Open Mike Eagle is always working, but there’s a good reason for it. Just a year removed from his critically acclaimed Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, he’s announced the next episode in his ongoing mission to make Art Rap a genre of its own, What Happens When I Try To Relax, due out soon via Autoreverse Records. In typical Open Mike fashion, the Chicago rapper has attached the announcement to a lyrically complex single, “Relatable (peak OME).” Check it out below.
Where other rappers might announce a new project with a series of bombastic flexes, Mike just wants you to know he’s down-to-Earth and has the same troubles as anyone else, admitting that “I don’t know which sequels are truly canonical” and “I’m feeling invisible.” He also relates to cutting cable, having plumbing problems, and being a politics buff. The whimsical beat breaks down midway through with an saxophone solo, which isn’t something you hear every day either.
“It’s about a lot of things,” he says of the track. “It’s about expectations of form, anxiety, middle age and middle class. and that’s just the parts I know how to put into words a couple months after writing it.” Meanwhile, he’s steady touring, with a multitude of dates coming up all over the globe. When he’s not working and trying to relax, it seems he can’t keep rap life from intruding. An avid wrestling buff (check out “No Selling” from Brick Body Kids), he seems to have gotten pulled into an impromptu rap battle at a local event. Check out the video for that below, along with the upcoming tour dates.
09/27 — Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Music House
09/28 — Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
10/5 — Los Angeles, CA @ Adult Swim Festival
10/19 — Den Haag, Netherlands @ Paard
10/20 — Darmstadt, Germany @ Oetinger Villa
10/21 — Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
10/22 — Berlin, Germany @ Kantine Am Berghain
10/23 — Prague, Czech Republic @ Stings of Autumn Festival
10/24 — Warszawa, Poland @ Smolna 38
10/25 — Barcelona, Spain @ Arrte
10/26 — Paris, France @ Centre Culturel Hip Hop
11/5 — Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
11/6 — Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
11/8 — Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
11/12 — Tustin, CA @ Marty’s On Newport
11/13 — Tempe, AZ @ Coca-Cola Sun Deck at Sun Devil Stadium
11/16 — Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room & Garage
11/17 — Houston, TX @ The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues Houston
11/18 — Dallas, TX @ Dada DaLLAS
11/23 – Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar
