REVIEW: A Very Special Episode Of - EP by Open Mike Eagle

     Open Mike Eagle likes to talk and more people should be listening. Whether it's on his raps or his podcast, he shows that he has important things to say. With last year's fantastic Dark Comedy, he proved that he is one of the voices that everyone should be listening too. Not that his previous work wasn't great, it's just that Dark Comedy was even better. Dark Comedy saw OME grow as lyricist, rapper, and persona. Only seven months after his best album, he manages to drop an EP that stands up to the massive hype created by Dark Comedy. At moments, the EP can feel slightly weak next to Dark Comedy, but at others, it transcends his previous work and shows where Open Mike Eagle might be planning to go with his "art rap".

    My favorite part of this EP is how Open Mike Eagle manages to both reflect on his previous work and look towards the future. The first track shows OME reflecting on Dark Comedy, as shown through the title and the instrumental. The track is a loose sequel to the fantastic "Dark Comedy Morning Show" and features a remix of that song's beat. While I prefer the original beat, the lyrics on "Dark Comedy Late Show" are much better. Hilarious lyrics such as "I still check Yahoo cause we both got attachment issues" made me laugh out loud. The lyrics also take a dark turn when OME starts to talk about the horrific events surrounding Ferguson, but he manages the transition gracefully. This song doesn't fit too well with the rest of the tracks of the EP, which makes sense because it was released as a part of a compilation. It's a great track, but it worked best as a single.

    The tracks in the middle of the EP are great (with a killer verse by Milo on "Trickeration"), but I feel the moment where Open Mike Eagle truely shines is in the last track "Ziggy Starfish (Anti-Anxiety Raps)". I feel this is the track that really shows the potential for Mike's next release. His flow on this track absolutely kills and actually reminds me of his co-Hellfyre Club member, Busdriver. This is some of the fastest I've heard OME rap and he does so with such a whimsical sense of jazz. Gold Panda's fanatic and chopped production provokes the same from OME's flow. This increased speed doesn't come at the expense of great lyricism either, OME manages to be witty and confessional at the same time on this track. If Mike continues to make songs as good as this one, he is going to become the next big thing.

    Open Mike Eagle manages to follow up his best album with a fantastic EP. Dark Comedy has been in constant rotation for me since it came out and this EP will be joining that rotation. Though it can feel disjointed at points, Mike's lyrics and flow make this EP worthy of eight stars.

BEST TRACKS: "Dark Comedy Late Snow", "Trickeration", "Ziggy Starfish (Anti-Anxiety Raps)

★★★★★★★★☆☆