Chairman’s Choice: New Releases From King Drive and Open Mike Eagle

Chairman's Choice: King Drive, Open Mike Eagle
Words Chairman Mao
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of XXL Magazine. Don't miss our cover stories on Meek Mill and Rick Ross right here.

King Drive hail from Chicago but clearly worship at the altar of NYC street sounds of yore. The duo’s single “Precedence (Dead President$)” (Frozen Files/Krian Music) has been kicking around on SoundCloud, but is now thankfully rescued from the Interwebz ether with a proper physical release (on limited edition 7-inch vinyl) worthy of its musical merits. A celestial ascending choral figure supports Rob Smooth’s aspirational paper chase-isms (rhyming “Aruba” with “see Grands like Puba”) while partner JD facilitates the more explicitly Midwest player quotient (“The pimpin’ on smash/The paper on tilt/If your hoe lay with me that bitch layin’ on silk”). The flip, “For The Fam,” utilizes addictive swirling strings and a chorus that doubles as an ode to those listeners still invested in their purist sound: “I only do this for the fam/The few and the proud that understand/The only ones that really gave a damn.”

Chicago-bred, L.A.-based Open Mike Eagle is similarly self-determined, though his rhyme style has been pegged as “art rap.” If a knack for sharp social satire and humor (Hannibal Buress is a pal/collaborator), choosing quality beats and crafting well-constructed songs equals “art rap,” then so be it. A Special Episode Of EP (Mello Music Group) follows up last year’s acclaimed Dark Comedy LP with thoughts both “ripped from the headlines” (“Dark Comedy Late Show”: “Super Bowls of the future: the Ferguson blacks vs. the Missouri state troopers”) or ripped from this ardent Neil Young fan’s own anxiety (“Raps For When It’s Just You And The Abyss”: “Everyday I’m bumpin’ ‘Cinnamon Girl’/Tryin’ to promote these rap shows when it’s the end of the muthafuckin’ world”), most of it intertwined beyond distinction. What impresses is how rarely it feels didactic, largely because Mike is comfortable being Mike. As he observes on “Ziggy Starfish”: “Only water divides us/Same place different continents/And my head space is an island.” Get Open.

More Recommended Jointz
Sheisty Khrist x Lofidel, Cold Winter
Has-Lo, “Hard Writer”