Mike Explains His Credit Card Statement
The New York indie-rap titan talks through recent purchases, including weed, $2000 glasses, and a wild night at a Tokyo strip club.
Credit History is an interview series where we ask our favorite artists to comb through their credit card statements and tell us about what they bought, from the necessary to the frivolous to the outlandish.
On “Hunger,” a single from his 2017 debut May God Bless Your Hustle, the New York rapper-producer Mike said he was content to eat his words instead of food. But in the eight years since, his music’s become bouncier and slightly more optimistic, ready to wade through whatever strife gets him to the light on the other side. Like most of his recent work, Mike’s latest album Showbiz! balances deep reflection over fuzzy samples with flexing over frenetic drill-like production just for the hell of it. He’s not stuck in the tar pit anymore—Showbiz! is Mike at his most confident and chipper.
When we speak over Zoom in early February, Mike is preparing to spend the entire spring on a 71-date tour, and planning out the fifth iteration of Young World, his yearly independent hip-hop festival in Brooklyn. Yet as much as he has going on, Mike is cooling, rolling up weed and speaking in his usual deep, raspy ramble of a voice. His eyes light up whenever he gets the chance to speak on experiences with friends, many of whom he works with. He shows gratitude for all he’s earned, every chance he gets. He’s extremely humble, but as a successful indie-rap star and label head, he isn’t above blowing a good bag when the timing’s right.
