had a hard time falling asleep last night, so i made some sleepytime tea (with immune-boosting echinacea!) and managed to finally wind down with the help of MIKEās latest solo release. his languid delivery has always been a source of comfort for me, and his ability to pack entire lives of emotion into a handful of bars is paralleled only by frequent collaborator, earl sweatshirt. itās one of his best works, but āsnake charmā is a highlight for me :)
MIKE has become my favorite hip hop artist this past year. I was having a hard time finding new hip hop that I really liked every element from production, lyricism, delivery, etc. When first hearing MIKE, instantly that feeling was quelled. His release, Tears of Joy was my introduction and it was on repeat most of last winter. Weight of the World came out at the beginning of the summer and feels a lot heavier to me. Maybe itās just the timing and everything going on, but itās felt much more welcoming recently.
oh like album of the year and itās only february! this shit feels like a warm hug and solitary stroll through the city. itās beautiful. MIKE is a beautiful guy. shout out him
My fav MIKE album, one of my fav albums ever!! That man can find a pocket on anything!! putting this on and going on a walk will never fail to remind my why I love being alive
cartoonishly gory and melodramatic it may be, i have found a lot of catharsis in living vicariously through arakiās articulation of queer angst, and how life in rural america can literally feel like stepping into hell itself; if you like irreverent protagonists and seeing bodily harm done to nazis, itās a must ^_^
depending on the day of the week, (usually a random wednesday on which i feel the more ravenously coveted releases of SAW vol. 1&2 can be overlong and at times unwieldy), drukqs is to me the most evocative distillation of aphexās predilection for acid-break brutalizations and madcap sonic textures. it is, somehow, one of the albums i return to most and yet one of the last iād ever recommend to a sane individual ā and ironically, one of the worst to listen to while stoned. i canāt vouch for it enough