Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Jan 3, 2023If MIKE had released Beware of the Monkey a few months earlier, a lot of the “Best Albums of the Year” lists you’ve been reading would look a lot different. He gracefully navigates a new season in his life through vibrant instrumentals and heartfelt poetry that is as direct as it is artistically ambitious.
-
Jan 6, 2023The theme of newfound optimism opens Beware of the Money with “Nuthin I Can Do Is Wrong.” The DJ Blackpower produced record contains a soothing soul sample from Forrest’s “I Just Want to Love You,” in which MIKE sings along halfway through the opening hook. It’s not hard to imagine a cheeky grin from the esoteric rapper as he raps with radiant pride.
-
Jan 3, 2023The record is self-assured and polyvalent, a current of shifting emotional states that MIKE’s exquisite word and production choices shape into rich affirmations.
-
Jan 3, 2023As the conviction of his verses grows throughout the album, so does the scope of its production. Building on the more upbeat instrumentals of last year’s Disco!, MIKE continues to expand his musical palette on production, adding dancehall, bossa nova and more to his signature slowed vocal loops. The result is some of his most uplifting songs yet.
-
Jan 3, 2023The title Beware of the Monkey may come across as a warning, but it’s a lively adventure destined to pull more in than repel. Here’s a man who loves the antique sounds of yesteryear, finding use for them even in the 2020s.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 2 out of 2
-
Mixed: 0 out of 2
-
Negative: 0 out of 2
-
Jan 10, 2023Eine Endlosschleife von allem, was man bisher gehört hat, wird platt gesungen. Es ist ein Fehler, sich selbst zuzuhören. Who cares? Tommy Hilfiger