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Brick Body Kids Still Daydream

by Open Mike Eagle

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1.
black tom got style, eric can pull shit gotta brother named charles that be on that bullshit i protect my neck with some magical jewels and none of yall can take em from me in cortez cause i feel like fabian my fit got a head like the dome of a stadium yall think its all good but its a really a gradient bag of now and laters and a clilly canadian dont turn away from me, look in my eyeholes my brother got heart but he running with psychos he got a whole gang with him hella disciples they always tryna fight tho but i stay cool i cant lose no argument i got my jewels i keep my head down pushing like im walking to school yeah i hold em tight like infinity gems police men looking at me like im finna be him my daddy is a hard man, my mother’s a ghost i keep my head covered or my brother will roast yall fucking with my head, thoughts tougher than jokes i ran hard, my footprints covered the coast i be running through walls cause im buffer than most a nightcrawler tried to creep i smell suckers approach he see im all charged he get what he provokes the homie tom got powers so im tugging his cloak im big as hell i cant fit in my fit my sleeves ripped im a king so my rings is legit i bring shit to your front door ringing your bell my eyes glow in my hood like a demon from hell my old self locked away no key to the cell they shooting spells to my head its up to me to repel aint nothing gonna stop me now my big dumb brain’s an electrical ocean started walking now my legs in perpetual motion cant stop cant stop man im not just boasting i had to, cause home’s overrun by roaches i got swole cause i wanted revenge my brother charles got hurt when were playing pretend started walking right then, just me and the wind that asshole better hope i never see him again
2.
we was walking away repeated all we can say depart with a hug and its a public display like a dozen a day at it we plugging away at it im running away cause o’doyle’s is closed and it never was closed so im never exposed when im hella morose and im telling em nobody my skeleton shows with its elephant nose and its pelican bones watch how i carry it home cause the story it goes there’s a spork in the road we got to the bar but then o’doyle’s was closed and it never was closed even whenever it snowed every night it was there either there or a show every answer is there every question is no never questioned before so we guessing its home everybody’s secrets inspire all of my scenes i fly in all of my fantasies and i die in all of my dreams my superpower’s i maintain i take control of my scene yall should see what i cant say i cant say all i done seen i done told some goofy shit that sounded like a poem i run around in circles on the globe so who the hell could ever feel at home we live in a space that should have never existed we’re used to the taste of a human in space we ruined the room only a few could replace it and doyle’s was closed im avoiding my nose it smells like you should imagine you boiled a rose and the oven is on and the coil’s exposed and we pulling the door like we did it before and now we’re trying to deal with heat that we shouldnt absorb
3.
to thine own self be felt tip hip as a belt clip with a helmet fit for helpless feels if you can help it reassess the unarmed leave refreshed and unharmed bring milk and honey to the funny farm see the rest become charmed dumb an apple a day what apple sellers say i was brought into this world with the instinct to back the hell away and the will to write a rap song as long as an alaskan day the fight to balance those two feels is a personal passion play but so what flying fucks is thrown at rolling donuts my feet is cold but so what cause im bold enough to show up ha whats the hold upside down ketchup bottle speed uncoordinated running with pigeon toes and nobby knees god dammit folks will follow me bucket of random body parts master of the sloppy arts like kindergartners trying to be done big dumb dummy trying to fly to the sun im dried out but look what i have become sing it like a church song like an old time prayer from a dead man written on a notebook draw it with an ink pen like it doesnt even matter if it go goddammit its the first time make it like a mistake sing it like a church song written when the shit wasnt going right sing it like it dont hurt like it cant break like its this big i aint no chili pepper i aint got mama’s gun i aint in evanescence i aint in all for one i got a dumb agenda cant even make a plan if you remember the moment come here and shake my hand I'd rather be hiding alone like some ewoks Up in treetops Creeping around like I'm T-Boz Steeping the grounds in my teapots But I'm Steve Jobs On my Apple updating my e-shops Eat an apple a day, take a brief pause Take a nap lie awake in between sobs Then I rap and I pray and the grief stops My ego take cheap shots Can't believe how she speak to me  She talks like it's neat pushing buttons like key fobs Well good day bish I'm writing, this beat knocks Trying to pen classics like Reeboks Or Greek thoughts or a Fleet Fox And teach a good message like Aesop's That stick to my skin just like grease spots To forget all the things that my dreams cost Yeah I'm getting my kicks fuck some clean socks Ice cold -- we living like freeze-pops Cuz I'm gonna take licks while I defrost Divest from your demons and weak stocks And invest in your team 'til your scene hops It might mean wearing jeans 'til the seam pops But don't wait like Dre did with Detox No hate -- hinder me, I will clean clocks Like today I can't play I don't give fucks I won't change what I say take your screenshots Yeah I'm just being me, that's what she wants And this might seem weird cuz a dream stops when you wake up, but for the sake of finding peace No sleep on your dream job Now please go be who you dream of
4.
i need to keep a facade i gotta play it cool like when you with a girl and she away at school gonna get a leather shirt my stomach never hurts stone face, strong jaw shown to my competitors i tear my ACL and wouldnt even limp keep my head up high so i can read the blimps dont even scream if something hot burns my fingertips i just wait a couple seconds then i reattempt i had a weird childhood my shit was wild hood crying aint my style cause i can smile good i dont take shit personal i dont get jealous you can leave my name off you can misspell it i aint with yelling i aint even mad i aint screaming catching feelings or breathing bad my favorite phrase is so what im stone cut and bad to the bone no need to blow up calm before the storm or something i aint cried since 94 or something my legs tired cause i be running thangs that shit is exhausting im in a ton of paiiiin but im no selling trying to write fire pen full of flame that shit burned my hand im in a ton of paiiin but im no selling i wont sweat it it happens to brothers every year i hit my thumb with a hammer and wouldnt shed a tear still waters im running real deep airplane hits turbulence shit im still sleep i hit my knee on a bed corner and run a sprint i cried once but havent for every summer since for those of you thats doubting i take it that far i had an asthma attack during the last bar if you aint coming then send a note that shit gets to me i pretend it dont i gotta keep a facade i gotta play it cool like when you’re with a girl and she away at school gonna get a leather shirt my stomach never hurts stone face, strong jaw shown to my competitors it aint me in that spot well shit it couldve been the homie got that shit well fucking good for him
5.
this is normal now it normal its normal its normal now everybody get involved its holiday in the wasteland quit tripping yall its holiday in the wasteland when the king is a garbage person i might wanna lay down and die power down all the darkest urges keep my personal crown up high im the king of my lonely island home is high they cant reach my house i put out all the garbage fires squeeze the cider right in my mouth everything is not ordinary things begin and then have to die everythings thats been dead and buried aint supposed to come back alive now we all in a zombie movie only weapon is common sense zombie sheriffs is tryna to lynch us guess i’ll call up my congressmen pick a day for a celebration make a circle on halloween party under your pile of garbage cant see out then just follow me when the king is a garbage person i might wanna lay down and die power down all the darkest urges keep my personal crown up high can the people get one day without violence can we one day without fear can we get one day they dont try us? just like one day the whole year everybody get involved its holiday in the wasteland quit tripping yall its holiday in the wasteland this is normal now it normal its normal its normal now i was protesting i lost my sign standing up cause they crossed my line gathered folks and they caught my vibe wasnt for yall i woulda lost my mind long season i need this night fuel’s low so we reignite power’s out so we read by light no cops allowed they cant read my rights power’s out no electro now synthesizers all retro sound first directive protect your town tell garbage king we dont respect your crown generator we back online dont bullshit we dont have no time storm the castle that flag dont fly say fuck the king til that asshole dies fuck the king no command no chief since man was crowned we aint had no sleep dare the man to put hands on me or sovereign land that i stand on, b i was protesting i lost my sign standing up cause they crossed my line gathered folks and they caught my vibe wasnt for yall i woulda lost my mind can the people get one day without violence can we one day without fear can we get one day they dont try us? just like one day the whole year i remember people i’d like to get to know em its kinda like my brain is closed but my heart is open maybe my heart is broken a comet slammed into the planet and it parted oceans i even started smoking then i quit the smoking i still dream of deep breathing and my lips is open im coming into focus i used to practice trying to talk like i was mr. bogus i bet a lot of lonely people think of kissing posters
6.
so dont be mad at me i used to breathe asthmatically no strategy for whenever brain gets going counting the stars through the growing pains foot the bill take a sugar pill over the counter drugs the ones niggas couldnt feel like the wooden wheel ben switched the island with long hair head high like a lion sit yeah im trying to get it but where did it go its under 10 inches of the lake effect snow but imma do whatever it takes so lets go lets go to the projects lets go to the moon shout to aes rock for calling out my spoons shout to hip hoppers i met in high school yall saved my life thursday after this goes out to the ghetto children solving problems in the projects around the world ghetto children fighting dragons in the projects around the world dont overlook it tho you gotta know what you shouldnt know yeah im good to gone head scrutinize put your gloves on and dig for a new surprise it might be supersized use all your muscles get in front of the groove just like a hustle improve fight or scuffle stay sharp for the moment i rhyme for the survival so the art is a bonus i was sparked into motion back when carson was hosting everything is better when you dont know nothing im grown so im