Through his mixtapes Winter New York and Longest Day, Shortest Night, MIKE started to tell the story of his childhood, and with mixtape May God Bless Your Hustle he made a definitive statement on the current state of youth in New York. That project turned heads outside of MIKE’s immediate community in the city, earning praise from The FADER and the New Yorker, and being selected as Best New Music by Pitchfork. Themes about the depression and anxiety that accompany being young and African American abound throughout MIKE’s music, but a muted sense of hopefulness and certainty that he is moving towards ultimate triumph is the motor quietly propelling things forward.
MIKE had a prolific 2018 which saw him release four projects: Resistance Man, Black Soap, Renaissance Man, and finally War In My Pen, the latest chapter in MIKE’s story.