The ever-charismatic indie-rapper (and comedian, podcaster, screenwriter, etc) Open Mike Eagle has announced a new album, Neighborhood Gods Unlimited, due July 11 via his own Auto Reverse Records. The first single is “contraband (the plug has bags of me),” which finds OME sounding as captivating as ever over some jazzy production from frequent billy woods collaborator Kenny Segal. Check it out below.
Here’s more background on the album, via press release:
Beyond his career as a musician, Mike has developed a number of television projects including his Comedy Central show The New Negroes. Speaking about that process, Mike reflects “One project I always come back to is a concept called Dark Comedy Television. It’s a show about a cable network that can only afford to be on the air for an hour a week so it has to fit its entire slate of programs in that hour.” Inspired by dramas like Get Out or Sorry to Bother You, which are stories that engage in big conversations around the trauma of marginalized peoples, and later by the surrealism of Boots Riley’s I’m A Virgo, Mike began to develop Neighborhood Gods Unlimited.
Mike continues, “The trauma at the center of Neighborhood Gods Unlimited is mine. I was shattered as a young person and I spent the majority of my life not knowing it. In my ignorance I would go on to shatter myself even further because it was all I knew. This is a story about how people who are trying to find themselves get confused when they encounter things that remind them of themselves.”
In light of the harsh realities that new series often face in the television industry, Mike decided to transform his concept into music, partly as a cathartic process. As Mike says, “It felt good to make and sometimes TV forces you to abandon things you’ve put your heart into. If that had happened with a project around this particular subject matter, it would have been bad for my mental health.” The ensuing album contains an opening theme, flashbacks, a climax and even some commercials.
Mike also has a headlining summer tour with support from Cavalier and Rhys Langston coming up, followed by Philly and DC shows opening for clipping. and a run opening for Phantogram. All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
1. woke up knowing everything (opening theme)
2. me and aquil stealing stuff from work ft. Mr. AQ
3. contraband (the plug has bags of me)
4. almost broke my nucleus accumbens ft. STILL RIFT
5. ok but I’m the phone screen
6. michigan j. Wonder
7. mirror pieces in a leather bound suitcase ft. Video Dave
8. restless hands and feet
9. my co-worker clark kent’s secret black box
10. rejoinder (burning the last puzzle piece)
11. a dream of the midnight baby (not a euphemism)
12. wide leg michael jordan generation x jeans
13. sorry I got huge (also not a euphemism)
14. unlimited skull voices
Open Mike Eagle — 2025 Tour Dates
7/9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo ^ +
7/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill ^ +
7/11 – Portland, OR @ Mission Theater ^ +
7/13 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza ^ +
7/14 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux ^ +
7/15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge ^ +
7/17 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake ^ +
7/19 – Las Vegas, NV @ Swan Dive ^ +
7/23 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon ^ +
7/24 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern ^ +
7/25 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry ^ +
8/13 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs
8/14 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Showcase
^ = w/ Cavalier
+ = w/ Rhys Langston
Opening for Clipping:
8/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ukie Club
8/16 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
Opening for Phantogram:
8/31 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
9/3 – Rochester, NY @ Anthology
9/4 – Albany, NY @ Empire Live
9/5 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Beanfield
9/8 Portland, ME @ State Theater
9/10 Norwalk, CT @ District Music Hall
9/11 Allentown, PA @ Archer Music Hall
9/12 Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
9/15 Richmond, VA @ The National