Mike Posner
One Foot Out The Door
(LRG)
Mike Posner has outgrown Durham, doing shows every weekend across the country. His debut mixtape dropped a mere eight months ago yet now seems outdated in comparison to his new material.
The 21-year-old Duke senior has one metaphorical foot out the door, but Posner is now completely entrenched in pop music.
The Michigan native outdoes his previous release and continues to blend pop sensibilities with electro and hip-hop methods on One Foot Out the Door to create sonic melodies worthy of both club spins and self-loathing.
Click above to continue reading
Posner proves he can move crowds with his production – a proficiency that has matured exponentially since A Matter of Time – and panty-dropping raspy croon. The Gigamesh Remix of “Cooler than Me” rivals the guitar-driven original in catchiness but uses a house-inspired beat to replace the sing-along aspect with a dance-along one.
Seeing as what Posner has been through since March, though, the mixtape wouldn’t be worth a listen if it wasn’t for the more personal accounts that highlight the mixtape. From his sit-down with Jay-Z and subsequent record deal signing – he’s signed to J Records – to lonesome feelings and onset of celebrity, Posner adds the visibly honest anecdotes that had been lacking in the past.
It is the particularly pensive penning on “Red Button” chronicling a failed relationship that really stands out and solidifies Posner as a pop superstar as he mixes humor with heartbreak and progress.
Posner continues to cover other pop songs, a penchant for which he should be noted and applauded, and does so with great success on Benny Blanco’s 3OH!3 remix featuring Kid Cudi and “Kiss Me Thru The Phone,” a definite Posner-remix of Soulja Boy’s hit by the same name.
“I Don’t Trust Myself,” however, uses a John Mayer song and, simply put, Posner goes in and kills it. Obliterates it. Even Posner admits he was impressed with it.
His presence in the rap game continues, with some major tracks such as “Mirror’s Edge” featuring Bun B, GLC and XV. Posner is only on the hook, but like in all of the hip-hop songs he is featured on, it fits perfectly. The man could have a career in hooks alone.
And don’t worry all you Big Sean fans out there. He has two appearances, most notably with Freddie Gibbs on “Bring Me Down,” although “Speed of Sound” is no slouch by any means detailing Posner's hectic lifestyle.
The mixtape as a whole is monumentally better than A Matter of Time. The only thing that stops me from thinking more highly of it is, after removing the intro, outro and snippet, there are only four tracks which hadn’t hit the net before the mixtape release. But really, every one of those earlier releases I continue to listen to anyways, and those new four are straight up bangers.
Really an amazing effort, especially considering the guy has a full course load at school on top of this.
Download One Foot Out The Door
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
