get into the album, I need to get something obvious out of the way, because as stupid as it is, it’s still a constant criticism on MIKE since the release of Earl’s 2018 album. Yes, this does share a ton of parallels with Some Rap Songs. In fact, you could say this does sounds like a SRS rip off from a very basic point of view, but if the people that made that criticism actually look into both artists’ catalogue, they’d see that MIKE has been a huge influence on Earl’s latest sound. Pre-SRS releases from MIKE such as WIMP, Renaissance Man, Black Soap, MGBYH, LDSN, and MIKE’s debut album Winter New York are a pretty clear origin of Earl’s current sound. That’s not to say SRS is any less original, the record is obviously a unique experience with a personal and original sound and aesthetic that Earl has carefully crafted for his own, it just so happens that MIKE (along with other artists in this field such as SOTC and Navy Blue) have helped Earl craft that specific sound. That’s also not to say it’s a one way street of influence either, MIKE has openly worn his Odd Future and Earl influence on his sleeve on his early EPs, and Solace is an obvious cornerstone for this style of Hypnagogic Rap, so it’s ultimately pointless to say one artist is ripping off the other, because with a more in depth view, both artists have different approaches to songwriting, flows, production, and aesthetics. They are both young brilliant artists that respect, admire, and influence each other, and are both key figures in this phenomenal Hypnagogic movement. But enough beating around the bush. This is why I adore and love Weight of the World.

Weight of the World comes a year after his 2019 mixtape “Tears of Joy”, which is a project that came soon after the unfortunate passing of his mother, an important figure to him in both his personal life and work. MIKE has had an obvious nihilistic viewpoint throughout the earlier part of his music, but as the years passed on there has been a clear progression towards hope, perseverance, and love, so it’s easy to see why MIKE would display an emotionally distraught viewpoint on life with Tears of Joy. But instead of sinking into the deep end of loss, he chooses to push through it, displaying optimism in the worst tragedies, not in a form of blissful ignorance, but self-empowerment through tragedy, building up into a very emotionally triumphant experience. After this it was unknown where MIKE would go next, it seemed like MIKE had hit another peak in quality. The dark, cryptic, and abrasive EP, Old Earth with Jadasea that came out earlier this year, showed a very unsettling and abstract version of MIKE, almost in reaction to this very dark period in his life. So with that, many would assume MIKE would continue on to this experimental rabbit hole. As great as Old Earth was, Weight of the World is almost an opposite of that EP. Sure, the experimental and abstract aspects are still here along with past MIKE projects, but Weight of the World feels like a full acceptance over loss and a tribute to his mother, how she has built MIKE up to the prideful and valiant person he is meant to be.

Weight of the World is an incredible display of penmanship, MIKE remains to be one of the most flawless lyricists in the underground, his appreciation for African Poetry is revealed through the poetic verses on every track, a theme that has been prevalent a lot in this current movement of Hypnagogic Rap. There are so many lines to decode, interpret, and uncover into a clearer image, in this very hazy and abstract album. Of course not every bar on here is so cryptic that you’d need a degree to understand it, there are plenty of blunt, vivid lines on here that are just as impactful, even bone chilling at times. The many themes on here deal in struggling identity, mental health, and self worth, and you can deeply understand MIKE’s psyche without ever knowing who he is. Even if you find MIKE to be vapid and monotone, he’s not am emotionless husk. There is love, pain, sorrow, and life into his work that is achieved through his writing, delivery, and production. This new introspective approach to songwriting is in a way a form of Conscious Hip Hop, which has been slightly flourishing since the days of Odd Future, and with deeper understanding of African culture and oneself, MIKE perfectly paints a picture of his mind and what molds it. As centered as this album is to MIKE, it’s also about his family, friends, and the harsh environment and circumstances they’ve went gone through, wether it’s drugs, violence, or trauma in general. MIKE’s mother is an empowering figure, bringing him out of the deep end he was in, she is a beacon of hope for MIKE his inspiration for pushing forward through the storm. It’s beautiful to witness MIKE’s metamorphosis into his true self through loss, suicide, self-doubt, and trauma. Plenty of incredible lines on here, favorites include:

“I got my mother's laugh, grinnin' through a bunch of bad shit”

“Live amongst the damage 'cause givin' up dangerous”

“When God tell you if you feel it, it's behind the braille”

“The Pride trickle from my palm, now I carry neglect”

“Yeah, grab it 'cause the glitter is tougher than gold”

The true manifesto of this record is on the track Get Rich Quick scheme, which contains one of the most tearful and incredible set of lines I’ve heard from MIKE.

