San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Black Mikey
- Photo by Maya Hayuk
Cold Summer
(Have At It Entertainment)
It sucks to be a veteran in the rap game. On one hand, haters criticize you simply for continuing to make rap past your mid-30s (because that’s clearly “too old”). On the other, friends and fans conflate respect with unquestioned approval of sometimes-questionable music. This happens to the best of them— from Gang Starr’s DJ Premier to UGK’s Bun B. And it’s happened to Black Mikey, a veteran local rapper who’s now entering his fourth decade in rap (albeit minus several years due to imprisonment).
On the Cold Summer EP, Black Mikey is very much obsessed with his haters. The problem is, despite his fiery delivery, Mikey’s on autopilot much of the time; the verses directed at his critics aren’t distinguishable from each other in tone or content. The appropriately titled opener, “My Haters,” is the best of the bunch, feeling like a samurai duel in the Wild West. The rest could’ve been cut without much loss.
Mikey is much more successful when he’s focusing his energy elsewhere. “Rap Star” and “Motivated” reveal some of what’s driving his music, including escaping poverty, the traps of the ’hood and, deeper still, saving his own soul.
“Screw Face” is one of the best songs he’s ever made. In it, he takes on the title role, a manifestation of the devil on your shoulder steering you into evil and violence. At times, vocals that are slowed down and “screwed” (named after the technique’s originator, DJ Screw) pop in behind Mikey, creating a demonic effect that helps make this a horror-movie-esque cautionary tale.
Cold Summer has flashes of brilliance and overall solid production, but it’s bogged down by Mikey’s preoccupation with his enemies. You might wonder if a friend in the studio was too afraid to let him know that he’s much better off not giving a fuck.
