Don Mykel - Hell On Earth

A wintry mix from the New York spitter

Posted by The Pulpit on January 18, 2018

The dead of winter always reminds me of grimy, golden age, East Coast hip-hop. I always flash to Mobb Deep in their oversized coasts rapping around the can fire in the “Survival of the Fittest” video for some reason. Harlem rapper (by way of the Bronx) Don Mykel evokes the East Coast of old with his track “Hell On Earth” off his Infinite EP that dropped back in August. Infinite is a crisp, quick listen for those who enjoy the intersection of past and present, but “Hell On Earth” stands out to me. The track features some chilly piano keys played over punching bass hits and steely, rattling drums. The eerie outro fades out the vocals, allowing a growling voice-over to narrate the end of the track. It clocks in under two minutes, but Mykel comes out swinging with a plowing, bruising flow that mows down the beat for the first 20 seconds before backing off a bit to deliberately lay out the lifestyle he envisions for himself. The last few bars before the outro go off at a higher pitch describing what Mykel needs to reach his dream. The combination of the simple yet elegant beat and the cold, clinical bars are what remind me of the 90s sound, and those passionless piano keys add a foreboding element to the track. It’s a quick 110 seconds, but Don Mykel really shows out and proves that 1994 and 2017 can coexist.