MIKE at Music Hall of Williamsburg
MIKE at Music Hall of Williamsburg in March (more by P Squared)

MIKE & Standing on the Corner team for new EP, playing NYC together (and separately)

MIKE at Music Hall of Williamsburg
MIKE at Music Hall of Williamsburg in March (more by P Squared)

NYC experimental rapper MIKE is following last year’s acclaimed May God Bless Your Hustle and this year’s one-track, 13-minute resistance man with a new seven-track project called Black Soap on May 25 via LEX Records. He made the project with production and instrumentation from his genre-defying NYC neighbors Standing On The Corner, and the first single is “Time Ain’t Enough,” which has a video directed by 10K Productions. Check it out below.

MIKE has two upcoming hometown shows, including one which also includes Standing on the Corner: the “If This Knowledge Scares You, The Equation Is Working” showcase happening May 3 at Pier 17 as part of the Red Bull Music Festival. Every artist on the showcase was “directly or spiritually” influenced by the late graffiti-writer, artist and MC RAMMΣLLZΣΣ. In addition to MIKE and Standing on the Corner, the great lineup also includes contemporary NYC rap leader Wiki in collaboration with the legendary Coati Mundi (of Kid Creole and the Coconuts and more) with visuals by Arvid Logan, plus punk-rap group Show Me The Body, Wiki’s Ratking groupmate Sporting Life, producer Tony Seltzer, avant-rap duo 700 Bliss (aka Moor Mother and DJ Haram), the soulful Mal Devisa, and alt-rap vet (and Wiki collaborator) Edan (“on disk jokk and echo duties”). Tickets are available.

The next day, MIKE plays the free NYU Strawberry Fest with Men I Trust and Crumb.

Standing on the Corner
Standing on the Corner

Standing on the Corner also have another upcoming hometown show: the Pitchfork Rising Northside Festival Showcase with rapper Chynna, neo-soul singer Madison McFerrin, and noise punks Empath at Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 9 (tickets).

If you aren’t familiar with Standing on the Corner, they’ve got two releases that are very worth checking out: their 2016 self-titled album and 2017’s Red Burns mixtape. Their sound is nearly impossible to pin down, with hints of modern hip hop, ’60s free jazz, Stevie Wonder instrumentals, and much more all thrown in to a melting pot that’s as diverse as the one they call home. Listen for yourself, below.