Consistently prolific New York rapper MIKE has reunited with Tony Seltzer, the equally active Brooklyn producer with whom he collaborated on his 2017 debut album, May God Bless Your Hustle.
The pair’s new track “R&B” is the type of syrupy slow jam best played through car speakers with a sizable sub in the trunk. After a chopped-and-screwed passage introducing the instrumental’s key elements — a blown-out, rattling 808 kick-snare and a pleading siren synth — the beat speeds up and MIKE enters with a relaxed flow that sits comfortably in the pocket and never steps out. “I could make a dollar stretch, make a dollar slim,” he raps, posted up in a park during peak leaf-peeping season next to a vintage Oldsmobile in the song’s music video, looking totally at ease in a backward beret and tinted shades. As on his latest masterpiece, Burning Desire, MIKE’s bars sparkle with levity, a welcome counterpoint to the grief that’s undergirded so much of his catalog.
Watch the Jelani Miller-directed visuals for “R&B” above, and stream the track on its own below, followed by the dates for MIKE’s fast-approaching “Somebody Fine Me Trouble” tour.
MIKE’s “Somebody Fine Me Trouble” tour dates
February 27 - Dublin, IE - The Sound House *
February 28 - Lisbon, PT - B. Leza *
February 29 - Braga, PT - Gnration *
March 1 - Barcelona, ES - LAUT *
March 2 - Berlin, DE - PANKE !
March 5 - Aarhus, DK - VoxHall *
March 7 - Stockholm, SE - Nalen Klubb !
March 8 - Oslo, NO - Bla *
March 9 - Copenhagen, DK - Rust *
March 12 - Tilburg, NL - Hall of Fame *
March 13 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Tolhustuin !
March 14 - Cologne, DE - Veedel !
March 15 - Brussels, BE - Botanique !
March 16 - London, UK - Cafe OTO ! ?
March 17 - London, UK - Cafe OTO ! ?
March 18 - London, UK - Cafe OTO ! ?
March 19 - London, UK - Cafe OTO (SOLD OUT) ! ?
March 19 - Leeds, UK - Belgrave Music Hall !
March 20 - Glasgow, UK - Rum Shack !
March 21 - Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall !
March 22 - Bristol, UK - Strange Brew !
March 23 - Paris, FR - Bourse du Commerce
April 17 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer $
April 18 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair $
April 19 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount $
April 20 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace $
April 21 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop $
April 24 - Detroit, MI - Sanctuary $
April 25 - Chicago, IL - Metro $
April 26 - Milwaukee, WI - TBA $
April 27 - Minneapolis, MN - Underground Music Venue $
April 28 - Kansas City, MO - recordBar $
April 30 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre $
May 1 - Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell $
May 2 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall $
May 3 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile $
May 4 - Vancouver, BC - The Pearl $
May 5 - Portland, OR - TBA $
May 8 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent $
May 9 - Santa Cruz - Catalyst Atrium $
May 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex $
May 11 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House $
May 12 - San Diego, CA - Voodoo Room $
May 14 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom $
May 15 - El Paso, TX - Lowbrow Palace $
May 16 - Austin, TX - The Parish $
May 17 - Dallas, TX - Sons of Hermann Hall $
May 18 - Houston, TX - The Secret Group $
May 19 - Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea’s Live $
May 21 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade - Hell Stage $
May 22 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle $
May 23 - Richmond, VA - The Broadberry $
May 24 - Washington, DC - Union Stage $
May 25 - New York, NY - Webster Hall $
! with Mark William Lewis, Jadasea
* with SALIMATA, Jadasea
? with special guests
$ with 454, Niontay, El Cousteau
