Posts from December 30th, 2013

Open Mike Eagle, Photo by Andy J Scott.

As 2013 draws to a close, a lotta people and a lotta websites and a lotta publications are starting to put out their “best of” selections. I might do something similar myself at some point (though I did just get a new Zelda games, so we’ll see how much time I still have for ye olde blog). But for now I’m gonna post things that others have chosen that I just so happen to agree with.

For starters, Impose Magazine has chosen its rapper of the year. It just happens to be the best possible choice:

Rapper of the Year: Open Mike Eagle

Hellz. Yea.

As you probably know if you read this website, Open Mike Eagle is one of my favorite musicians. Just look at the “Open Mike Eagle” Tag and see how much I post about him. Honestly I don’t think I sing his praises enough.

There are a few things that I really appreciate about Mike:

1. He’s ferociously intelligent, but not obnoxiously so. In addition to be terrifically clever, his lyrics are full of allusions to things from video games to obscure, academic, scholarly texts.
2. He’s disarmingly humble. Far from being the braggart who can only write songs about how good a rapper he is, Mike does not fear to tread into the small and mundane. His kid likes Busdriver better than his music; he washes dishes; he changes diapers. It’s not all bitches and money.
3. (Most importantly) He isn’t afraid to be funny. I adore musicians who aren’t trying with every song to write The Greatest Song Ever™. Sometimes you just need some fun in your life, like if you’re rapping about poop overflow in your grandpa’s toilet. His (and my) favorite musical act is They Might Be Giants, and like them his songs aren’t “jokey” and “wacky;” they’re just funny. And instead of listing high-powered rappers as his aspirations, he lists Louis C.K. and Patton Oswalt as the people he’d like to be like.

Plus he’s just such a great guy to know!

Here, listen to his song “Qualifiers” off of the Hellfyre Club’s “Dorner vs Tookie” album, a song that exemplifies all I love about Open Mike Eagle:

So cheers to you, Mike. You’re certainly my choice as well. And with a new album coming out in 2014, you’ll likely top even more people’s lists.