Black Mikey – Suitcase Box x Gangsta
Black Mikey “Gangsta”
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Black Mikey “Suitcase Box”
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Black Mikey’s latest (digital-only) release, Smash or Get Smashed On, turns out to be pretty spotty. It might be that Mikey’s recorded too much in too short of a time, such that he’s spreading himself too thin. For much of this mixtape, he sounds like he’s on auto-pilot. It’s actually jarring to hear “World So Cold,” a song from last year’s excellent Blackula, in the middle of this mixtape because it reinforces what’s missing. “World So Cold” has heart. Smash or Get Smashed On could use more of it.
The good thing about a digital release though is that you can choose to get only the highlights. In which case, I highly recommend “Gangsta” and “Suitcase Box.” One of Black Mikey’s best assets is his raw intensity. “Gangsta” not only plays with that–it pushes that intensity to the limit. You can hear Mikey steadily growing louder and more furious as the song progresses until you swear he’s about to bust out of the speaker, Bruce Banner-style. The force of his voice knocks you out.
“Suitcase Box” is probably more interesting for music nerds like me. The song finds Mikey reminiscing on back in the days, growing up in the Southeast amongst the gang culture. But then he also puts this gang culture against a backdrop of old school hip-hop, showing the hip-hop roots of the “gangstas” that many would like to separate from hip-hop. It’s funny how “Suitcase Box” constantly almost sounds like one of those songs where some rapper reminisces on “back in the day” when hip-hop was “pure.” But it never falls into the trap of blind nostalgia. It’s like “Suitcase Box” is a correction on all those songs, enlightening us to how much the street life and hip-hop used to really blend together.
If you’re interested, you can cop the songs or the entire mixtape here. If any other rappers are gonna drop digital-only releases, I’d appreciate some liner notes, production credits, etc. just as a music fan. Thanks in advance.
Reading be fun though:
