49. MIKE - “GREEDY (Feat. Jesse Brotter)”
I feel like we’re living in a Renaissance of bedroom Hip-Hop. It’s kind of like what happened with Rock music in the 90′s and early 2000′s during the sudden rise, success, and proliferation of Indie Rock. As we all know, Hip-Hop is the new Rock. It’s inherited the throne an donned the mantle of American ascendancy, and if you doubt it, just think about it. There are virtually no longer any “rock stars”. Our biggest and most debaucherous musical celebrities are born of Hip-Hop. It’s the genre of the youth, stadiums, and the masses in general, infecting and altering all other forms of music with its presence.
However, with the success of a genre of course comes its perversion and the watering down of everything it once was. In an effort to be marketed the genre loses its spirit, confined and manipulated by capital and devolved to the lowest common denominator in order to appeal to the widest audience possible.
Music is a cycle, just like life, history, and culture in general (we’re already repeating the 90′s… I mean jesus christ… how culturally and artistically bankrupt are we?), and that cycle simply repeats itself, the echoes and shadows of the past being re-birthed in various forms and iterations. These cycles are often infuriating, however, one of the rare benefits are the counter-cultures that they can inspire. Hip-Hop as a whole has been abused and perverted, but it isn’t all depressing, because out the depressing miasma of “Pop/Radio/Mumble Hip-Hop” we’re seeing new mutations arise. We’re seeing artists who have been inspired to take the genre in new directions and create earnest, intelligent, and creative music.
MIKE is one of these artists. His music doesn’t have the gloss and the shine of mainstream production, nor does he try to mimic the lyrical conventions of his contemporaries. He forges his own path, staying true to himself and the spirit of the genre in the process. He speaks his truth and he does it creatively, embracing the authenticity that can only be born out of the cradle of lo-fi. You can sense the spark of life, the vitality of a soul that believes in the words it creates and is channeling something deeper. It’s the raw emotions and thoughts of someone inspired, who actually feels and believes in what they’re doing. It’s a refreshing sensation to witness, and one that I hope to see more of. Hip-Hop will never die so long as there are those willing to evolve, resurrect, reincarnate, and carry it forward.
