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Discography Ranked

All MIKE Albums Ranked Best to Worst (2026)

MIKE has released seven solo studio albums, and this page ranks all seven plus two mixtapes fans treat as full albums, Tears of Joy (2019) and Beware of the Monkey (2022), for nine records in total, from Longest Day, Shortest Night (2016) to Showbiz! (2025). His collaborative albums Faith Is a Rock (with Wiki and the Alchemist), Pinball and Pinball II (with Tony Seltzer) and Pompeii // Utility (with Earl Sweatshirt and Surf Gang), his other mixtapes such as Renaissance Man and War in My Pen, his EPs and his releases as dj blackpower are not ranked.

MIKE7 albums + 2 mixtapes11 min readUpdated October 2026Abstract Hip-Hop

Quick Take

Consensus PeakDisco!Self-produced, No. 16 on Pitchfork's 2021 listBest ReviewedBeware of the MonkeyA Metacritic 86 for a so-called mixtapeThe BreakoutMay God Bless Your HustleThe 2017 record that made his name

Why it ranks here

Every track on Disco! was produced by MIKE as dj blackpower, and the seventeen songs move from grief toward a hard-won steadiness. Pitchfork gave it 8.0, likening it to a silent disco of introspection, and later placed it at No. 16 on its 50 best albums of 2021; NPR, Okayplayer and PopMatters also listed it. It scored 79 on Metacritic.

Context

Released June 21, 2021 on his label 10k; it later reached No. 98 on Billboard's Top Current Album Sales chart.

Highlights

  • Evil Eye
  • Alarmed!
  • Leaders of Tomorrow (Intro)
  • World Market (Mo' Money)
  • Spiral/Disco (Outro)

Weak Spots

  • Several songs end before they fully develop
  • The mumbled delivery can feel distant on first listen

Production

dj blackpower (MIKE)

Influence

Its year-end placements made it the album that moved him from underground favorite to critics' consensus.

Replay Value

Very high.

Why it ranks here

Listed as a mixtape but made with more care than anything before it, Beware of the Monkey took longer than any of his projects to that point because he wanted it to sound cohesive. He produced it as dj blackpower, with Sister Nancy on "Stop Worry!" and Jadasea and Klein as guests. It scored 86 on Metacritic, and Pitchfork gave it 8.1, calling it self-assured.

Context

Released December 21, 2022 on 10k after three singles; it was first meant for the summer.

Highlights

  • nuthin i can do is wrng
  • What Do I Do?
  • Ipari Park
  • Swoosh 23
  • Stop Worry!

Weak Spots

  • Some listeners will miss the rawness of the earlier tapes
  • Brief interludes break up the flow

Production

dj blackpower (MIKE)

Influence

Brightened his sound, a shift Burning Desire and Showbiz! built on.

Replay Value

Very high.

Why it ranks here

Twenty-four tracks in fifty minutes, announced only through billboards in New York and London. Pitchfork gave it 8.1, noting how it swings between bravado and rumination and honors loved ones rather than only mourning them. Earl Sweatshirt, Larry June, Liv.e and Crumb's Lila Ramani appear, and it came only weeks after his collaborative album with Wiki and the Alchemist.

Context

Released October 13, 2023 on 10k, his birthday, and followed in 2024 by a three-month tour of Europe and the United States.

Highlights

  • Plz Don't Cut My Wings
  • Zap!
  • Burning Desire
  • Golden Hour
  • What U Say U Are

Weak Spots

  • Twenty-four tracks is a lot to absorb
  • Some interludes feel like filler

Production

dj blackpower (MIKE) · Laron · Gawd

Influence

Its surprise rollout and 24-track scope set the template Showbiz! followed.

Replay Value

High; it rewards repeat listens.

Why it ranks here

Pitchfork called Showbiz! his most spiritual-sounding album and gave it 8.3; it scored 81 on Metacritic and made year-end lists from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Consequence and The Fader. Most of it is produced by dj blackpower, with help from Laron, RedLee, Jacob Rochester, Darryl Johnson and Salami Rose Joe Louis, and Surf Gang, Venna and duendita appear.

Context

Released January 31, 2025 on 10k and followed by the Artist of the Century tour; a deluxe edition later added his Tiny Desk recordings.

Highlights

  • Bear Trap
  • Man in the Mirror
  • Artist of the Century
  • Pieces of a Dream
  • Diamond Dancing (Broke)

Weak Spots

  • Twenty-four tracks again test patience
  • Smoother production loses some of the old grit

Production

dj blackpower (MIKE) · Laron · RedLee · Jacob Rochester · Salami Rose Joe Louis

Influence

Extended a run of four straight acclaimed solo records.

Replay Value

High; it rewards repeat listens.

Why it ranks here

Released in 2019, the year his mother died, Tears of Joy is twenty songs of fragmented, emotionally exposed writing. Most of it is produced by dj blackpower, with beats from Laron, Adé Hakim, RedLee and Ohbliv and duendita on "#memories". It is rougher than the later albums but holds some of his most direct writing.

