June 2023 – BBB RADIO

In this week’s episode, Matthew and Ricardo make mention of the upcoming release of “Diablo IV” and review the third season of Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso”, the series finale of HBO’s “Barry”, the Peacock-released sports biopic “Shooting Stars”, the biographic comedy-drama “Blackberry” and – alongside special guest Shabaka Boodoo – the spectacular sequel to 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”.

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

@bbb_radio
In this short-form TV review, @rmeddy1 shares his thoughts on the third season of Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso”. Listen to full episodes of BBB RADIO on SPOTIFY, APPLE PODCASTS, ANCHOR, PODCAST ADDICT, STITCHER, PODCHASER, RADIOPUBLIC, PLAYER FM, AUDACY and CASTBOX. bbbradio podcast tvreview fiverr appletv trinitok appletvseries tedlasso tvshow tedlassoseason3o podcast tvreview fiverr hbomax trinitok maxoriginal firedonmars tvsh@rmeddy1o
♬ original sound – matthew bailey – matthew bailey

@bbb_radio
In this short-form TV review, @rmeddy1 covers the series finale of HBO’s “Barry”. Listen to full episodes of BBB RADIO on SPOTIFY, APPLE PODCASTS, ANCHOR, PODCAST ADDICT, STITCHER, PODCHASER, RADIOPUBLIC, PLAYER FM, AUDACY and CASTBOX. bbbradio podcast tvreview fiverr trinitok barrytvshow barryseries tvshow barryseriesfinale barryfinalepisode hbo
♬ original sound – matthew bailey – matthew bailey

“WAKEFIELD” is the fourth studio album from Little Rock, Arkansas rapper, filmmaker and founder of the film production company DAYVISION, Mike Day. In addition to being the official follow-up to 2020’s “Everything is Fine, Focus”, “WAKEFIELD” will be his last solo musical project as Mike intends on going all-in on his film career, beginning with the production of a feature film based on this new record.

For those who didn’t check out “Everything is Fine, Focus” or my review on it (which was one of the first set of articles I wrote during my humble beginnings on Fiverr), Mike delivered a concept album of sorts centered on the driving force behind his personal and professional pursuits. Using a therapy session as a narrative device, Mike desperately tries to escape the harsh, psychological and socio-economic conditions that continually burden him, but is literally summoned back to his hometown of Wakefield to create positive change through his art.

By comparison, “WAKEFIELD” is shorter, tighter and more focused than “Everything is Fine, Focus”, and yet its scope is significantly wider than its predecessor. Mike collaborates with fellow producer Third House to make what is essentially a portrait of the community of Wakefield, switching between personal, oftentimes revelatory memories and current realities, good and bad, which continue to impact his life.

Its brief intro can be viewed as Mike leaving the aforementioned therapy session from the last album, as we hear him in his car proceeding to head home. From there, we get the opening song “Eye Six Thirty” where Third House delivers a dramatic, piano-driven beat supported by energetic horns and trap-flavored hi-hats. Mike introduces the album’s concept by listing a series of experiences and lessons learned from different eras of his life, like his relationship with a girl that, as a teen, he kept hidden from his mother, and how he was able to build an independent film production company on his own.

The following track “65th Street” finds Mike returning to the street he was born and raised in to inspire his peers to boldly pursue their dreams as he did, despite the challenges they’ll inevitably face. Third House’s mellow, soulful instrumental brilliantly sets the tone of this song, and the horns that appear during Mike’s blunt yet hopeful hook were a nice touch as well. We then get “Joyride II” whose predecessor, featuring rapper Beezy Da Sinista (more on him in a bit), appeared on Mike’s 2021 EP “March 30”. The smooth, blaxploitation-esque production on that track is updated to a bouncier, horn-assisted BANGER of a beat, with the noteworthy similarity between instrumentals being a “slowed and reverbed” outro. Mike and King Pimpin’ (one of the standout performers on “Everything is Fine, Focus” thanks to his appearance on “No B.S”) drop fiery verses on this track, with Bloka delivering one of the album’s most memorable hooks.

With those two tracks establishing the present environment of Wakefield, Mike delves into his past on the song “Bonners”. Here, he explores the importance and allure of money, starting with two highly relatable instances when he needed money and needed to SPEND money, and ending with the fear of getting robbed of what little he owns. Guest rapper Q.G. The BlacKnight compliments Mike with a brutally honest verse centered on how his ethnicity and social background can negatively impact his financial pursuits. Mike’s outro on this track, where his trip to the Bonners grocery store ends with some aggressive posturing towards a neighborhood gang, segues PERFECTLY into what is easily the album’s best song: “Melee”.

