With a floating, woozy baritone flow and dreamlike self-produced beats, rapper MIKE continues pushing rap in more experimental directions. He began reaching more listeners near the end of the 2010s, frequently releasing mixtapes, collaborating with Earl Sweatshirt, and finding critical acclaim with his heavy, grieving 2019 album Tears of Joy, its 2020 follow-up Weight of the World, 2021's Disco!, and more.

MIKE was born Michael Jordan Bonema in New Jersey in 1998 and relocated with his mother to London for part of his youth. While in London, he discovered the grime scene and upon returning to the States as a young teenager, he began applying that influence to his own music. As a rapper, MIKE created his own abstract beats as a perfect backdrop for his often introspective lyrics and distant flows. He began sharing his songs around 2015, releasing several smaller EPs and singles before his 2017 mixtape May God Bless Your Hustle attracted more wide-scale national attention. That project's grainy samples and disconnected rapping set the pace for a very productive 2018 for MIKE. In that year alone, the rapper released four mixtapes, including critically acclaimed collections War in My Pen and Renaissance Man. MIKE's friend and sometimes collaborator Earl Sweatshirt's late-2018 album Some Rap Songs worked in a similarly disjointed production style as MIKE's work.

In 2019, he released Tears of Joy, an emotionally moving album he made in sorrowful reaction to his mother's death. About a year after the release of Tears of Joy, MIKE issued the LP Weight of the World. In addition to MIKE's own increasingly recognizable signature beats, the record featured production from KeiyaA, Darryl Johnson, and Red Lee as well as guest features from Earl Sweatshirt and Jadasea. He returned in 2021 with the album Disco! and collaborated with Wiki and the Alchemist on 2022's three-song EP One More, released weeks before his next full-length, Beware of the Monkey. ~ Fred Thomas

New York rapper Wiki colors outside the lines of conventional east coast hip-hop, bringing new and unexpected angles to his storytelling, production, and flows. After collaborating with Sporting Life, Hak, Lil Ugly Mane, and others in various groups, Wiki eventually went solo, releasing critically acclaimed albums like 2021's Navy Blue-produced Half God.

Wiki was born Patrick Morales in1993 and raised in New York. The MC and producer developed a love of hip-hop from an early age, beginning to learn his craft in sixth grade, inspired by his math and Spanish teachers, who had grown up in the Bronx and had an affinity for hip-hop. Taking his name from Wikipedia -- and later shortened to Wiki -- Morales spent his time listening to Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Notorious B.I.G., as well as bands such as the Ramones and Suicide, which would eventually go on to influence his eclectic style. In 2011 Wiki started the hip-hop outfit Ratking with fellow members Sporting Life and Hak, and by 2014 they had released their debut full-length album, So It Goes, after signing to the XL Recordings-affiliated label HXC. A follow-up, 700 Fill, appeared in 2015, and at the end of the year Wiki delivered his debut solo mixtape, Lil Me. The following year, Hak departed from Ratking to pursue his own path, and Wiki joined forces with Lil Ugly Mane and Bay Area rapper Antwon to form new group Secret Circle. The collaborative EP What Happened to Fire? with Your Old Droog appeared at the beginning of 2017, and Wiki returned to the studio to record his debut album. Working with a host of producers including Kaytranada, Earl Sweatshirt, and Alex Epton, the resulting No Mountains in Manhattan was issued in fall 2017 on XL. Secret Circle disbanded in 2018, and in 2019 Wiki released his second solo album, Oofie. The album featured guest spots from familiar friends Lil Ugly Mane and Your Old Droog, as well as appearances from Princess Nokia and Denzel Curry. In 2021, Wiki released his third album Half God. Produced entirely by Navy Blue and featuring cameos from Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, and others, the textural and cinematic album evoked scenes of triumph and defeat in the big city. ~ Rich Wilson

One of the most revered and prolific rap producers of his generation, the Alchemist crafts sample-heavy, tough, yet detailed beats suffused with soul. His extensive discography, dating back to the early 1990s, includes tracks by the likes of Dilated Peoples, Mobb Deep, Nas, Ghostface Killah, Lil Wayne, and Kendrick Lamar, and he's so valued as a collaborator that he has been behind joint albums co-billed with the likes of Prodigy (Return of the Mac, 2007), Oh No (including Gutter Water, the duo's first album as Gangrene, 2010), Curren$y (Covert Coup, 2011 and again in 2022 with critical favorite Continuance), Freddie Gibbs (Alfredo, 2020), and Roc Marciano (The Elephant Man's Bones, 2022). One of his highest-charting albums, the Larry June collaboration The Great Escape, appeared in 2023, as well as albums with MIKE and Earl Sweatshirt. In addition to his supporting work as a beatmaker, he has delivered numerous concurrent projects as a headliner and occasional rapper, such as the albums 1st Infantry, Chemical Warfare, and Russian Roulette, and a ceiling-scraping stack of EPs, mixtapes, and instrumental sets. He's also Eminem's long-tenured official DJ.

