MIKE continues to be a shining star amongst the underground hip-hop scene.
Making music since 2015, he’s one of the leaders in the wave of abstract artists rapping over looped, sample-heavy production.
On Wednesday (December 21), the New York emcee officially dropped his latest offering, Beware of the Monkey.
The project contains 13 tracks, including its three priorly-released singles from earlier this year, “nuthin i can do is wrng,” “What Do I Do?” and “Stop Worry!”
Additionally, guest appearances come from Jadasea, Klein, King Carter and Jamaican dancehall singer, Sister Nancy.
The latter is a feature on the aforementioned “Stop Worry!” and is particularly known for her 1982 hit, “Bam Bam.”
The single finds MIKE getting introspective when reflecting on his vices and his increase in popularity. “Grab a cup and let my face drown, accompanied with trees / Stu-Stuttering away, cause the company to leave / Just need something I could break down, budge against the heat / Buckle up, we ’bout to change routes, never changing speed,” he raps explicitly in the opening verse.
Furthermore, Beware of the Monkey continues the New York rapper’s trend of dropping a new project on a yearly basis since at least 2017. It serves as the follow-up to his masterpiece from June of last year, Disco!
He subsequently made an appearance on The Alchemist‘s EP, This Thing Of Ours 2. MIKE serves as the sole feature on the second track, “Lossless.” Altogether, the short project boasts other features from the likes of Vince Staples, MAVI and Bruiser Brigade.
The duo linked up just a few weeks earlier for last month’s three-song EP, One More Time with fellow New York rapper, Wiki.
Along with the fresh album release, also came another new music video for one of the tracks, “No Curse Lifted (rivers of love).”
Despite having an otherwise quiet year outside of the singles, the new album arrives just in time to further complicate your year-end lists.
He certainly doesn’t let his fans down, as the new album further cements him as one of underground rap’s best storytellers.
Finally, make sure to stream Beware of the Monkey on Spotify or Apple Music soon. Let us know your top three songs in the comments afterwards.
Beware of the Monkey Tracklist:
- nuthin i can do is wrng
- As 4 Me
- Eczema
- Light (if u can’t see) [feat. Jadasea]
- No Curse Lifted (rivers of love)
- What Do I Do?
- Ipari Park (feat. Klein)
- Swoosh 23
- Tapestry
- Stop Worry! (feat. Sister Nancy)
- WEARY LOVE
- Concrète (feat. King Carter)
- Closing Credits