The internet chatter over 21 Savage’s impolitic comments on Clubhouse about Nas’ relevance always felt a bit silly. 21 Savage tried to assert that the Queensbridge rapper may not resonate with today’s youth; in the process, he seemingly impugned a golden-era cohort that loudly frets over its obsolescence. Given the circumstances, the duo’s “beef-killing” single “One Mic, One Gun” is a pleasant surprise. Produced by Hit-Boy and released on November 29, it finds 21 continuing to backtrack his off-the-cuff comments, rapping, “When you turn a legend, no such thing as relevance/They must’ve forgot that I’m a new rapper that got integrity.” Meanwhile, Nas adds, “I’m with 21 on my second run, this shit come with age,” referring to his increasingly acclaimed King’s Disease series. The two-minute song works best as a statement of generational and coastal unity. It’s reminiscent of Nas’s J Cole ode “Made Nas Proud,” Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe (Remix),” and other numbers where the “Goats” try to connect with Gen Z on musical terms before time and taste pass them by.
MIKE, Burning Desire
Brooklyn rapper Michael “MIKE” Bonema is a prolific performer — this is his second 2023 project following Faith Is a Rock, a collaboration with Wiki and The Alchemist highlighted by the standout single “Mayors a Cop.” His tics have grown familiar, from his muddy, baritone flow and viscous diction to self-produced lo-fi loops, making it difficult to differentiate between his sundry projects. Burning Desire has a handful of WTF moments that abruptly shift the usual gears, particularly “African Sex Freak Fantasy,” a number produced by North Carolina musician Gawd that’s larded with distorted bass. Mostly, though, MIKE sticks to a well-established formula. Some of his beats are quite nice and buttery, like when he slows-and-chops Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love” on “Real Love,” and ends “They Don’t Stop in the Rain” with the Notorious B.I.G.’s chorus on “Crush on You.” His raps have a punched-in quality, a volley of bars that usually last around a minute or so, followed by a refrain to tie them together. (He compares his style to “a Sistine” on “Sixteens.”) The technique, so common among rappers in the 2020s, yields some standout lines, like when he raps, “I couldn’t cope with my feelings like Romeo” on “Snake Charm,” which is produced by Laron. Near the final third of Burning Desire, MIKE invites Lila Ramani of Brooklyn band Crumb to sing solo on “Should Be!” The haunting number feels like a palate cleanser and leads to one of the album’s strongest cuts, “What You Say You Are.” As MIKE raps, “I’m Michael Myers with the dreads,” he invokes the best aspects of his persona: A hungry striver full of Brooklyn swagger, trembling from the city’s elements and overeager to share his troubles. Not coincidentally, “What You Say You Are” lasts over three minutes and feels like a hearty dish instead of the minute-long nibbles that define so much of Burning Desire. The guests include Earl Sweatshirt and Larry June — both of whom deliver solid cameos — as well as British musicians Klein, Venna, and Mark William Lewis; experimental vocalist Liv.e, rappers Niontay and El Cousteau, and others. The evocative album art was illustrated by Ghanaian movie-poster veteran D.A. Jasper. MIKE released Burning Desire on his 10k label. * (Recommended)
