The Tony Seltzer producer tags are just Swamp Izzo's ad-libs all over again.

The Tiny Desk is amazing and really elevates some songs that I didn't have a lot of appreciation for before. Also, respect to MIKE for putting the concert on Spotify.

Some amazing highlights, but just okay for MIKE's standards. With some SURF GANG collabs, I can see that he was going towards the direction of POMPEII, which is by far my least favorite sound for him. Oh well.

Weaker compared to MIKE's previous few albums, but still some good stuff. The production is pretty different, and tbh I prefer his previous stuff, but at least it's a change that ensures MIKE's music won't get stale.

A little slow at first, but after track 8, MIKE really goes on a tear.

Just a classic Alchemist project, with MIKE and Wiki delivering some great raps. The second half is definitely better.

I just really like this album. It's super uplifting, even with some emotional moments. Also, it's incredibly consistent; I don't think a single song is below an 8/10.

What a perfect title.

MIKE's worst album I've heard, unfortunately. Some amazing songs, but a lot of his worst stuff falls on this album.

Last two tracks are really the only standouts.

Huge improvement over his previous work, mostly because of MIKE's better writing and rapping.

Good start to his career, but I'm sure MIKE will have better albums after this; several of them.

Meow. Solid album. Meow.

Shit I accidentally reviewed the mixtape version when this is the one on Spoify...Well I guess this gives me an opportunity to rereview it. Update: It's still very good.

Hearing Thundercat's singing voice go deeper on Them Changes made me realize why I don't really like his singing voice: It's too high-pitched. Other than that, it's really vibey, almost too vibey to the point where it gets sleepy by the end. Also, I think if this were 50 minutes and 12-15 songs instead of 50 minutes and 23 songs, it would make more of an impact.

While I don't know how to feel about Thundercat's singing voice, the production is actually peak. Some great features as well, I particularly enjoyed A$AP Rocky's verse. The vibe is great and I really fw it overall! Excited to check out more of his albums.

POMPEII - 7.5
UTILITY - 7.2

Expected more from an Earl and Mike album. Solid, but it all starts to blend together by track 20 or so. Anyway, gonna go listen to Live Laugh Love now.

I feel like the pitch for this project was "how many insane producers can I get on this mixtape"

I always knew Pete Rock from The World Is Yours, arguably the best sample in rap, but man, he doesn't miss on this album! Common is quite consistent as well, and I think I enjoy his rapping a little more on this than on his previous record.

While I think Common wanted to make a TPAB-like album, this comparatively has a lot less energy. It's much more chill and calming R&B than anything else, which I'm not necessarily holding against it. It does feel like a different genre than it's presented as.