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Mike Posner: Cooler Than You?
Had Mike Posner decided not to lock himself away in his dorm room eighteen months ago, he would be in a similar situation as most seniors in college: jobless and searching. Instead, Posner walled off his dorm room and completed twelve tracks for the mixtape A Matter of Time, which went on to become a sensation at his school, Duke University, and on other college campuses around the country.
A year and a half later, Posner is gainfully employed with J Records and lets his agents do the job hunting for him. Directly on the heels of the release One Foot Out the Door, his second mixtape effort, Posner will be headlining on Saturday at CMC, one of five shows he is playing across college campuses in November. Venues range from Seton Hall and UPenn to CMC. And did I mention that Posner is still a full-time student at Duke, majoring in sociology and business? The man has a busy schedule.
From a critical standpoint, neither A Matter of Time nor One Foot Out the Door are perfect mixtapes. Vocal talent and lyrical creativity are the two qualities that Mike Posner has to work on before he records his 2010 currently untitled studio LP. Since his first mixtape, Posner’s vocal range has greatly improved and he is noticably more confident on One Foot Out the Door, where he relied heavily on vocal effects to change notes. We’ll have to chalk it up to his busy class schedule. A few of the rhyming schemes seem forced and elementary on the new mixtape, especially on tracks “You Don’t Have to Leave” and “Red Button.”
These criticisms aside, production and style are the areas where Posner’s talent shines through. Posner’s raspy lyrics flows well with urban and pop tracks that draw on glamorous over-production and reverb effects. A natural producer, Posner also draws from a pool of samples that span from a number of genres. In “Evil Woman,” Posner samples Electric Light Orchestra and on “One Foot Out the Door” he mixes tunes from current indie rock superstars The xx. However, original tracks “Smoke and Drive” and “Cooler Than Me,” which feature Kanye West’s protege Big Sean (Posner’s friend) have been popular on the tour circuit across the country. See the video below for evidence:
On One Foot Out the Door Posner worked with Benny Blanco (producer to the stars) to produce the party banger “U Don’t Have 2 Leave” and DJ Benzi (mixtape producer phenom) to create the dreamy and hallucinogenic “Mirror’s Edge.” The mixtape was ranked #1 on iTunes U, a free upload/download service that iTunes provides for student musicians. Play counts on Posner’s MySpace are approaching 800,000 — I think, he’s ready to play CMC.
Download Mike Posner’s mixtapes: One Foot Out the Door, A Matter of Time
Mike Posner will be playing in North Quad on Saturday, November 7 at 10:00 PM, headlining at the “P Party.” So get ready to bust out your Pinocchio nose, your Platypus tale, or your Pimp attire cuz we reppin’ the sixteenth letter of the alphabet like it’s going out of style.
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Lewis Corson
A junior at CMC, Lewis likes to think of himself as the cultural barometer for the Forum. He hails from an unknown Northeasterly state, enjoys "freestyling" in the shower and always uses Q-Tips after getting out. Averse to the academic world, Lewis can often be found checking for new music, updating his Netflix queue, and deciding which outfit looks best on Barack Obama.
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