Andrew Veeder on February 5th, 2016

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Los Angeles rapper Open Mike Eagle has proven himself as one of the most clever wordsmiths in the game —  no matter if the masses have caught on yet — consistently spitting dense rhymes full of rhetorical fun, pop culture references and puns, with an easy-breezy delivery as if he’s rapping while shoulder shrugging. On his latest offering, he’s teamed with U.K. producer Paul White for the album “Hella Personal Film Festival,” out  March 25 via Mello Music Group. The album was recorded in London, with each song meant to be a unique vignette that ultimately reveals itself to be a piece of the cohesive project. The first single “Check To Check” is choke full of the Mike witticisms you’d expect, my favorites being, “I’m recording right now and I’m checking between takes / Every notification that my phone machine makes / I put it down whenever but it’s never a clean break / I should get a heavy phone and pretend it’s a free weight,” and, “My laptop don’t sleep, open and shut case / I’m checking for mail while it’s checking for updates,” while White’s uptempo production is all over the place in an eclectic and vibrant way. Treat yo’ ears below.

||| Stream: “Check To Check”