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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
The crux of a good friendship rests in the ability to bring out the best in a respective partner and, while the record is heavily invested in the artists’ respective styles, both Paul and Mike are seemingly challenged.
83
Props go to Open Mike Eagle for finding the right delivery and attitude suitable for each new endeavor. But stronger accolades go to White for crafting such a challenging and engrossing set of beats in the first place.
80
Sprawling and searching for truth, Hella Personal Film Festival is another excellent Open Mike Eagle album, and if it doesn't entice those with short attention spans, that's their loss.
80
For the most part, this is an album that boasts both accessible sonics and lyrical labyrinths. That means (unlike many of Eagle's earlier releases) Hella is an easy LP to get drawn into and (just like all of his other releases) it's also a joyous adventure to get lost in.
80
This collection is as heavy, thoughtful and laborious as anything Mike Eagle has released to date, but luckily he’s reached a place where he can withstand indie Hip Hop’s glass ceiling.
75
Hella Personal Film Festival adds to Eagle’s great streak of magnetic material, though he didn’t make it alone.
73
Festival is refreshingly cohesive, exploring varied themes without drifting off-course. Then again, that’s not saying much for Eagle and White, who’ve long established their own unique lanes. These songs foreshadow a much larger story, one that only these two can tell.
70
Open Mike Eagle’s momentum has raised anticipation for his fifth collaborative full-length (and ninth album altogether), Hella Personal Film Festival, this time made with British producer and vocalist Paul White. But he doesn’t quite scale up his political and personal concerns. Instead, he gives us more modest delights.
I may be in the minority here, but I find this follow-up to Dark Comedy to be superior. Its a more developed, diverse sounding, more fully-realized materialization of his vision.
Easily one of my favorite records. Focusing on a man struggling with addiction and living in the modern world. Each song represents a different emotion and is fully fleshed out with humor, sadness, pop culture references and some of the best lyrics in modern rap. A perfect record through and through,
A breezy and easy-going record that at times hit you with a brick with some clever wordplay and personal lyrics.
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END OF YEAR LISTS
| #33 | / | Passion of the Weiss |
MISC LISTS
| #26 | / | Rolling Stone (Rap) |
| #49 | / | Stereogum (First Half) |
Track List
- Admitting the Endorphin Addiction
- I Went Outside Today (feat. Aesop Rock)
- Dang Is Invincible
- Check to Check
- The Curse of Hypervigilance (In Politics, Romance, and Cohabitation)
- Insecurity
- Smiling (Quirky Race Doc)
- Leave People Alone
- A Short About a Guy That Dies Every Night
- Protectors of the Heat (feat. Hemlock Ernst)
- Insecurity, Pt. 2 (The Moor the Marry Her)
- Dive Bar Support Group
- Drunk Dreaming
- Reprieve
In Library (14)
Added on: February 23, 2016
