Bowie, Maryland by means of Clapham, London, England, United Kingdom rapper, singer/songwriter & producer IDK making his Rhymesayers Leisure debut along with his fifth mixtape. Starting to make waves within the spring of 2014 off his first 3 mixtapes profile started to considerably improve in 2017 when he signed to Williams Avenue Information in an effort to put out a 4th tape IWasVeryBad to crucial acclaim. He continued the grind by placing out a debut EP IDK & Buddies in addition to the full-length album Is He Actual? & his 2nd EP IDK & Buddies: Basketball County, however the sophomore effort USEE4YOURSELF was very underwhelming. Easy. nonetheless absolutely produced by KAYTRANADA wound up being his strongest physique of labor to this point & F65 was a good conceptual effort. Coming off BRAVADO + INTiMO a pair Halloweens in the past, he’s reminding us all that Even the Satan Smiles.
After the JASON MiLLS” intro, the primary music “HALO” produced by No I.D. hooks up some distinguished synthesizers speaking about how he retains profitable & stays operating checks whereas “DEViL” jumps over a Madlib instrumental so he can warn everybody close to him to run in the event that they see him strolling as much as them. “P.O” that includes Black Thought takes the growth bap route due to KAYTRANDA beating up the block 24/7 main into “CLOVER” that includes Joey Valence & Brae speaking in regards to the trio eager to fall in love.
“C.O.P.” shifts again in the direction of a growth bap vibe taking a extra aware method to his songwriting giving center fingers to the feds whereas “S.T.F (START TO FiNiSH)” aggressively units out to make some paper as a result of he’s a monster with it. “SCARY MERRi” retains it dusty courtesy of Conductor Williams speaking about day by day being a vacation to him simply earlier than “Cell Block Freestyle (CD On)” drumlessly suggesting he’d make issues heavier if his music profession don’t take off.
As for “Flakka”, we have now IDK speaking about not resorting to violence & getting caught up within the unsuitable place on the unsuitable time whereas “MiSOYGNiSTiCAL” combines synths with kicks & snares explaining why he needs his first like to fail. “LiFE 4 A LiFE” that includes Pusha T grittily talks about everybody round their components understanding neither of them fuck round however after “Everyone Is aware of :)” factors out that everyone knows a fraud once we see one, “SCRAMBLED EGGS – TBC :(“ spends the final 3 minutes speaking about being in conditions others haven’t come again from.
Till I get to my closing ideas concerning Even the Satan Smiles, I need to ship my deepest ideas & condolences to the folks over at Rhymesayers Leisure’s headquarters over at Minneapolis, Minnesota throughout these bizarre & scary instances they’re experiencing proper now. Concerning the music on right here nonetheless, it’s simply probably the most I’ve loved IDK’s music since Easy. & makes a terrific debut for a label that’s been on a run since 2025 that deserves the identical respect Mass Attraction Information bought. The manufacturing is a large enchancment over his final couple solo initiatives & the friends praise him outstandingly.
Rating: 9/10