On that track, Third House’s production masterfully channels the rowdy, blood-boiling vibe of 2000s crunk music with 808 kick drums, tense piano chords and ghostly gang vocals. And early into the song, Mike taps into that exact vibe by incorporating the hook from the CLASSIC Lil’ O song “Back Back” (Thank you, “Rap City”, for putting me on to that song!) in his chorus. What Mike does superbly well on this track is explore how acts of police brutality feed into the media-supported stereotyping of black men as violent and dangerous. The beat change on the second half, driven by disquieting horns and an iconic sample from Lil Jon’s crunk anthem “Bia Bia”, allows Mike to present a perspective of that same issue from the eyes of a Wakefield gang. Adhering to the ‘code of the streets’, their response to the incident addressed on the song’s first half should be violent (POINTS for that “My homies Dedicated like Wayne to keep the Drama” line, by the way), and yet Mike faces the cold reality that even his pleas for peace will ultimately be ignored as tensions continue to rise between the cops and Wakefield’s citizens.

Fortunately, the next two tracks dampen the flames brought about by “Melee”, starting with “Feels Like”. The production on that track is an instant attention-grabber, as Third House pitch-shifts some layered samples from The Main Ingredient’s “Let Me Prove My Love to You”, made famous by Kanye West’s beat for the beloved Alicia Keys ballad “You Don’t Know My Name”. Lyrically, Mike touches on the daily stresses faced and hard truths accepted by African-Americans, with a STELLAR complimentary verse from rapper Bo Steez. The hook is quite clever, as every subsequent use of the word “feels” sounds like “fields” (Get it? Wakefield?), which makes this song’s placement between “Melee” and “The Fields” feel purposeful.

Speaking of “The Fields”, this is where we see Mike at his most vulnerable and candid, as he recalls an incident where, as a teen, he was coerced by a girl to have sex, only to be replaced by a more ‘macho’ guy. Upon first glance, a reveal of this nature may come off as provocative for the sake of it, but Mike uses this personal memory to highlight how black men use money, sex and weed as coping mechanisms for shameful and traumatic incidents. And it’s not like everyone can afford therapy (like Mike was able to on his last record), so on the hook, he encourages his peers to check up on each other and open up about their troubles.

The following track “Eyes on the Prize”, which features J. Stewart and yourHIGHness on the hook and post-hook respectively, touches on the almost daily reliance on said coping mechanisms, particularly to deal with the stagnant progress towards one’s goals. And while the song is quite effective in terms of its message, it feels surprisingly short due to the lack of a second verse. The same can be said for the album’s second single “This Side” whose hook, provided by guest singer Berrisherri, is a true highlight on the album. Its setup in the preceding interlude skit is great, with Mike proceeding to go out with his significant other, provided that he brings her back home safely to “this side of the tracks”. And the verse Mike performs on the song itself is fantastic (POINTS for the “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde” reference at the end), but for me, Third House’s production is so delightfully moody, a second verse would’ve made an already great song even greater!

The lead single “Day Dreams III” is…..yes….the third chapter in a series which began as a bouncy track on “Buy Back the Block” and continued as the powerful closing track of “Everything is Fine, Focus”. In what may be its final chapter, Mike wastes no time with Third House’s lush, reflective instrumental, as he looks back at the long road it took for his goals to come to fruition and acknowledges the family, friends and, of course, community he achieved those goals for. Third House saves his most soul-stirring beat for last as on the closing track “Happy Tears”, he provides an emotive instrumental palette for Mike and fellow rapper Beezy Da Sinista to celebrate their accomplishments and reminisce on the blood, sweat and literal tears they shed on their respective life paths. The coda provided by guest performer Oliver. Jr closes the song and album off beautifully, making it clear that these victories are the first steps towards the positive change Mike was inherently destined to make in Wakefield.

Ultimately, “WAKEFIELD” is Mike Day’s most heartfelt and personal record, and easily the best in his discography at this point. And if you didn’t realize by my lengthy review, I loved it! Mike’s pen game is sharper than it’s ever been, Third House’s production is varied and cohesive from start to finish, and the guest features are all great. As I mentioned earlier, I felt there were a couple of songs that could’ve run on for a bit longer, but at a 35-minute runtime, the album itself is compact and devoid of filler. If this is indeed Mike’s final solo album, he certainly went out on a high note, and as the soundtrack to what may be the movie that’ll kick-start the feature film era of DAYVISION, “WAKEFIELD” is a hit! In short, this is one of the best albums I’ve heard all year and definitely worth checking out!

OVERALL RATING: 8.5 out of 10

Now available on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Deezer, Amazon Music, TIDAL and Anghami.