REVIEW: MIKE - Showbiz!

MIKE - Showbiz! Label: 10k. Release Date: January 31st, 2025

In the landscape of contemporary hip-hop, few artists manage to craft a world so distinctly their own that listeners can instantly recognise they've entered it. Brooklyn-based rapper-producer MIKE has done exactly that with "Showbiz!," his tenth full-length album that feels both like a natural evolution and a spiritual milestone in his already remarkable career.

MIKE's rhymes float along the beat like smoke curling through dimly lit rooms and we love it. His signature baritone delivery—simultaneously drowsy and laser-focused—navigates through 24 tracks of meticulously chopped samples and hazy atmospherics, creating a dreamlike quality that belies the sharp clarity of his insights.

What distinguishes "Showbiz!" from MIKE's previous work is its thematic cohesion around the concept of finding home in a perpetually moving life. Having bounced between New York, London, New Jersey, and Philadelphia throughout his youth, and now spending much of his time touring globally, MIKE's relationship with "home" transcends physical location. On standout track "You're the Only One Watching," he confesses, "When I pray, I pray for Gaza and for Tigray. When I pray, I pray to Mama, know she miss MIKE. She my angel, know I got her on the flip-side," connecting global consciousness with deeply personal loss.

The production, primarily handled by MIKE himself under his dj blackpower moniker, showcases remarkable growth. While previous albums often leaned heavily on muddy, looped samples, "Showbiz!" demonstrates a more adventurous range, from the gospel-tinged organs on "Clown of the Class (Work Harder)" to the jazz flute flourishes on "Artist of the Century." When MIKE steps back, allowing collaborators like Harrison (of Surf Gang) and Salami Rose Joe Louis space to contribute, the album gains textural variety without sacrificing its cohesive vision.

Most tracks clock in under two minutes, creating the sensation of flipping through a photo album—brief glimpses into moments of clarity that collectively form a complex emotional narrative. This approach could feel fragmentary in less capable hands, but MIKE's execution transforms potential weakness into strength. The brevity of each track heightens their impact, like powerful journal entries that need no elaboration.

On "Pieces of a Dream," his confession "Nah, I ain't sober yet / All this smoke finna break my lungs" carries the weight of someone reconciling youthful habits with growing wisdom. It's this kind of unvarnished honesty that makes MIKE's music so compelling—he never postures or performs, instead documenting his journey with raw authenticity.

"Showbiz!" also reveals MIKE's growing comfort with his artistic identity. The album's title track, rather than a grandiose statement about fame, feels more like an ironic commentary on the contradiction between his introspective nature and the performative aspects of being a touring musician. When he declares "The prize isn't much, but the price is abundant" on "Artist of the Century," it reads less as complaint than as hard-earned wisdom about the creative life.

At its core, "Showbiz!" is spiritual music—not in any denominational sense, but in its genuine search for meaning, connection, and peace in a chaotic world. The album's sonic palette of stretched vocals, ethereal saxophone lines, and subtly distorted samples creates a meditative space where listeners can process their own dislocations and homecomings alongside MIKE's.

In a hip-hop landscape often dominated by bombast and maximalism, MIKE's intimate approach stands as a powerful alternative—proof that whispers can resonate more deeply than shouts when they contain genuine truth. With "Showbiz!," he has created not just another excellent album, but a fully realised world that invites repeated visits and rewards patient exploration.