Mikey Dollaz • "Waddup / Who Betta"
Some say drill has gone stale, and to be real, they are correct. But that doesn't mean that there aren't mainstays of the genre who have been moving-and-shaking recently, and Mikey Dollaz should be on that list. The Westside artist has been making some of the more interesting and left-field choices in the local rap scene right now, progressing forward as an artist. It's always great to watch someone's music steadily improve as their career gets ready for launch, and Mikey Dollaz may be close to that boiling point. Lord knows his music is hot.
But what are these interesting moves Mikey Dollaz is making? It's a convergence of sound, taking the broken-nose energy of his past releases and blending it with the progressive sounds of underground electronic music. This isn't Mikey Dollaz rapping over a dance track, it's Mikey Dollaz and his team customizing a style that at this point isn't being done by anyone else. It sure as shit is better than any EDM "trap" that was all the rage. "Waddup / Who Betta", to me, is the statement of these intentions. Produced by mega-DJ Salva, it's a track with a beat switch halfway through, each piece representing one side of Mikey Dollaz. "Waddup" is a cold, Chicago street-beat, sparse and hollow, nothing but snares snapping perfectly. "Who Betta" then proceeds out of the city, trading in those snares for bass heavy synths and some high-hat to top it off. While some tracks that beat switch in this manner do it too abruptly, Mikey Dollaz keeps the transition perfectly smooth regardless of his music's rough edges.
Anyone who considers or considered themselves a fan of the music out of the drill movement should check out "Waddup / Who Betta" for something that is risk-taking and different. You can find his recent mixtape Picture Me Rolling here, as well.
More Mikey Dollaz
New music video from Mikey Dollaz x Valee x KD Young Cocky in “Out West”