Context

Released June 21, 2019 on 10k, six months after War in My Pen.

Highlights

  • Whole Wide World
  • GR8FUL 2K19
  • parkS
  • #memories
  • BREATHE, GOOD

Weak Spots

  • Twenty tracks with uneven mixing
  • More of a diary than a finished album

Production

dj blackpower (MIKE) · Laron · Adé Hakim · RedLee · Ohbliv

Influence

Began the run of grief-centered records that Weight of the World and Disco! completed.

Replay Value

Moderate to high.

Why it ranks here

Released a year to the day after Tears of Joy, Weight of the World continues that record's mood with tighter sequencing, and Earl Sweatshirt closes it on "allstar" with Jadasea on "da screets". It is a bridge between the rawer tapes and the focus of Disco!.

Context

Released June 21, 2020 on 10k.

Highlights

  • love supremacy
  • coat of many colors
  • 222
  • plans
  • allstar

Weak Spots

  • Overshadowed by the albums either side
  • Heavy going in long stretches

Influence

Its Earl Sweatshirt feature reflected a mentor relationship that later led to their 2026 collaborative album Pompeii // Utility.

Replay Value

Moderate to high.

Why it ranks here

After stalling on an earlier version, first called By the Water, MIKE restarted the project when his mother posted the phrase that became its title. Half of it was recorded at his home in Bedford–Stuyvesant and half at XL Recordings, with beats from MIKE, Sixpress, Navy Blue and Tony Seltzer and guests including Wiki and King Carter. It made him a name in New York's underground.

Context

Released June 21, 2017 on Bandcamp as a pay-what-you-want download.

Highlights

  • Somebody Please
  • Hunger
  • Rainforest
  • STANDOUT
  • VICTORY LAB

Weak Spots

  • Sixteen tracks with uneven sound quality
  • The style is still forming

Production

MIKE · Sixpress · Navy Blue · Tony Seltzer · Standing on the Corner

Influence

Its June 21 release began the date he has used for many of his records since.

Replay Value

Moderate.

Why it ranks here

Made while he lived in London at the start of 2018, Black Soap is seven songs long and includes contributions from Standing on the Corner, Darryl Johnson, Adé Sayed and his mother, Anu Akinbobye. It is a pleasant, brief stop between the breakout and the heavier records that followed.

Context

Released May 25, 2018 on Lex, led by the single "Time Ain't Enough".

Highlights

  • Ipari
  • Like Mask
  • Ministry
  • Time Ain't Enough
  • Comfort Ajoke

Weak Spots

  • Closer to an EP than an album
  • Few songs stand out from his larger projects

Influence

His first release through the label Lex.

Replay Value

Moderate.

Why it ranks here

His first full-length project, self-released in June 2016, came out the same year he began learning to produce in Ableton with help from Slums member Sixpress. The fifteen songs show his unhurried voice early on, but the sound and writing are far less developed than what came a year later.

Context

Self-released June 20, 2016, after the mixtape Winter New York.

Highlights

  • Ours
  • Reach
  • Green River
  • SANDMAN
  • rapture

Weak Spots

  • Thin production
  • Writing that only hints at what came later

Influence

Mostly of interest for tracing his development.

Replay Value

Low to moderate.

Essay

The Complete Picture

MIKE's catalog rewards following in order: the early records are sketches, May God Bless Your Hustle is the breakthrough, Tears of Joy and Weight of the World work through grief, and Disco!, Beware of the Monkey, Burning Desire and Showbiz! show a producer and writer in full control. The gaps between the top four are small.

Start with Disco! for the most focused album, then Beware of the Monkey for the best-reviewed.

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MIKE Albums in Order

  1. 2016Longest Day, Shortest NightRanked #9
  2. 2017May God Bless Your HustleRanked #7
  3. 2018Black SoapRanked #8
  4. 2019Tears of JoyRanked #5
  5. 2020Weight of the WorldRanked #6
  6. 2021Disco!Ranked #1
  7. 2022Beware of the MonkeyRanked #2
  8. 2023Burning DesireRanked #3
  9. 2025Showbiz!Ranked #4

MIKE Albums: Common Questions

What is the best MIKE album?
We rank Disco! (2021) as the best MIKE album, with a score of 8.7/10: Quiet resilience over his own looping beats.
How many MIKE albums are ranked here?
This ranking covers 9 MIKE projects, released between 2016 and 2025.
What is the earliest MIKE album in this ranking?
Longest Day, Shortest Night (2016) is the earliest release in this list. We rank it #9.
What is the most recent MIKE album in this ranking?
Showbiz! (2025) is the most recent release in this list. We rank it #4.
Which MIKE album is ranked lowest?
Longest Day, Shortest Night (2016) sits at #9 with a score of 6.5/10.