MIKE drops new album Beware of the Monkey

Beware of the Monkey, a new studio LP from MIKE, is out now. The Brooklyn underground hip-hop scene leader’s latest arrives via his own label, 10k, arrives exactly 18 months after his previous project, in keeping with his tradition of saving all his major releases starting with 2018’s Renaissance Man (six in total), for summer or winter solstices.

Comprising 13 tracks and clocking in at 34 minutes, Beware of the Monkey includes three previously released songs: “nuthin i can do is wrong,” “What Do I Do?,” and “Stop Worry!,” which features a rare verse from Sister Nancy and has earned a spot on our rolling Songs You Need playlist. The record contains two additional features: Jadasea on “Light (if u can’t see)” and Klein on “Ipari Park.” MIKE produced every track on the record (under his dj blackpower alias).

MIKE has marked the occasion of Beware of the Monkey’s release with a Ryosuke Tanzawa-directed visual for its fifth track, “No Curse Lifted (rivers of love).” Watch the clip, listen to the album, and view MIKE’s 2023 North American tour dates below.

March 9 - Boston, MA - Middle East (Upstairs) *
March 10 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz *
March 11 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground *
March 12 - Cleveland, OH - Mahall’s *
March 15 - Des Moines, IA - xBk *
March 16 - Minneapolis, MN - Underground Music Cafe *
March 17 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club *
March 18 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall *
March 19 - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck *
March 22 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake *
March 23–24 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Festival
March 25 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou’s *
March 26 - Portland, OR - TBA *
March 28 - Sacramento, CA - The Starlet Room *
March 29 - Berkeley, CA - Cornerstone *
March 30 - Santa Cruz, CA - Catalyst Atrium *
April 1 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent ^
April 2 - Tucson, AZ - Hotel Congress (Club Stage) ^
April 4 - Austin, TX - Ballroom ^
April 5 - Dallas, TX - Cheap Steaks ^
April 6 - Houston, TX - The Secret Group ^
April 7 - New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa ^
April 8 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Hell) ^
April 9 - Durham, NC - Motorco ^
April 11 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Music Hall ^
April 12 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar ^
April 13 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church ^
April 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg ^

* with 454
^ with Slauson Malone