always disgusted all these discussions online is mayonnaise vs mustard mayonnaise people think french cant be trusted mustard people think eggs is all busted but fuck it we in it for the pattern interruptions ghetto children hacking networks in the projects around the world this goes out to the ghetto children splicing cables in the projects around the world dont be mad at me i overthink things radically king tragedy prince everlong never shake up my 8ball cause its never wrong i sing whatever song i damn well please vintage 5deez or tempted by squeeze my dispensary’s closed and i meant to buy weed im salty at the airport in security tragic is the story of the cookie face king long black coat on the roof like sting pointing bats at my enemies let it be known pull up at the show hitting every orange cone i park where i want but i cry if im towed i dont really know where its right to buy clothes unregulated labor made all that i own can i make an impact if i strike the right tone and keep saying words into microphones it goes this goes out to the ghetto children making code words in the projects around the world
7.
dont call me nigger or rapper my motherfucking name is michael eagle im sovereign im from a line of ghetto superheroes i holler i got something to bring to your attention i promise you i will never fit in your descriptions im giant dont let nobody tell you nothing different they lying a giant and my body is a building no services underground no sound when im calling home city broken my brothers down now im standing here all alone sun weathered my monochrome my hollow bones david bowie told me im not alone im overgrown with these model homes still here if its hot or cold still here if my body move still standing on cottage grove still do what i gotta do stone tablet on stone tablet im old granite im not a tomb yall can move this whole planet i’ll hold fast and i’ll follow through i promise you. they took us to shelters, basements, hallways early morning sundays, midnight all day do what the adults say, dont engage in horseplay people speak in tongues my other name is 3925 make sure that my story’s told 16 or so stories high constructed 55 years ago winter weather yeah here we go chi town in building code stood here for 10 million snows windchill is all in my bones indivisibile in divisible kids and criminals young and old no radiator my dungeon cold thunder humming you something slow 20 down and just one to go city say they gonna knock me down still wearing my iron hood told yall you wont stop me now they took us to shelters, basements, hallways early morning sundays, midnight all day do what the adults say, dont engage in horseplay people speak in tongues momma’s in the basement, smoking something we grew up in hazes, projects, dungeons graduation luncheons, try to make us something see what we’d become
8.
only your corrollaries know yall unique snowflakes in ordinary snowballs you can find me in the place sippin whats to sip tween shrooms and touring im sure to take a bunch of trips fuck that one guy who’s screen name was thuderlips pelt him with a bag full of mequite flavored kruncher chips bout to raise my vibration up see me, say hi, wave try to say whats up its all good in the hood, i think i listened to the kinks and my fridge dont stink so today’s a pretty good day doing what im supposed to do and saying what i should say hooray, im not doing bad like i could bay or regretting that i didnt grow my hair like toure’s? i wanna show up in the search results service volkwagens then cake up and purchase coats them little thin ones is worthless folks sad we never got to see the tweets mr. perfect posts its all white meat and baby fat been woke so long i might need to take a nap and im likely afraid of that imma swipe me a high speed data map or might be high speed beta max cassette tape show me your best resting death face show me anything except for whoever makes the best vapes cant even pretend to give a freak submit this whole verse as an op ed to business week i wrote a letter to the editor i dont know if death certificate’s better than the predator veteran cheddar getters know to do it togetherer and thats way they make stuff foreverer and foreverer everybody mama know the song still wont let a brother dip a toe in lake woebegone stuck in a traffic jam? add me on snapstagram if you was rich and about to be broke i can coach you i can show you how to kill a roach with a boat shoe might have to sell the dining room table tho pay to go ham on some second-hand baby clothes cut the cable bro gamble on wireless my sister sells jailbroken amazon firesticks need somewhere to bark start with local governments spar with republicans the stars wont be punishing you, fool your phone’s the new ark of the covenant god spoke to you in a bar called mulligans if there was justice all men would have to die patricide tweet at the void and heart the at replies dont cry if you cant find me i built a time machine to go hide in the 90s no friends i only want giants beside me to get close you gotta be the the size of a pine tree my supervillain name would be ultra hater i’d act hella cool then insult you later here’s something you should know from the ground floor as far as rappers none us as cool as we sound, bro dog im fatigued the world’s moving all different speeds this song’s too long didnt read
9.
