#FeatureFridays Interview With Miikah
Words By Phil Chard
“Up until last year I was basically fooling around on [Fruity Loops]without a serious drive for it. Then at the beginning of this year I felt like this was a viable option for my life.”
Michael Bopape aka Miikah is an enigma. That's the only way I can describe him. A 17 year old producer and rapper who balances his time between music, school, binge watching anime and pondering on the various topics of philosophy and introspection.
My first introduction to Miikah came in the form of his 8 track debut project - NegativeXero.
“The whole EP is based on the title Entropy to Nihilism. So the whole thing is idealistic Entropy from the surface of what Miikah’s daily thoughts are, which incorporates the influences from Japanese anime. Like 10 Tails”
For an artist so young and so new to music NegativeXero is surprisingly dense yet impressive. It's not an easy listen by any means. The beats are layered and complex, Miikah's lyrics touch on several abstract topics loaded with nerdy references that even I had to look up. From covering anime, to depression and the existence of God, it is by no means a project that the masses will latch onto.
What it is though is a well packaged window into the mind of an artist with a non linear and developed thought process and how it relates to his surroundings. Much like the Woke Warrior on our timelines, we might always get what they're saying or the references, but you can appreciate the art form. The way Miikah builds his beats with sounds that you would never normally pair to make diverse and palatable soundscapes is impressive. Even more impressive is all 8 beats are completely different to each other. There is certainly a lot of potential in Miikah's work and I look forward to hearing more.
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The AHHB Podcast Featuring Miikah & Priddy Ugly
by Phil Chard
AHHB Podcast V 2
Fresh out the oven here is another episode if the best Hip Hop podcast in Africa. This week Phil sits down with our #FeatureFridays winner Miikah , a 17 year old rapper who educates Phil on the meaning of big words such as nihilism, entropy and compendium while also discussing how messing around on Fruity Loops helped birth his NegativeXero EP.
Phil also gets hold of Angolan-South African Priddy Ugly for an engaged and insightful conversation about the rapper’s 10 year career, being signed by every major label and dance battles with his girlfriend.
#SubmissionSunday | Miikah – Prelude of the Compendium
by Phil Chard
South African artist Miikah released the NegativeXero EP earlier this month. The 8 track project represents the nexus of electronic, alternative. Hip Hop music and Miikah's unique mentality and approach to life. He just dropped the single Prelude Of The Compendium which s the only song on the NegativeXero EP that he did not produce.
Prelude of the Compendium draws inspiration from 90's alternative free wave music and curing the concept of flying in this world, bringing to light the concept of the 'Sypabong', a term coined by Miikah, relating to an object, emotion or abstract that is not able to exist in the current realm of existence, being too complex to occur, fathom or vibrate... This song is a plea to God to reach the frequencies which enable the youth to find their Ikigai and seek truths beyond the simple realm humans dwell on...
Stream the full EP Below