A lot of rappers these days are keen to clarify they’re actually curators. Very few of them are. Sideshow has been walking that walk in Los Angeles for a minute or three, a man with a million projects, perpetually. So saying that “ALOVENARCOTIC” is an excellent video for a nothingburger song is missing the point: this nothingburger song is part of a curated gallery space called Tigray Funk, in stores now.
Real curators build bespoke collections, and “ALOVENARCOTIC” is also some limited edition merch in the form of a pill-shaped USB drive, complete with a fake ‘scrip bottle. Just like the vinyl LP, that shit is sold out and Sideshow has been dropping projects with 10k for a minute or two.
With most of the artists that get reviewed here, this kind of shop talk is superfluous to their music, but Sideshow has been on some Warhol shit from day one. Art is funny like that. More than most post-COVID rappers, MIKE has built himself out a universe-sized lane all his own. Everyone has an imprint but 10k is a business. They move a lot of real, physical units doing it, too. That co-sign holds weight.
Along his tour-heavy journey to his current peak, MIKE has amassed hella disciples, verily. The impact of that is going to echo for a decade, too, because this whole wave is inspiring a generation of weird kids around the world who aren’t even throwing demos up on Soundcloud yet. We have no idea how unintelligible the future of rap music can get.
Jokes aside, Tigray Funk is a big, ambitious body of work. Big as in large: weighing in at 32 tracks, this is a double LP by 2026 industry standards. The album moves fast and most of these cuts are a little over a minute long. There are a lot of curveballs and standout beats, but I was most struck how much everything sounds … well, just like this single.
Being a soft-spoken, super-wavy rapper these days is downstream of so many regional scenes & online fads that it sounds, looks and feels like everyone is running game from the exact same playbooks. All the surprise, the energy, the punk-rock transgression is gone. It’s all been flattened into the same gestures and adlibs and fit checks. Taken on these terms, as part of this boring-ass clout culture, Sideshow is a standout talent. That’s down to his discerning eye & ear, not his work on the mic.
He deserves credit as a writer, though. Tigray Funk is infused with personal testimony, but that’s nothing new for him. Sideshow has always been very upfront about his identity and history, but he’s audibly improved in the booth and his pen game has more economy & rhythm than ever. He’s not checked out because he’s not cynical, he truly does love music. That much, along with his work ethic and positive attitude, I can only respect.
Still: am I going to burn this album to CD and bump it in the whip? Fuck no. This is lazy and I was bored. One Dickie. It’s the only honest verdict & he’s too cool to care anyway.
