Open Mike Eagle

I hate song by song reviews. But my life would be a lot different if I ever actually listened to myself.

So bro... Open Mike Eagle has a new EP OUT!

A Special Episode Of is another quality installment from my favorite rapper. It listens like an appendix to Dark Comedy, his critically-acclaimed album from last year. He continues to make me want to punch myself in the face with his rapping ability. In addition, this EP is chock-full of the amazing, off-kilter production Mike has been so good at finding.

At this point it's expected. You're spoiling the people, dude. Rotten! And I love you for it!

Exile's beat on Dark Comedy Late Show has a haunted little vocal stab that immediately gets me doing the Big Hero 6 though.

FUZZY BABY!

With his, Fuck you! I like the Spin Doctors, and Vladimir Putin pout, Open Mike Eagle continues to make me fall in love with his honesty and wit. But he follows that up with jokes on me academic commentary and "with kids being murdered just for being tall and black outdoors," and it makes jump up and want to hug this mother fucker with the whole hugginess of my hug skills.

And lest we forget, that despit all the wit and poignant point of view, Open Mike Eagle can rap his ass off!

Split Pants in Detroit (or Hyrule) gets called out right away, with Mike's "I like beats to sound like Zelda towns" because I'll be Gannon's grandma if that ain't exactly what it sounds like. The song reminds me of when I went to catch an early installment of The Mike Eagle Show at Los Globos and Mike rapped the whole first song with his zipper down. After, he chastised all of us for not at least giving him a signal. With Split Pants in Detroit the awkward caper of being Michael Eagle continues down its amazing path, boxers-exposed.

"Raps For When It's Just You & The Abyss" gives us our first and only "DANG!" It's sleepy yet anxious beat finds Open Mike Eagle at home in the tension, juxtaposing imagery in succession like one of those vintage toy Viewfinders. I click the lever not being able to wait what the next cell will tell. That Boko Haram line gave me goosebumps too. And then I hugged my daughter hard.

I need to ask Mike if his MC Paul Barman boner was birthed in the womb of Deltron 3030 when Meet Cleofis Randolph The Patriarch had us all sing rapping "the more ticklish the more you have". Trickeration features Barman and Milo and is playful but probably the least produced song on the EP. My daughter recently realized that As Seen on TV products don't perform as advertised. I'm a teach her to start calling "Trickeration" on that biz.

Stay Still Awake (Up Before Anybody) is further proof that somehow we're living the same lives, Mike. It is also an example of the laser-guided missile system that is your ability to match song concepts to spot on production.

Lastly, and, if you'll pardon me, least leastly, I want to hear Ziggy Starfish at Kaos Network for a Blowed show! I can't see it anywhere else! I just see the madness in my head! There are imaginary rafters and very not imaginary rappers fucking rocking from them! It'd be all limbs and drums and love! Gold Panda gets a gold star for this frenetic fucking bounce house. I swear to god I want to put this song under a old Skip It commercial and straight up die. My god, I thought Late Show was going to be THE one, but Mr. Eagle, you savvy, sailor-hatted, Cap't Otherground, you saved the best one for last.

A Special Episode Of... Open Mike Eagle. Get it. I paid double. Pretty much any time Mike needs ten bucks, I'd get him. At this point he could tell me the ten bucks was going towards an EP from the future and I'd cop. I'd pay a fee for an Open Mike Eagle music service. SHIT!

Joel's Note: After my first time listening to this TP all the way through I hard pressed the home button on my phone and asked Siri to call Open Mike Eagle. For some reason my rap phone started ringing and it connected me with a voicemail. I proceeded to tell the unnamed voicemail that this entire project, and Open Mike Eagle himself, are fucking BALLS. Whether or not Mike got the message, I'm telling him now. Mike, THIS WHOLE THING IS BALLS. YOU ARE BALLS. Mike is now rapping with the cool I've always associated him with, but I think now he knows what I knew I knew, so now we both know what we know and that's that we know bro. We know.