The Microphone Misfitz are once again refreshingly dope for fusing their anime and video game influences into one of their latest projects, the Midwest Gamer Mess EP. Artists love video games and anime but few actually translate that into succinct and palatable music, branding, art, comics, and lifestyle. The Microphone Misfitz are a Chicago based hip hop group Consisting of D-Nick, Ray of Light, Mel L, DJ Mar & Mike Knobel, Jet Nam, DFEX, and Kin Solo. And they’ve been killing it for a while if this is your first time reading up on them.
If you’re not familiar with the Microphone Misfitz one of the things they’re most notable for is being the first Hip-Hop group to perform in China since their countrywide ban of hip hop music in 2015. They performed there in 2018 and were met with high praise and packed crowds! They've also been putting out the Escape From Babylon albums by volumes and released Volume 5 about 2 years ago in 2022 with Escape From Babylon, Vol. 5.
The Midwest Gamer Mess EP is a wallop of high art hip hop with a 5 track record that really takes your senses and absorbs you in classic video game sounds, manga lore, complex lyricism, tight cadences and flows, all while catering to the inner video game and anime super-fan. In every song from Sensu Beans to Guile you will hear these tracks jam packed with references to make ones head spin and even question how knowledgeable one is on their favorite universes.
In “Guile” the song begins with a Street Fighter sample, (couldn't be more on brand), with D-Nick and Ray of Light trading lines on the hook, D-Nick then fires a barrage of dope uptempo lyrics culminating in strings of phrasing such as “but my number 1 quality, being crafty, that’s why it’s hard for adversaries to get past me, endurance durability and an epic tenacity!" The lines flow effortlessly on records like Guile and the other 4 entries into the Midwest Gamer Mess. You might find yourself smiling wide at this track thinking (should I go get that vintage flat top again?!). "Sly, slick, and cunning, always got em running, head on a swivel the enemy always gunning, no matter how you coming, I promise it won't be sunning, clean preparation, no slumming and bumming!" DJ Chief and Mel L collaborated on scratches for Guile. The hook could be a metaphor for the character of Guile himself and the Misfitz feel like that when rapping and performing on stage! "Guile" might be the catchiest song on this record, it's a great feel good track to chant and go forth with the crowd on and I can only imagine them lighting up audiences with this joint. Can I run a Street Fighter session today, somehow? We'll see!
In “Tecmo Bowl Soul” D-Nick leads the Microphone Misfitz in a unified effort to score a touchdown (score a sonic touchdown metaphor here possibly) while playing Tecmo Bowl Soul (the ICONIC video game on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, NES). This track makes me laugh due to the witty quick banter that D-Nick, Ray, and DFex have on the song, their chemistry is clear and unparalleled. The football references will capture any football-head as well as fans of the classic NES games. "D-Nick skip that, launch the hail mary!" rhymes Ray with a distinct slight rasp to his voice. The cohesion The Microphone Misfitz display is the reason groups like that attain massive followings. Similar to how groups like Wu Tang Clan, Flatbush Zombies, and Brockhampton are so cohesive, to name a few. The Microphone Misfitz exemplify that same type of unity and team work. These qualities along with garnering, building, and earning their own international following; off the strength of their consistency, branding, and authentic interpretation of hip hop are are why they have the name they do today!
In “Sensu Beans” feat. It’s Phyre, the Microphone Misfitz need to be “brought back to a place of normality” because right now, they’re feeling like “health is a fallacy”. For those unfamiliar with Sensu Beans or Senzu Beans they are the mystical beans with immense rejuvenation powers within the Dragonball Universe (taken by many of the main/popular characters in Dragon Ball). So in one EP fans of hip hop, anime, and video games are already being served top notch high end art by fusing things like Street Fighter, NES Tecmo Bowl, and Dragon Ball all into one fluid project, Midwest Gamer Mess. D-Nick ends the record talking about climbing Karin tower to fetch some Sensu Beans because he’s had “lesions on his brain” “multiple sclerosis” “nerve damage disrupting communication” and more ills so the Sensu Beans will cure all of that as the powerful remedy they are. Lyrically all dense entries into this project but [Sensu Beans] might have the most complex poetry to unpack.
The first record on the EP is called “Parallels with Battletoads” and let me just say that if you didn’t remember Battletoads like I did then you need to revisit some powerful video game history and nostalgia, immediately. One parallel the MM and Battletoads share is 3 frontmen, D-Nick is the main mc, but Ray and Mel also provides verses and vocals, so that to me reminds me of the dynamics between the main Battletoads Rash, Zitz, and Pimple could be akin to the dynamic of D-Nick, Ray, and Mel. DJ Chief did the scratches on Battletoads with Mel L. Don’t you just love hip hop that fuses other universes? If we can’t talk about the art and media we enjoyed in the art and media we make, what’s the point? The Microphone Misfitz will have you wanting to check out all the comic book stores that still exist. There’s one in Hyde Park off 55th.
Lastly, “Fun and Games” wraps up the 5 piece EP perfectly; a recurring theme here is that the music industry can be grimy, abusive, predatorial, and it’s not all fun and games. Despite it all, the “love still remains” through all the “janky promoters”, the sound being messed up, mic levels being too low, not being paid what was promised. There’s a lot that goes into a music industry career that certainly isn’t all fun and games. The songs ends with some lines about how there’s not much sympathy for pursuing this music performance lifestyle, any complaints will be met with “well this is the life you chose” comments from people on the outside that don’t truly understand having a calling that forces you to perform music. We can’t all have corporate careers and play music on the side (trust me I’ve tried) a lot of us must do this full time or no time, and a lot of the times, people outside of music just gaslight the endeavor as it’s all “Fun and Games”. A brilliant way to tie the bow on a present of hip hop like Midwest Gamer Mess.
If authenticity and your favorite literature/video games/art/media is what you crave in your music, then you’ll crave and be a FAN of what the Microphone Misfitz are. The Midwest Gamer Mess EP is streaming on all platforms, peruse the links below to find everything you’ll need to know about the Microphone Misfitz!
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