Open Mike Eagle


(Copyright © 2020 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of Use )
Unapologetic Art Rap (2010) , 6/10
Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes (2011), 6.5/10
4nml Hsptl (2012), 6/10
Dark Comedy (2014) , 6.5/10
Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (2017), 7/10
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Los Angeles' rapper Mike Eagle was a member of the rap trio Thirsty Fish with fellow rappers Jonathan "Dumbfoundead" Park and Michael "Psychosiz" Greenwood, the latter already active as Customer Service with two albums, Please Hold (2005) and Free Y-Not (2009). They released Testing the Waters (2007) and Watergate (2011).

Meanwhile, Open Mike Eagle had already debuted solo with Unapologetic Art Rap (2010) and continued with Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes (2011), characterized by his nerdy-satirical approach to contemporary issues (bordering on theater of the absurd). After 4nml Hsptl (2012), a collaboration with a producer named Awkward, Open Mike Eagle delivered his best album yet, Dark Comedy (2014), not shy to deliver sharp sociopolitical commentary. The raps include the hilarious Doug Stamper, Big Pretty Bridges and Dark Comedy Morning Show, and creative beats highlight Golden Age Raps (with Cohen Beats, aka Israeli producer Michael Cohen), Thirsty Ego Raps (with Detroit producer Illingsworth) and Idaho (produced by Kenny Segal). A worthwhile appendix, possibly outdoing anything in the album, surfaced on the label compilation Persona (2015): Celebrity Reduction Prayer, produced by Amir "Oddisee" Khalifa.

After collaborating with English producer Paul White on Hella Personal Film Festival (Mello Music, 2016), Eagle crafted the bleak concept album Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (2017) about the last days of a housing project about to be demolished; a somber, nostalgic and at times heartbreaking parade of realistic portraits of the people he grew up with. The best songs ((How Could Anybody) Feel at Home, My Auntie's Building) embody the psychological destruction of memory as well as the physical destruction of the demolition process. It was a demonstration that "nerdy" hip-hop can be as powerful as a two-hour documentary.

(Copyright © 2020 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
(Translation by/ Tradotto da Damiano Langone)

Il rapper losangelino Open Mike Eagle esordisce nel trio Thirsty Fish con gli album Testing The Waters (Bell Rang, 2005) e Watergate (Mush, 2011) - insieme a Jonathan "Dumbfoundead" Park e Micheal "Psychosiz" Greenwood (quest'ultimo gi attivo sotto il nome di Customer Service con gli album Please Hold, 2005, e Free Y-Not, 2009) - per poi intraprendere la carriera solista.

 

Il suo album di debutto, Unapologetic Art Rap (Mush, 2010), e il successivo Rappers Will Die Of Natural Causes (Hellfyre Club, 2011) mettono nel mirino i temi della contemporaneit con un approccio derisorio da nerd che sfiora il teatro dell'assurdo. Dopo 4nml Hsptl (Fake Four, 2012), in collaborazione con il produttore Awkward, Open Mike Eagle raggiunge ottimi risultati con Dark Comedy (Mello Music, 2014), album di graffiante satira sociopolitica: fra i rap pi divertenti troviamo Doug Stamper, Big Pretty Bridges e Dark Comedy Morning Show, mentre i beat pi creativi sono quelli di Golden Age Raps (con il produttore israeliano Michael "Cohen Beats" Cohen), Thirsty Ego Raps (prodotto da Illingsworth) e Idaho (prodotto da Kenny Segal). Dello stesso periodo, ma inserito nella compilation Persona (Mello Music, 2015), il brano Celebrity Reduction Prayer (prodotto da Amir "Oddisee" Khalifa), forse persino superiore alle migliori cose di Dark Comedy.

 

Dopo aver collaborato con il produttore inglese Paul White per Hella Personal Film Festival (Mello Music, 2016), Open Mike Eagle realizza il desolato concept Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (Mello Music, 2017), incentrato sugli ultimi giorni di un quartiere di case popolari prima della demolizione: una parata di ritratti, ora solenni, ora nostalgici, ora persino angoscianti, dedicati alle persone con cui il rapper cresciuto. Le canzoni migliori, come (How Could Anybody) Feel At Home e My Auntie's Building, danno corpo sia alla distruzione psicologica delle persone private dei propri luoghi che alla distruzione fisica dello spazio urbano. Questo lavoro peraltro la dimostrazione che l'album di un rapper-nerd pu essere tanto efficace e significativo quanto un lungo documentario realizzato con tutti i crismi.