░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████████████████████████▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██████████ ███████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████░ ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████ ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████ V E T E R A N S ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██████ ██████████ █████████ ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████▓ ░░█████████ █████████ █████▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░██████████ █████████ █████▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░░█████████ █████████ █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░█████████ ████████ █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░████ U R B A N ░░██████████████████ U N I T E D █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ████ ████ ░░████████████████ █████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░████ ████ ░████████████████ ░█████ █████ █████░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░████ ░████ ████ ░░██████████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░████ ░████ ████ ░░████████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░████▒ ░████ ████ ░████████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░████ ░████ ████ ░░██████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░████ ░██████████ ░█████████▓ ░███████████ ████░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░█████ ░█████████ ░░████████ ░█████████ ████░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░█████ ░███████ ░░██████ ░███████ ████░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░██████ █████░░░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░███████ ░░████ ███████░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░████████ ░███ ████████░░░░░░░
░░░░░░█████▓▓██ ░░██ ██▓▓█████░░░░░░
░░░░░█████▓▓▓██ ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ██▓▓▓█████░░░░░
░░░█████▓▓▓█▓██ ║ r e l e a s e i n f o ║ ██▓█▓▓▓█████░░░
░░▓████▓▓███▓██ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ██▓███▓▓█████░░
░░████▓▓████▓██ ██▓████▓▓████░░
░█████▓█████▓██ ▌Artist__│ Mikkey Halsted ██▓█████▓█████░
░████▓▓██▒██▓██ ▌Title___│ The Dark Room ██▓█████▓▓████░
░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Label___│ UnCrowned City Ent ██▓██▒███▓████░
░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Genre___│ Hip-Hop ██▓██▒███▓████░
░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Format__│ Album ██▓██▒███▓████░
░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Year____│ 2010 ██▓██▒███▓████░
░░████▓█████▓██ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╝ ██▓█████▓████░░
░░████▓█████▓██ ▌Time____│ 67:29 ██▓█████▓████░░
░░░████▓████▓██ ▌Size____│ 162.35 MB ██▓████▓████░░░
░░░░███▓▓███▓██ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╝ ██▓███▓▓███░░░░
░░░░░███▓▓▓█▓██ ▌Source__│ Web Store ██▓█▓▓▓███░░░░░
░░░░░░████▓▓▓██ ▌Quality_│ 320 kbps ██▓▓▓████░░░░░░
░░░░░░░████████ ▌URL_____│ play.google.com ████████░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░██████ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╝ ██████░░░░░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░███ ███░░░░░░░░░
░░░
░░ ╔═══════════════╗
░░ ║ T R A C K S ║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░ ╚═══════════════╝▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
░░
░░ 01. Intro 0:07
░░ 02. Welcome 2 The Dark Room 1:03
░░ 03. Cameras Ready (Prod. 1120) 2:26
░░ 04. Preach Interlude 0:57
░░ 05. Talk Thru Me (Prod. No I.D.) 3:56
░░ 06. Niggaz Just Complain (Prod. The Legendary Traxster) 3:39
░░ 07. Field Nigga Blues (Feat. Freddie Gibbs & BJ The Chicago 3:07
░░ Kid) (Prod. No I.D.)
░░ 08. Talkin' About Freedom (Performed By Syl Johnson) 0:27
░░ 09. Respect Mine (Feat. Kamilah Sumner) (Prod. No I.D.) 4:06
░░ 10. Hustlaz Need Love 2 (Prod. David D.A. Doman) 4:24
░░ 11. Awthentic Interlude 1:24
░░ 12. Frozen (Feat. Kamilah Sumner) (Prod. Prolyfic) 3:56
░░ 13. First Class (Prod. Prolyfic) 4:12
░░ 14. Get Money (Feat. The Cool Kids, Miss Criss & Kamilah 4:55
░░ Sumner) (Prod. No I.D.)
░░ 15. Reading Of The Scripture (Performed by J. Ivy) 1:08
░░ 16. Exorcist (Prod. No I.D.) 2:54
░░ 17. Soul Of A Gangsta (Feat. Sly Poloroid, Count of LEP & J. 4:02
░░ Hollins) (Prod. Emmaculate)
░░ 18. Runnin' My City (Feat. Bun B, Killa Mike, Crooked I, Gillie 6:33
░░ Da Kid, Mistah Fab, et al.) (Prod. SC)
░░ 19. Story Untold (Feat. Ayana Bush) (Prod. Keyzz) 4:21
░░ 20. Dark Room Skit 2 1:14
░░ 21. Keep On Rollin' (Feat. Rico) (Prod. Odd Couple) 3:48
░░ 22. Get Money (No DJ) (Feat. The Cool Kids, Miss Criss & 4:50
░░ Kamilah Sumner) (Prod. No I.D.)
░░
░░
░░
░░
░░ ╔═══════════════╗
░░ ║ N O T E S ║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░░ ╚═══════════════╝▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
░░
░░ Mikkey HalstedÆs The Dark Room is not your everyday debut. The artist who
░░ has bounced from big label to big label finally delivers a hard-earned
░░ piece of art. Upon receiving his MasterÆs degree in Education, the
░░ Chicagoan signed to Cash Money Records, where he made a few features but
░░ never released a debut. From their he spent a few years with Jermaine
░░ Dupri before landing on his feet with the help of Kanye West, and iconic
░░ producer No I.D. The Dark Room demonstrates an intense hunger, not just
░░ to be successful but to educate and perfect his craft. ItÆs clear that
░░ his journey allowed him to embrace his style. Cash Money and Jermaine
░░ DupriÆs loss is easily a Hip Hop fanÆs gain.
