Back in 2010, L.A. rapper Open Mike Eagle released his first full-length album Unapologetic Art Rap, which contained one of the best singles I’ve ever heard, called, “I Rock”. The album’s name is a testament to Mike’s approach to his music – intelligent and meticulously planned art, with no apologies for his progressive way of tackling rap. For all you Seattleites, think Macklemore meets Shabazz Palaces.

Earlier this year, Mike, along with producer Awkward, released 4NML Hsptl (Animal Hospital), his third and most recently full-length. The music from the duo features grooves that drop you into trances, hooks that hang in the brain awaiting to better one’s day, and, most importantly, lyrics that force you to think deeply about your own path in life while at the same time opening you up to Mike’s. There’s far too much notable content on 4NML Hsptl to talk about in entirety, so here are a few thoughts on my favorites moments:

Hitting an emotional tone early is the drone-driven, airy-melodic track, “Hsptl”. This is Open Mike Eagle unveiling himself to his listeners – his lost sense of priorities, bouts with selfishness and jealousy. He explains further, though, that one day he turned a corner and discovered a direction in life that fulfilled his own expectations, saying, “I even hated on my own friends, turning up my nose with a close pin, in my head I had to make them wack, luckily I came a long way from that. What kind of pal was I, leaving all of those downloaded files to die? Now I’m bumping all of these tracks giving them good honest feed back, ‘cause that’s what I would want.”

“Your Back Pack Past” is a funny commentary about keeping up with changing times, staying hip with the scene around you, and cloaking your age. “Hall Closet full of Tim’s and Adidas Stripes, when all you need is slim jeans and a key tonight.”

My favorite one-two punch on the album comes along late. It starts with a spacey, synth-driven sound over a chest-shaking beat with a perfectly light, beautiful and uplifting chorus on the song “One Day”. Mike raps, “One day they came to save you, from all those people you can’t relate to, stay cool, ‘cause we gonna make moves, and let the sunrays of the day take you away.” Following “One Day” without break is “Free-Writing Exercise”, featuring fellow L.A. rapper Nocando. Its heavy beat and, what sounds like a John Williams orchestration played out of a toy keyboard, carry the song as Mike and Nocando literally entertain a free-writing exercise that Mike says “begins somewhat composed and gets more ridiculous as the exercise progresses.” The result is a super fun listen.

In an interview I read recently, Open Mike Eagle said that he was finally able to make the album that matched the musical picture he had painted in his head, and being a fan of Mike’s music throughout the years, it’s easy to tell that he’s hit a stride and is well on his way to conquering the world of avant-garde rap. 4NML Hsptl gets a “R-A-W-K-and-a-half” on the “R-A-W-K-D” scale.

Open Mike Eagle is currently on tour with Nocando and Busdriver through the Southwest, but keep an eye out for him as he makes frequent visits to the NW and until then check out everything the man has to offer at mikeeagle.net.

– Dominic Cortese, music writer, The Monarch Review