Born Alan Maman, the Alchemist grew up in Beverly Hills and began his career in nearby Los Angeles. As a teenager, when he was known as Mudfoot, he was part of the Whooliganz (with Scott Caan, son of James) and DJ Muggs' Soul Assassins collective. The Whooliganz released the single "Put Your Handz Up" on Tommy Boy in 1993, but their debut full-length, Make Way for the W, was shelved. Alchemist continued making beats, however, working with and learning from Muggs on 1995's Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom as well as with childhood friend Evidence of Dilated Peoples. These connections led to a prolific career.

After moving to New York to attend college, Al hooked up with Queensbridge duo Mobb Deep, producing the songs "The Realest" and "Thug Music" for their 1999 album Murda Muzik. The collaboration was followed by work with Pharoahe Monch, Royce da 5'9", Fat Joe, Ludacris, Big Daddy Kane, and Ghostface Killah, among many other rappers, and even rock and electronica acts like Linkin Park and Morcheeba. Across 2003 and 2004, the Alchemist released his first tapes, as well as his first proper solo full-length, 1st Infantry, which, besides featuring his own beats, also had him rapping alongside Stat Quo, the Game, Lloyd Banks, Mobb Deep, and Dilated Peoples. In 2005, after Eminem's DJ Green Lantern left the Anger Management 3 tour, the Detroit rapper hired Al as his replacement.

In 2006, Alchemist continued to showcase his work with The Chemistry Files and No Days Off, a pair of mixtapes containing previously released and unreleased material. After supporting Prodigy on the 2007 album Return of the Mac and producing "You Ain't Got Nuthin" for Lil Wayne's Grammy-nominated 2008 LP Tha Carter III, Alchemist tended to his solo discography with 2009's Chemical Warfare, featuring the likes of Eminem and Juvenile. The next year, he and Oh No launched their Gangrene project with the Sawblade EP and the Gutter Water LP. The year 2012 found him releasing Vol. 2 of Rapper's Best Friend along with Gangrene's Vodka & Ayahuasca, and his own Russian Roulette, an album built by sampling Russian music. A year later, he worked again with Prodigy on the album Albert Einstein and produced the entirety of Boldy James' My 1st Chemistry Set. Affiliation with Oh No continued with Welcome to Los Santos, a 2015 collection inspired by the virtual radio stations found in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. The same year, Alchemist assembled the Israeli Salad beat tape, featuring samples from radio broadcasts and thrift store albums the producer sourced in Israel.

During the next few years, the Alchemist was behind collaborative projects with the likes of Curren$y, Havoc, and Jay Worthy. He issued a fourth volume of Rapper's Best Friend and continued to produce for a select group of artists, most prominently Kendrick Lamar (namely "FEAR."), Westside Gunn, and Anderson .Paak. He continued collaborating, joining Freddie Gibbs and Curren$y on 2018's Fetti and the Cool Kids on 2019's Layups. In 2020 alone, he joined Boldy James (The Price of Tea in China), Conway the Machine (LULU), and Gibbs (Alfredo). Another highly collaborative EP, This Thing of Ours, followed in 2021, featuring guests like Earl Sweatshirt and Navy Blue. February of 2022 saw the release of Continuance, another joint venture between the Alchemist and Curren$y. The album saw both entities in top form and included guest appearances from Styles P, Boldy James, Larry June, and others. The Elephant Man's Bones, the Alchemist's first full album with Roc Marciano, followed later in the year.

The Great Escape, a 2023 full-length with Larry June, reached the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. The same year brought full-lengths with two members of the Odd Future family, Domo Genesis (No Idols) and Earl Sweatshirt (VOIR DIRE). His other major collaborative release during the year was Faith Is a Rock, with MIKE and Wiki. Additionally, he released two Flying High EPs, featuring guests like billy woods, Boldy James, and Action Bronson, as well as instrumental versions. ~ Andy Kellman & Marisa Brown