░░
░░ The introduction is rather an ambitious start to a first project. Mikkey
░░ doesnÆt rely on over the top production to prove a point, or even a
░░ catchy hook, he just spits his version of the truth. HalstedÆs ability to
░░ intertwine health-care, hood politics, and dope wordplay all within a
░░ cohesive narrative is impressive. Lines like ôItÆs not that youÆre
░░ pro-slavery, itÆs just that you are anti-hopeö arenÆt just catchy, but
░░ they leave a mark on the listener. Without a doubt, ôWelcome to the Dark
░░ Roomö is one of the dopest introductions to an album in quite some time.
░░ The album itself is really an album rooted in emceeing, and the
░░ introduction allows the listener to appreciate the gift Mikkey has above
░░ the production from the likes of No I.D. overwhelms you.
░░
░░ ôCameraÆs Readyö hears Mikkey comparing himself to Nat Turner within a
░░ catchy hook, and eccentric production. ItÆs clearly an effort that has
░░ commercial appeal, but not in the deliberate way that has plagued debut
░░ albums. He toes this line throughout the project. On cuts like, ôHustlaz
░░ Need Love 2ö he executes it perfectly. Here, Mikkey, delivers a
░░ passionate narrative, that sounds like Killer Mike in his element, over
░░ top of a soulful vocal sample. Even the albumÆs lead single, ôFirst
░░ Classö is more complex than most braggadocios cuts. There is a distinct
░░ commercial appeal to Dark Room but its depth or reach isnÆt lost in this
░░ appeal. Whenever you think he may have overstepped, see ôGet Moneyö the
░░ very next track refreshes the listener with content that reminds us all
░░ why Mikkey is special.
░░
░░ On ôNiggaz Just Complainö Mikkey is clearly in his element. The title
░░ actually deceives the listener into thinking itÆs a pseudo hustlerÆs
░░ anthem. Instead it ends up being one of the albums shining moments,
░░ because of its depth and complexity. Lyrics like ôIÆm a baking soda baby,
░░ a crack rock kid / From right around the corner where the Black Sox live
░░ / Where the dope lines move, where dem hustlers tip / Where the gangsters
░░ make the drug dealers tuck in their shit / Where the schools are
░░ underfunded and the teachers donÆt teach / So, the block educates the
░░ ones the money donÆt reachàö do an incredible job painting a picture and
░░ explain the songÆs title. Mikkey doesnÆt preach, he paints a vivid
░░ picture and lets the listener come to their own conclusion. His MasterÆs
░░ degree in Education is well used, and the track comes across like a well
░░ written lesson plan instead of a preachy run down of project woes.
░░
░░ The album highs overwhelm the weaker moments. Only on ôGet Money ôand
░░ ôSoul of a Gangstaö does Mikkey seem to falter. ôGet Moneyö is bluntly
░░ put average, but on an album filled with inventive narratives, ôGet
░░ Moneyö seems out of place. This point is only highlighted when the next
░░ track is the incredible ôExorcist.ö On ôSoul of a Gangstaö all three
░░ artists including Mikkey canÆt overcome a generic hook. Yet just like
░░ ôGet Money,ö ôSoul of a Gangstaö is followed by an outstanding posse cut
░░ featuring the likes of Bun B, Crooked I and Killer Mike among other. The
░░ line up itself should be applauded, and the cut is executed perfectly.
░░ The only other complaint is the albums length. With 21 tracks (and an
░░ iTunes bonus), the album runs long. While few tracks disappoint, cutting
░░ it down by just a few would have given Mr. Halsted the opportunity to
░░ make his debut a true modern classic, and feeling more revised.
░░
░░ The Dark Room is crafted with extremely delicacy. Even the interludes
░░ serve a purpose and are carefully selected. Mikkey Halsted puts the time
░░ and effort that every debut should have, add in sick production and
░░ talent on the mic, we have one of Hip HopÆs rising stars. The man
░░ described by as many as Kanye WestÆs protΘgΘ proves that he stands in the
░░ shadow of no man.
░░
░░ Executive produced by No I.D.
░░
░░ ôRunninÆ My Cityö also features Chip Tha Ripper but it wouldnÆt fit in
░░ the filename.
░░
░░█
░░███ ░█
░░░░██ █▓█ ████░
░░░░░██ y o o v e e y o o █████ █████
░░░░░░██ g o t t h e ▒████░ ██▒▒██
░░░░░░░█ ░ ██▓██ ▓█▒██
░░░░░░░█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ████ ▒▓███ ▒███
░░░░░░░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ █░█ █░█ ░███████ ████░ ░███
░░░░░░░█ ░███░███░█ █░███░███ █████████▒ █████ ██
░░░░░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░░░█ ██████████████ █████ █
░░░░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ██████████████████ ████▓
░░░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ████████████████████▒
░░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ▓██████▒▒▒▒███████░
░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ▓█████▒███████████
░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ █████▒▒░████████
░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ██▓██▒██▓███▒
░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░░░█ ██████████ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░███░█ ░███ ▒███████ /-------------------------\
░░░██ ███ ░| shouts 2 all the groups |░
░░░░██ ████ ░| putting o u t |░
░░░░░██ █████ ░| quality m u s i c |░
░░░░░░███ ████▒ \-------------------------/
░░░░░░░▓▓█████████████▒ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