Wiki is a rapper who has always caught my ear. It was mostly because of his unique voice but the flow and the way he’d snap a beat would stick with me. He is one of those rappers where you know where he’s from right when he spits. Wiki takes me right to NYC with his music and when we head into Fall and the Winter seasons and the weather starts to turn, I usually go into a NY state of mind in my earbuds. If unfamiliar with Wiki, you can start with his group RATKING which was where he got his start. You can hear his talent shining with the double-time rhyming and inflection in his voice with “So It Goes” which dropped in 2014 off the album, So It Goes.
Wiki caught the attention of a lot of people back in 2014 when he got on 2 key features with some big names in the rap scene. Wiki always gave me a NY underground rap type vibe and if he would have come out in the early 2000’s he would have absolutely been signed to DefJux with El-P and the gang. Hearing Wiki with El-P, Killer Mike, and their group Run the Jewels was a perfect fit. Shout out to Despot who was also featured on the track. Listening to “Blockbuster Night, Pt. 2” you would think that Wiki was just a member of the crew and not a feature on a track. And while Wiki usually finds himself rapping over production from ex-RATKING member Sporting Life, could you imagine Wiki and El-P linking up for a whole album? Damn… that shit would be fire. Throw Despot in there and you’d have a classic. Despot and Wiki would be such a fresh duo. Still don’t think Despot has dropped an album but I’ll remain waiting because he’s just as fresh as Wiki.
It was Earl Sweatshirt’s track “AM // Radio” with Wiki on the feature where I really took notice with Wiki. Wiki comes in first on that track off of Earl’s I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside album and steals the show. You can’t listen to that song and not have your jaw on the floor with his verse. Earl gave him the perfect beat to spit on and Wiki fulfilled his duties. Flames all around from both rappers. With this track I officially was on alert for all new tracks, features, and albums from Wiki.
Wiki’s albums No Mountains in Manhattan and Oofie were both nice projects but his new album, Half God is dope AF. Navy Blue handles all of the production and he killed the beats on this one. Good features all around including Earl and Navy Blue but this album is clearly Wiki’s time to shine. No knock on Wiki’s first 2 albums but I feel his newest release shows the true maturity of an artist who has found his lane. No track sounds the same and Wiki’s unique voice, bars, and cadence keep you tuned in. It’s tracks like “Wik Da God”, “All I Need”, “Still Here”, “Can’t Do This Alone”, and “Remarkably” that keep me nodding my head with my hoodie on feeling like I’m kickin it on the corner in NYC with a razor up under the tongue. Wiki to me is like the underground version of Griselda. This new album is dope. Give it a peep. Props to Wiki on a beautiful work of art. 👏 👏 👏