by MIKE
Released June 21, 2017 via 10k
Reviewed June 26, 2022
Top tracks (based on community voting)
Hunger (50%), GREED (30%), STANDOUT (25%)
New York’s growing underground is quickly becoming one of the most pioneering musical scenes today with the likes of Griselda and a new wave of drill. Meanwhile in NYC, eighteen year old Michael Bonema ties together the basis of DOOM's production, the gritty, depressive honesty of Earl Sweatshirt, and an emerging employment of elusive post-punk and hypnagogic pop influences. Technically immaculate yet still evoking a gritty dirtiness through its low fidelity and sometimes tough subject matters, MAY GOD BLESS YOUR HUSTLE roused greater experimentalism with sampling in order to communicate a theme on a more holistic level rather than through subtle motifs. This has since been seen in works from The Alchemist, Standing On The Corner, Armand Hammer, and even core inspiration Earl Sweatshirt, whose third album (which would drop just under 18 months after this) would promote the sound. In a time where rap had reached new levels of immediacy, MIKE focuses on something everlasting, permanent, and possibly timeless. His slick pen game paired with intelligent curation & organization of lush sampling still sounds innovative five years on. – Cam (10/10)
Cam: 10/10 | Pax: 9.5/10 | Alan: 8.8/10 | Hadley: 8.5/10
Jared: 8.5/10 | Dominick: 8.2/10 | DeVán: 8/10
