Man-of-the-moment iLoveMakonnen has received a ton of attention lately. And for good reason. It obviously and unquestionably starts with his music, which is fucking awesome, but like with a lot of artists out there who are plucked from the ceaseless data stream — and especially from the prolific world of rap mixtapes — the attention also comes with support from other artists. While most people would likely contribute Makonnen’s sudden rise to Drake’s unexpected co-sign, I personally find his team-up with Mike WiLL Made-It to be much more significant. According to Makonnen, “Mike Will was the first producer in the fucking world to get into contact with me,” and this was way back in 2012. In fact, it was Mike Will who introduced Makonnen to producers like Sonny Digital and Metro Boomin, who helped Makonnen reshape his music on his last couple EPs.
ANYWAY: even before Drake hopped onto “Tuesday,” Makonnen had been working with Mike Will on a collaborative project. At least at one point, the aim was to get it out before the end of the year. I thought the blog hype might derail that timeline a little, but the two have just debuted the track “Wishin You Well,” released under the moniker MikeWiLLMakonnen. As expected, the track is very heart-on-the-sleeve, with Makonnen mumbling loosely around Mike Will’s chilled-out production. But once Makonnen hits his trademark register during the track’s final moments, we’re reminded of just how easy it is to get sucked in by his beautiful warble.
Here’s hoping this is a sign of the project dropping soon.
• iLoveMakonnen: http://ilovemakonnen.com
• Mike WiLL Made-It: https://www.facebook.com/MikeWiLLMadeIt
More about: ILoveMakonnen, Mike WiLL Made-It, MikeWiLLMakonnen
