There’s been plenty of crossover between Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE over the years, but ‘POMPEII // UTILITY’ is where it all clicks into place. Built with SURF GANG and stretched across a double album, it captures two artists doing exactly what they want, exactly how they want to do it.
There’s been plenty of crossover between Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE over the years, but ‘POMPEII // UTILITY’ is where it all clicks into place. Built with SURF GANG and stretched across a double album, it captures two artists doing exactly what they want, exactly how they want to do it.
It's 9pm on Good Friday, and there's a queue stretching down the street in central London, just opposite the theatre which houses Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. No, it's not a pilgrimage to see what's happening at Hogwarts, it's the launch party for 'POMPEII // UTILITY', the new project from New York rapper MIKE, one-time Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt and production/musician collective SURF GANG.
Inside, the atmosphere is electric, with half of SURF GANG crammed behind the decks while MIKE and Earl show just why they inspire such devotion from their fans. Despite landing in London at 9am that morning, the duo are on top form, skipping gleefully through cuts from the new album like kids at Christmas. "We went and had a full English at the pub, we split the G on some Guinnesses – our album came out today!" shouts a jubilant MIKE in a pause between songs.
This is the third of three album launch shows, with the first in Earl's native Los Angeles and the second in New York, MIKE's home. The connection to London is more nebulous, but this is a city which has always shown love for Earl and MIKE's unique brand of alternative hip-hop. "This is like a second, third home kind of thing," says Earl the next day, nursing a weary head and a cup of herbal tea. "We've always been super appreciated here, so it was a no-brainer."
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