RSSEarl Sweatshirt and Mike [extended]
- Doris [Columbia, 2013] ★
- Tears of Joy [10K, 2019] ★★★
- The Weight of the World [10K, 2020] A−
- Faith Is a Rock [ALC, 2023] B+
- Showbiz! [10K Projects, 2025] B+
- Pompeii/Utility [Surf Gang, 2026] ★★
See Also:
Consumer Guide Reviews:
Earl Sweatshirt: Doris [Columbia, 2013]
Earl's return of the depressed is so much more soulful than Tyler's revenge of the nerds ("Sunday," "Sasquatch") ★
MIKE: Tears of Joy [10K, 2019]
Clotted samples and rapping more muttered than mumbled further thicken congested evocations of allusive confusion and literal mourning ("Memorial," "Stargazer Pt. 3") ★★★
MIKE: The Weight of the World [10K, 2020]
Like his cross-continental ally Earl Sweatshirt, who adds a near-jaunty specificity to this album's very last verse, 22-year-old Anglo-New Yorker Michael Bonema is a depressive who sounds like one. Muttering thoughtful rhymes in a clotted, immersive, yet quite comprehensible flow, he favors beats that win you over, when they do, without so much as winking at catchy--the one that got my attention was the groan he folds in every six seconds until and after he finally starts rapping "Plans": "I'm a lover with regret, I never picked the hate/Askin' God to still protect you from my shitty ways." The death of his mother in London sparked his most recent and engaging album. But from this distance it sounds like the finality of that event inspired him to climb out of whatever hole he's been living in rather than digging it deeper. A−
MIKE/Wiki/The Alchemist: Faith Is a Rock [ALC, 2023]
His trademark mutter more grumble than mumble, upper-case-as-opposed-to-upper-class rapper MIKE proves a suitable foil for or even corrective to atmospheric beatmaker-cum-concertmaster the Alchemist. But what's striking about both MIKE and Wiki is that they neither brag much or pretend they've got the world at their command--even the one they could easily enough pretend was theirs. They smoke their spliffs or down their 40s and report that both have a way of dulling their minds. They like and respect the women they may lust after and may not. Both the more metaphysical rapper and the more down-to-earth one see themselves as works in progress and are more than halfway to fulfilling their respective ambitions. Which doesn't mean they're anything but dismayed that New York's mayor is a cop they believe with excellent reason isn't half the man either of them is. B+
MIKE: Showbiz! [10K Projects, 2025]
Facility out the fucking faucet won't float you down to much in the way of laughs, romance, politics, or come to that hits, at least hits that will take you or your fans anywhere you all wish you could go. Not a "clown" or a "clone" just like he says; not a "showoff" or a "stunt man" either. But definitely not the "Artist of the Century" even if that's just a joke I don't get. Talented, absolutely. B+
Pompeii/Utility [Surf Gang, 2026]
Subscriber-only review. ★★