Open Mike Eagle might not have all the answers, but few artists in hip-hop, music, or American life are asking smarter questions. In a landscape governed by ceaseless babble, flashing lights, and hollow lies, Eagle harmonises into the void so we don’t have to.
This is one of the most exciting hip-hop shows Ramsgate has ever seen… Mike is comfortably one of the most critically acclaimed artists in the genre right now.
“Gives the feeling of sitting a warm summer’s eve, surrounded by friends. The beats are welcoming, jazzy, and minimal while Mike sing-raps his poignant lines in a typically poetic and smooth cadence” – Under the Radar
As a mainstay on the underground hip-hop scene, southside Chicago native Open Mike Eagle has attracted a cult following for his alternative hip-hop style blended with introspective and darkly humorous lyricism.
As a member of the West-Coast spoken word and hip-hop collective Project Blowed, Mike established his name on the circuit with the likes of Dumbfoundead and Freedom Fellowship while attending university in LA. It’s here that the MC perfected his craft networking with some of the most prestigious producers and artists in the city and started highly respected underground rap group Thirsty Fish.
In 2017 he released new album Brick City Kids Still Daydream to critical acclaim; the lyricism’s discourse on public housing crises, perceptions of black youth and inner city gentrification was timely for the current American political situation.
“Mike Eagle manages to balance the sense that he is speaking for many with the certainty that no one else could do it quite the same way” – TinyMixTapes (9/10 review)
“Open Mike Eagle is one of the few artists that seems to improve with every release” – Pretty Much Amazing
“Armed with a caustic wit and a poetic eye: a muted brood that resists the default loudness of mainstream hip-pop” – Pitchfork