After connecting this previous November for the snack-sized One Extra EP, Wiki and MIKE have unleashed a full-length challenge, Religion Is A Rock, produced completely by The Alchemist.
Containing three songs from the EP—the collaborative “One Extra,” and solo tracks “Be Lifelike” and “Odd Methods”—this 10-song challenge admirably delivers what core followers of each MCs had hoped for from a extra substantial providing, with Al unsurprisingly in peak type.
A transparent standout upon a number of listens is “The Mayor’s A Cop,” a reference to present NYC mayor Eric Adams.
Over the observe’s easy horns, the duo covers lots of floor, most prominently addressing what Wiki sees as a misappropriated metropolis funds spent on policing (“The blues quadrupled up, the block is sizzling/shit, that is how they selected to make use of the guap”)—funds that might higher serve these within the metropolis who go with out.
MIKE delivers poignant bars about getting by way of trauma and melancholy, rapping, “Gettin’ numb, an excessive amount of gasoline in my muzzle to protect satisfaction/All these months by way of that map like I’m puzzled, weird rhyme,” later including, “I keep in contact, making an attempt to sort out these struggles with a scarred thoughts/All this bludgeon in my reminiscence muscle tissues and archive.”
What feels cathartic about this challenge is that Wiki and MIKE each undertake comparatively past-tense approaches to their struggles; whereas their respective journeys are possible works in progress, they rhyme from a vantage level that floats above the weeds, so to talk.
From this finish, Wiki delivers a remarkably highly effective quotable on “One Extra,” rapping, “There’s all the time another factor to do earlier than you let all of it go/Get that rope up off your throat/Thought it was misplaced, got here again washed on the shore/Noticed in awe, thought it was gone, had all of it improper.”
Nevertheless, issues don’t keep as sunny all through. On the dreamy, drumless “Stargate,” we hear Wiki lamenting his battle with alcoholism (“All the things was foggy for years/Pour the backwash out the glass, noticed all of it clear”).
Elsewhere, on the solo observe “Odd Methods,” MIKE feels particularly dreary, describing a single tear shed whereas getting drunk and seeing his late mom’s face within the sky.
The album additionally carries a way of humble acceptance and simultaneous resentment regarding their positions within the recreation; each artists are elite in underground circles however have but to really break by way of. A deep dive into MIKE presents an comprehensible case for why, although Wiki stays a extra irritating instance of trade politics.
Whether or not it’s chastising journalists on “Bledsoe,” or discussing leeches feeding on his well-being on “Be Lifelike,” Wiki makes it clear that he can’t be stopped, regardless of critics, streaming stats or different considerably subjective measures of success (“Be lifelike, we’re getting older/See the statistics, should be fuckin’ over”).
Whereas Wiki, MIKE, and the Alchemist do their factor, the ultimate product doesn’t provide many distinctive, over-the-top moments—doing little to push both MC exterior their consolation zones or fanbases. For listeners who’ve had their fill of drumless beats, “Scribble Jam,” for example, may very well be an arduous pay attention, particularly given the depth of the rhymes.
It’s a challenge for seasoned ears. Nevertheless, this collaboration is proof that each artists proceed to enhance with every subsequent launch–to not point out proof that Alchemist is totally unstoppable.
In a world the place increasingly more of us navigate darker voids, overcoming struggles in solitude, Religion Is A Rock affords some insightful affirmations worthy of a number of revolutions.
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