ghetto in the way i drank uncle uncle my ship sank ghetto in the way i think hide my troubles my shit dont stink ghetto in the way i move watch me groove sing this blues little bit of ghetto in the way i talk my aunties still give the god the glory shot by the book depository never heard one of grandfather’s story permanent sadness constant mourning 22 grandkids one apartment turn the stove on cause we done with darkness social workers dont want sons with fathers when they visit people bite they tongue the hardest magnet programs baccalaureate illinois texas californian half a hand drum half accordian eagle phoenix dragon scorpion native american merovingian made of black bones and rare obsidian 10 feet tall not scared of anymen might blow up but will not go flat they do not know jack they try to ask the kettle why the pot so black maybe little in the middle but i got yo back secret buried in america wrote it all down just to tear it up what if there’s a god but its scared of us what if there’s a god but its scared of us so they pairing up they just sit there and stare at us what if there’s a god but they scared of us what if there’s a god but they scared of us my mama’s nose my daddy’s eyes accent that i dont recognize im extra fly im extra big i did everything i musta did im just a kid im hella old i collect my blood in a jello mold forever fold to the nth dimension too cool too cool in school suspension im late for work cause i stayed awake didnt go to church but they made a plate dont say a word when they debate whether god exists whether masons pray to an obelisk cause i got the gist the unlocked abyss where the knowledge is i seen the angles they compliment subatomic particles do not commit
10.
you didnt invite me to your funeral dont invite me to your wedding you didnt invite me to your funeral so im gonna be on time no backflips and no somersaults and im gonna toss every invite that i come across imma fight this shit like an underboss some guilt there but it wont grow heart broken? i dont know you can ask me if im gone go but i recommend that you dont tho i dont care who’s gone be there. save that for a single man imma sit here in my studio, elbow deep in a pringles can instincts say RUN run from you my brain so COMbustible i dont even know ONE huxtable i’d be so UNcomfortable im not gone front front for you no subterfuge why i cant play bum bumbershoot and im tryna write a dumb something new this must be some kinda joke saw that big dumb envelope might have looked like maybe i was down i had my foot on the ropes when you brought it up i was blinking then you thought i was down think again got a limited time on earth so what a side show worth i’ll watch your slide show first yeah im bogus im joe dirt after all lets play some tag or basketball if its collared shirts and slacks involved keep the dress code thats for yall you aint come to mine aint know you then aint known you long aint no new friends yeah we all get it you go with him you go with her lets smoke some herb lets order chicken and baked potatoes smoke the weed or play some halo please oh please dont make me fake bro i say all this cause i hate to say no
11.
and we drove all through the neighborhood, sitting in the car all day trying to find a radio wrapped both hands in tin foil, and pointed at the window frame trying to find a radio all up in my grandma’s basement sliding all the closet door trying to find a radip the homies said they heard a rap song, sounded like some folks they know but we couldnt find a radio Hard to express when the world is listenin'. Hard when you're sure that the world is not. In between PM Dawn and Sun Ra. Wearin' the suit like my school mascot. The Edison owl, not a head in the crowd, can match my technique and impeccable style... Says a young Hasan. In the mirror while Tip's sayin' "rock, rock on."- wit' my guy Stefan. Who despite the specs. Saw himself doin' things he would live to regret. Anyway...recitin' off top the memory. Burnt a lil jay up, my laugh was Gimli...regardin' the guns I coulda shot...I more dug might blow up but won't pop. Jigsawed blocks and hopped the row home...steps on the Ave where I played and roamed- the old me would drink a forty and eat baloney shinobi on nba live i’d play with kobe the ogs i miss my old hood i miss my homies its lonely the radio hosts its like they know me the ocean i picked a sea shell i saw it floating was hoping to hear the airwaves i think its broken i can still play it if the tape resurfaces kept an old boom box for just these purposes heard a mix show had mine on it recently people had a hard time finding the frequency its a piece of me sholl feels personal circled on all sides by used car commercials its worth it tho whole block listening cept the kids they so not interested implement new cointelpros hooks fit loops copyrighted by velcro whole sound changed dont nobody wanna sell those call the intercom yall this as the bell code
12.
blew up my auntie’s building put out her great grandchildren who else in america deserves to have that feeling where else in america do they blow up yo village dont knock me down dont knock me down i beg you im just chilling i’ll fight you all im willing just show me who’s that villain i dont see one i cant find nobody chicago or benghazi a high rise without no lobby run up stairwells like rocky cause these elevators so sloppy stop me now if im lyin but i dont need your buy in cause i heard a hundred sirens my attention’s undivided i was in there, she lived there she raised a few of her kids there no lobby no swimming pool no need in buying no swimwear got memories from in high chairs i stayed quiet like ice bear they say america fights fair but they wont demolish your timeshare blew up my auntie’s building put out her great grandchildren that building cost 10 million now an empty lot not filled in it was people there and kids there and drug dealers and church folk hit that shit with a wrecking ball so hard thought the whole earth broke all them people dispersed tho federal to commercial state demolished my circle i guess everywhere is my turf tho thats the sound of them tearing my body down