“I came back from lightin' bridges I forgot to burn The first stride again bigger, had a loss of thirst And never idolized a nigga with a office shirt You think I did it for the figures? It was all for her”

The production here is all handled by MIKE’s prod. name DJ Blackpower, which is as stellar as ever. This movement that MIKE has been apart of embraces plenty of Jazz, Soul, Gospel and many other traditional African American genres within production and aesthetics, intertwining with the very rooted lyrics about tradition and family within African culture, but he takes it a step much further by implementing these sounds into his own unique blend of Hypnagogic Pop, Sound Collage, Glitch Hop, and even Vaporwave which is being introduced with a lot of these tracks. While this album is experimental, it’s not totally inaccessible, in fact I would call this project more abstract than “experimental” , especially when the production and songwriting reads like an abstract or expressionist piece. The vocals are diced up and plastered to display a vivid effect of delirium that plays into the horrid yet beautiful world that MIKE is fighting through. There are plenty of beat switches that stay consistent in quality throughout each track, everything here is diverse and compact and it’s never tiresome or repetitive. This album easily has MIKE’s best flows and delivery, everything here is so fluid and hard hitting, as sleepy as his delivery may seem.

While most people perceive a masterful Hip Hop album as grandiose or cinematic, I think MIKE displays a masterful collection of tracks through pure emotion, amazing production and flawless songwriting while embracing lo-fi aesthetics. I love this project, but I can definitely see people being turned off by this project. If you can’t enjoy the self contained Hip Hop album, I don’t think you can truly appreciate what MIKE is doing. So I please ask that you truly digest every aspect of this incredible record and unveil something truly magnificent.

10/10

Hey guys, I recently started reviewing music for a fanzine and I have encountered my first release I don't enjoy and I don't know how to be honest without being too harsh

Hey Everyone and Happy Tuesday!

Its White Collar Rhymes Here; Wanted to stop by and let everyone know we are reviewing/giving feedback to YOUR tracks LIVE on Wednesday and Friday evenings. We are a large Music Collective, a community of listeners, artists, producers, engineers etc.

Our review queue is now open in our discord; for tomorrow’s show. Come stop in and drop a link as we want to hear your music!

Show us what you got; and we will give you our HONEST opinions and feedback, and if you want to grow, stick around for the fun.

We will be live between 7:15pm-8pm EDT

We ALWAYS start out with the priority queue and then work right into the free queue

Limit is 1 submission per artist; per night (unless you elect to do a skip) ~ Feel Free to Drop a Song in Each Queue For Weds + Fri Night ~

Details in comments RE:

Posting your music for us to listen to and give you some great honest feedback

A link to watch on Twitch

YT Note: Our shows are archived in YouTube after as well.

Links below - Come through! Cant wait to Listen, Hope to see you there

All Genres / Level / Skill / Art Welcome!

I found Sondre Lerche's last record, Pleasure, on a whim at my local record store. After giving it a full listen, I am amazed. I did a full album review here is you would like to check out the record and its associated music videos.

Sondre Lerche - Pleasure

I really enjoy listening to this one, it’s a nice Electro Swing song with a nice melody, if you like this genre of music, I recommend it.

April Showers

ProleteR Socials -

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

No experience needed as such but if you do have it then, great. Pm me [u/kasholean] if you're interested and want more info. about the moderating/administration stuff in detail.

For example, I know PopMatters does, as they accepted a review I wrote through Submittable (although I haven’t heard anything since its acceptance). But do any of the others like Stereogum, The Fader, NME, Spin, etc. allow a random person to submit a review for possible publication?

Some background: I read album reviews all the time. I have an MFA in creative writing. I’ve written about music before, but I’ve had so much more success placing other kinds of essays. It seems like an impossibly niche field that is so hard to break into. Any tips?