Open Mike Eagle has always drawn aspects from his life into his music, but his latest record is his most personal yet. Anime, Trauma, and Divorce is the indie rapper’s fifth studio album. On it, Eagle holds onto his trademark sense of humor while discussing the realities of life as an aging rapper. The principle of “writing what you feel” guides the lyrics. He publicly journals in a revealing yet deeply humanizing way.
OME’s previous record, Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, deftly tackled greater societal issues in a poetic but conceptual way. Although that album clearly draws from experiences the rapper had growing up in Chicago, Anime, Trauma, and Divorce expands on this realm of confessional writing. Eagle’s work is deeply ingrained in the personal, but Anime brings this open book approach to a new level.
OME tackles societal expectations at every opportunity. From the unfortunate and notorious toxic masculinity of the rap genre to the cultural pressure to depict a perfect life. Hip-hop conventions dictate that macho bragging is the preferred style of expression. Recently in the mainstream, rappers have been tackling emotions like loneliness more frequently. Artists like Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler the Creator have done so on the albums Some Rap Songs and Flower Boy. Kendrick Lamar gained critical acclaim from his artistically told narratives of his oft troubled youth. This broader trend has opened the floor for an album like Anime, Trauma, and Divorce. For Mike Eagle, the struggles he’s currently facing are a little more mundane than Kendrick’s narratives of betrayal through fame. Divorce and its complexities, the loss of a passion project, the existential horror of aging–these are near universal difficulties.
Beyond the established social criticisms, Mike takes some jabs at the “self care” culture that has permeated social media. In “Wtf is Self Care”, he questions the practicality behind self care. He points out that self care advice is often contradictory. How do you eat well at the same time as treating yourself to a hefty serving of dessert? What are the limits of this undefined philosophy of taking care of ego nurturing? The track lends a self awareness to the album, which seems to be an act of self care in and of itself.
A major theme on the album is framing Eagle’s personal narrative through media– specifically anime, of course. With references from Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, he lets these characters stand in for his various emotional states. In doing this, OME brings to the forefront the reason why a project like Anime is so important.. Media is a way to step back and reflect on your own experiences. Sometimes being able to look at your own life through the third person perspective of media is quite upsetting. The album even recognizes this in the track “The Black Mirror Episode”. To see a character in a show or to deeply relate to an album justifies and reaffirms the legitimacy of emotions and identities.
With Anime, Trauma, and Divorce, Open Mike Eagle successfully crafts an honest view into the real life of a rapper. And, surprisingly, it probably differs less from your own than you’d expect. At the end of the day, despite the trials and tribulations that will always be apart of life, there is a silver lining. Along with that pain, there are moments like the one described in the album’s parting track. Self care and media indulgence is great, but ultimately, those things would be nothing without great people to share happiness with.