about

With the first song of his 2014 masterpiece, Dark Comedy, Open Mike Eagle reintroduced himself by defining his style: “I’m bad at sarcasm so I work in absurdity.” On that album, Mike deconstructed our overstimulated and over-surveilled society with ease and caustic wit. But what do you do when the world warps and bends into a shape so absurd that it can no longer be exaggerated?

Brick Body Kids Still Daydream is a searingly political record for systolic political times. It chronicles the life cycle of the Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project on the South side of Chicago that was demolished completely ten years ago. Families that had lived under the same roof for three generations were forced to scatter, condemned by bureaucrats and faceless cranes and public indifference. Mike Eagle brings the Robert Taylor Homes back to life--literally, with arms and eyes and a head like the dome of a stadium--and fights until the last brick is made to crumble.

As always, Mike slips in and out of various grey areas; on the opener “legendary iron hood,” he raps, “you think it's all good, but it's really a gradient.” The nostalgia (“95 radios”) is a little bit painful, the triumph (“hymnal”) comes through painstaking, incremental work. Everything needs to be earned, even the radio signals that are picked up through tinfoil wrapped on children's hands.

The thesis becomes fully formed on “brick body complex,” where the hook is a towering statement of identity: “Don't call me ‘nigga,’ or ‘rapper,’ my motherfucking name is Michael Eagle.” But this is not a departure from the man-as-building conceit--the flesh and blood and brick and mortar are inextricable.

In case there was any ambiguity about the political and cultural forces that lead to the Robert Taylor Homes’ eventual destruction, Brick Body Kids Still Daydream ends with perhaps the most powerful song of Mike Eagle’s catalog to date. “my auntie’s building” is a tour de force. “They say America fights fair,” he raps. “But they won't demolish your timeshare.” This is the point: the decay and eventual destruction of public housing--and of the physical lives of Black Americans generally--has been normalized in a way that should be grotesquely absurd. “They blew up my auntie’s building / Put out her great-grandchildren / Who else in America deserves to have that feeling? / Where else in America will they blow up your village?”

Production comes courtesy of Exile, Toy Light, Andrew Broder, Illingsworth, DJ Nobody, Kenny Segal, Caleb Stone, Lo-Phi, Elos, and Has-Lo, who produces and guests on “95 radios.” “hymnal” also features a superb turn from Sammus, who maintains the same rhyme scheme throughout her defiant verse.

As grave as the album’s stakes are, it's still anchored by Mike Eagle’s irrepressible sense of humor. (His live comedy show, The New Negroes, is upcoming via Comedy Central.) “no selling” is a hilarious take on practiced indifference, and “TLDR” bridges the economic gap with withering wit: “If you was rich and ‘bout to be broke, I can coach you / ‘Cause I can show you how to kill a roach with a boat shoe.”

Eagle has earned rave reviews in Pitchfork, the LA Weekly, and wherever brilliant, avant-garde rap is appreciated. Brick Body Kids Still Daydream is his most overtly political work to date, and puts to use all the dazzling technical skills he's perfected over more than a decade at the forefront of rap’s underground. In chaotic and increasingly fractured times, it has a few crucial things to bring to your attention.

credits

released September 15, 2017

01 “Legendary Iron Hood”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Exile
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

02 “(How Could Anybody) Feel At Home”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: DJ Nobody
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

03 “Hymnal Featuring Sammus”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Andrew Broder
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

04 “No Selling (Uncle Butch Pretending It Don't Hurt)”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Kenny Segal
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

05 “Happy Wasteland Day”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Exile
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

06 “Daydreaming In The Projects”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Illingsworth
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

07 “Brick Body Complex”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Caleb Stone
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

08 “TLDR (Smithing)”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Illingsworth
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

09 “Breezeway Ritual”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Lo-Phi
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

10 “Wedding Ghosts”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Elos
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

11 “95 Radios (feat. Has-Lo)”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Has-Lo
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

12 “My Auntie's Building”
Written by Open Mike Eagle
Produced by: Toylight
Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev

Additional Production By Jodan Katz
Guitar by Dan Miller

Artwork by McKay Felt
All Songs Mixed and Mastered by Daddy Kev
Open Mike Eagle is Published by Wichita Songs/Domino Music Publishing

Executive Produced by Michael Tolle, Michael Eagle, Mark Bowen
Mello Music Group Copyright 2017

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Open Mike Eagle Los Angeles, California

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