Over the course of a half dozen albums, Open Mike Eagle has carved out a niche for himself in the world of contemporary hip-hop with his unique blend of gallows humor and visceral social commentary.
His most recent album, 2017’s Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, is no exception: a brilliant and biting account of the history of Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes housing project, it is not without a sense of playfulness and humor.
Often, that whimsy is rooted in cannabis; whether he’s hitting his G-Pen, ruminating on stoned white rappers dropping racial epithets or just playing Halo, Eagle’s love of cannabis provides flashes of levity that sharply offset his bleak pronouncements.
“I would encourage people to listen to my music high,” he said. “‘Cus I listen to my own music high a lot. It’s one of my favorite things to do is get high and listen to my own music.”
Eagle’s deft tragicomic storytelling has not gone unnoticed; he has toured the world several times over, gained critical acclaim and appeared, last year, on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. On a recent morning in New York, we caught up with Eagle to talk about his earliest experiences with cannabis, his love of taking planes under the influence, his edible of choice, and more.
Listen to our conversation with Eagle below, and be sure to check out his website to see when his upcoming world tour will bring him to a city near you.
Subscribe to The Hash podcast for free via iTunes or Stitcher.
The Hash, Season 4, Episode 6: Open Mike Eagle.
Products mentioned in this show
Kiva Espresso Beans
Open Mike Eagle’s Senzu Beans, by Kiva. (Courtesy Kiva)
About Leafly podcasts
Leafly has four podcasts for different skill levels:
- The Hash is NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’ — on cannabis. It’s top-shelf audio journalism traces cannabis’ crossover into the mainstream; weekly on Tuesdays.
- Every Friday, The Roll-Up keeps you abreast of each week’s big cannabis news.
- What Are You Smoking? rounds up cannabis product trends for true aficionados.
- And Canada’s legal rollout gets covered by The High Life.
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Each ten-minute Hash episode is co-hosted and produced by Leafly California editor David Downs, and Max Savage Levenson (Pitchfork, NPR). The reported, scripted podcast’s guests this season include rapper/mogul B Real of Cypress Hill, Berner and NY State Senator Diane Savino.
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Subscribe to The Hash on iTunes or Stitcher. Watch the making of The Hash on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For editorial, contact david.downs@leafly.com.
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