The New York-bred rapper/producer MIKE kicks off his latest album on an ironic note. Beware of the Monkey kicks off with the soulful single “Nuthin I Can Do Is Wrng”, which contains the lyrical refrain; “Through the city, I can’t do too much of looking up”. The irony comes from the fact that MIKE’s career has skyrocketed over the past few years as every release from the prolific rapper/producer earns him more critical acclaim and widespread attention. His latest album marks his 7th LP in the last 5 years, with each release building on the previous as MIKE continues to improve both his songwriting and beat making. Beware of the Monkey and its 13 songs catch MIKE at a turning point in his life, his newfound fame comes with trials and tribulations that the artist attempts to navigate without it ever affecting his craft.
While this album finds MIKE in a transitional period in his life, he has never sounded so self-assured. He stares at the many different tempos explored in Beware of the Monkey with his signature grin and attacks them with the same level of introspection he has become known for. While his pen is strong throughout the 30-minute runtime, moments like the Klein-featuring “Ipari Park” hit the perfect balance of deep thought and light-hearted bars. Within the same verse, MIKE pays homage to his mother, pokes fun at LeBron James’ lip-syncing videos, and drops gems like “You can learn a lot from being in the wrong places”. The way MIKE is able to intertwine multiple concepts within one song deserves a case study on its own and on this latest project, the consistently sharp wit of MIKE feels elevated and rejuvenated.
While MIKE’s lyrical ability has been a talking point within hip-hop since he came on the scene, his production work has also been sneakily progressing under our noses. MIKE creates beats under the moniker dj black power, a pseudonym we have seen release its own LPs (2020’s king of the night and 2021’s for ur own good). Like MIKE’s last LP, 2021’s Disco!, Beware of the Monkey was fully produced by dj blackpower and even within a year, you can hear how much his production work has progressed. Once people hear the work dj blackpower put into the instrumentals on this album, it is going to be hard to deny him as one of the best producers working today. The way the instrumentals presented on this album are put together gives them the feeling of history being stitched together through muddy drum loops and dancing sample chops. The rolling piano melody that backs “Swoosh 23”, the swaying loops on “Tapestry”, the complex textures on “Eczema”, MIKE has outdone himself with the craftsmanship of these instrumentals.
If MIKE had released Beware of the Monkey a few months earlier, a lot of the “Best Albums of the Year” lists you’ve been reading would look a lot different. He gracefully navigates a new season in his life through vibrant instrumentals and heartfelt poetry that is as direct as it is artistically ambitious. At the start of track two, “As 4 Me”, MIKE claims to be the “best rapper in the world” and after hearing Beware of the Monkey, it’s a hard claim to refute.
