Yes.

I'm not sure if I'd call them mind blowing since I tend to save that for lyrics that are more coded so to speak, but I dig the conversationality and cleverness of the lines. Some of them work a lot better with the delivery like the are you watching line.

Is there anything that comes to mind that's lyrically similar to you?

Hmn...mixed feelings for a mixed bag here. Some tracks work ('Very Much Money' is pretty funny, 'Thirsty Ego Raps' has some great underlying samples) and a lot is just kinda shrugworthy (the cringey lyrics on 'Qualifiers' as others have pointed out).

He's not that far removed from guys like Cise Star or Substantial, but there's a lack of cohesion between how his samples and flow go together that makes this a little less compelling overall than I was hoping it would be. I'm not expecting primetime Big Boi, but a couple of good hooks would have done a world of good. At least at that point I'd feel a desire to revisit this. Pitchfork gave it an 8 but I think I'll go halfsies. Brick Body Kids Still Daydream isn't perfect either but it soars over this.

4 out of 10

I think this album is fine, not a big rap fan, and his style is a bit annoying to me, so it's not my favorite thing ever, but the beats are solid and I enjoy the overall atmosphere. 6/10

Swans - Filth
Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy
Bootsy Collins - Tha Funk Capitol of the World

Okay, first time ever I've missed the deadline, but I think we all know why that is.

Short answer: really like this album. Much different to what I had expected. Great melodies, great singing, very atmospheric, really enjoyable all the way through. Those little "jingles" in between some of the tracks annoyed me but otherwise this is a solid 9/10. Good one.

I've already exposed a lot of my thoughts about this record via discussion, but here's a standalone.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...comedyopen.jpg
Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy

This record is diverse and showcases a lot of Open Mike Eagle's finer points that some of his previous albums only touch on. Goofle turned me onto this record when it first came out, but that was early on in my hip hop appreciation and it didn't have the experimental or abrasive nature of the majority of the stuff I was into at the time so it kind of slipped off of the radar. I decided to revisit it after seeing it pop up in my discover section on Spotify and really came around to it.

Mike's sing-songy rapping style blurs the lines between singing and speaking, which is what I think makes OME so singular. I could just be ignorant on how unique his is in that aspect though. The line between singing and rapping is even finer on his latest album, Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, which I agree with Ant is a lot stronger due to its consistency and really powerful theme, but it hadn't been released at the time of my pick and it's even more of a grower so it might not have been a good choice.

Anyways, I like the diversity of the album a lot. The only track that I'd outright cut is Jon Lovitz and Big Pretty Bridges because they're kind of lackluster in comparison. Jon Lovitz is a funny characterization of overzealous promoters.

The two more upbeat tracks that open the album are good, but I think it starts to take off in a more interesting and dark direction with Thirsty Ego Raps.

I don't often go for skits, but that tone deaf interview at the end of Golden Age Raps is funny as ****. Really love how lyrically, his use of ironic humour on a lot of the tracks switches to social commentary and back very naturally.

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the features. Comedian Hannibal Buress has a better than expected and funny verse on Doug Stamper. Don't set **** on fire. Really dig the darker beat and hook on this track, it goes hard. Kool AD of Das Racist has an awesome verse in his half-asleep and high as **** style on Informations, but I like OME's verse better. Just a fun track overall though and like, so deep too bruh.

Idaho has my favourite production on the album and lyrically I think it's trying to emulate falling asleep at the wheel as the vehicle goes from car to plane to spaceship about to make a crash landing.

Overall it's a fun listen for me that I can both throw on and get caught in the melodies of or zero in on the lyrics and try to catch all of OME's little jokes. Not a perfect record but a damn good time. 8.5/10