“Burning desire is like the certain type of energy that I feel like I acquired this year,” MIKE said thinking about his state of being going into his most recent album. “I think that’s definitely something that I discovered, is that this is definitely my life.”
MIKE, the man whose feet bring thunder sounds when he enters into the room, is a captivating force as he steps on stage at Houston’s Warehouse Live, a full circle moment from his first tour ever with Earl Sweatshirt in 2019. Once MIKE arrives, the crowd is completely focused on his presence. Over two thousand eyes were on him and over one thousand heads were nodding to the beat, watching him perform the songs deriving from pieces of his life.
Most recently, he released his tenth album and his second of the year, Burning Desire, on his 25th birthday, which fell on Friday the 13th. In “Intro with Klein,” Burning Desire is described as a “dark romantic horror with comedic twists,” and the music lives up to the short summarization. The idea to put the project out on Friday the 13th and his birthday began as just an idea he was toying around with in conversation with his team, but it felt more serendipitous as the day approached.
“I feel like there was an energy that was built, that like burning desire,” MIKE said thinking about the road to getting this project to his fans.
Listening to the album, we as fans get a new glimpse into MIKE’s life outside of the music. Looking at his discography going from the 2021 release of Disco!, it seemed like he was stepping into his newfound success, to 2022’s, Beware of the Monkey, he was getting more comfortable with his new place in the industry, and listening to 2023’s Burning Desire, he is living in his accomplishments taller and more proud.
His pride not only shows through the work but also through the way he presents his work. For the release of Burning Desire, he took the horror aspect of the album and the day more literally with a screening of the Nollywood Blood Money in collaboration with NollyBabes. They screened the film in a 118-seat theatre surrounded by his friends, and fans, and even some of his family showed up in support.
“I prefer smaller, intimate events,” he began. “My dad had pulled up and my sister and shit. I think it was cool because I could see him really getting into the Nollywood film. I be peeping sometimes, the art should be going over his head. I feel like the Nollywood film into my shit kind of helped it make sense.”
Seeing his dad enjoy his music today is a different experience from the beginning. In middle school, his dad found one of his first rap books, confused as to what his son was doing, but as time went on, MIKE showed no signs of stopping and the music proved to be a good avenue for him. Today, the raps from middle school have transformed into raps transposing his family and the life he is living.
MIKE is the only boy in the middle of nine sisters, so his relationship with his family is integral to him as a person and the art he makes. With earlier music, it is clear his music is a vehicle for him to work through the grieving process of his late mother, but it’s not always a sad thing, it is also seen as a way of celebration.
When he says “Me and momma gettin’ nearer when we on stage”, in the song “Ipari Park,” he is celebrating his relationship with his mother. Not only is he doing this through his lyrics, but also by using the more personal parts of his familial life integrated into the songs as intros and outros. “I feel like my music is kind of a reflection of just what’s going on in my life. So that gets very intertwined with everything. One of my favorite voice notes I think I’ve gotten was from my sister, Cindy on ‘Swoosh 23.’ When she sent me that shit, it was like, the sweetest message ever.”
This message from his older sister was not only used as a way to bring listeners into his life beyond being MIKE but also as a tool for documentation. “It felt important to highlight a moment that’s not us arguing. My phone might break, but this is going to be on here forever.”
MIKE’s music has always reflected parts of his life, but by listening to Burning Desire, we have a glimpse into a new part of his life. We are hearing about his life outside of the music, and we are getting a chance to see him reap the benefits of what his music has given to him. It took him a long time to get to the point in which he said what was on his mind in his songs. Stepping into this new chapter in his life, he is becoming more vulnerable in his music.
Throughout the duration of Burning Desire, he addresses topics he never spoke on prior. He says it feels like he unlocked something new in his world and he is embracing that, because, like he says, if you don’t talk about things, things don’t change. We heard a new side of MIKE that all happened while he was on the Ipari Park tour; going to strip clubs, getting catcalled and all of the tales heard throughout the album.
When seeing MIKE on tour, it is not uncommon to see him with the usual characters, his manager, Naavin, and his DJ, Taka. “I feel like being on the road is low-key hell if you’re not with people that you love,” MIKE said thinking about touring with his closest friends. “The first trip I ever did for music, I brought all the homies and we all stayed in this one-bedroom apartment, like six, seven of us. And then I was like, yeah, I can’t go do the thing somewhere else without all of the people.”
He is currently on the Voir Dire Tour with Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist after being one of two features on the project on the song, “Sentry.” “Whenever I hear that track, it take me back to being in Al’s studio low-key, about to be dead from smoking, and I’m about to literally close my eyes and niggas play the beat, and he’s like, ‘Oh, this is the one.’ I’m, like, trying my best to finish the verse or whatever, and we had did that shit, but I just remember that being the one where niggas was high as fuck. It was late as hell, and definitely our last day in LA,” he said.
Today, he is not the same kid who found out about grime music and decided rapping was going to be his life path. MIKE is foraging his own path incorporating all of the various influences from his upbringing in the UK, Philly, and New York. All of which have proved to pay off in his work. Currently, he is preparing for his upcoming 2024 Somebody Fine Me Trouble Tour, he is continuing his life on stage and connecting with his fans.
“I feel like this is kind of like the place where I could get the confidence to do that type of shit, or even be more open and talking shit,” he said. “To talk about some of the shit niggas be talking about up there, and being met with the living energy, it just kind of makes you feel a little bit more open.”