Finding My Favorite
A roundabout arrival at Mk.Gee’s “cz”
by Nathan Russell
January 28th, 2022
In November 2018, the iconic and ever more elusive Frank Ocean aired his 8th installment of his Apple Music exclusive blonded RADIO project (it should be noted this is an “unnumbered” installment; the episode was titled “Midterms pt. I” as it belonged to an accompanying campaign to motivate fans and followers to vote in the 2018 midterm elections). I was immediately fixated on the second cut from this new episode, a record titled “You” by Mk.Gee. The song belonged to 2018’s Pronounced McGee, the only project available for streaming from the New Jersey Alternative artist. I gave the subsequent project a listen, gravitating further towards the intro cut “If He” as well as the track “Priorities”.
It wasn’t until Mk.Gee’s big 2021 that I was once again reunited with his abrasive yet sleek song craft. In September, Mk.Gee was credited as a writer on “Fair Trade”, the Travis Scott-featuring track from musical titan Drake’s Certified Lover Boy. A month later, Mk.Gee was staring me directly in the face on the cover of “Many Times”, the manic and powerful single to fellow music companion Dijon’s Absolutely (one of my favorite albums of last year). Much more of Mk.Gee’s face was sprinkled all throughout the 25-minute live performance art piece that accompanied Absolutely; in the live version of “Many Times”, we get the opportunity to see Mk.Gee egging on Dijon’s nearly incoherent screams from behind an amped guitar before sprinting along the roundtable to belt out a remarkable piano solo.
I was inspired by my continued adoration for Absolutely to give more of Mk.Gee’s recent solo work a listen. My Tuesday afternoon stroll through the main streets of my small corner of California was the perfect setting for his 2020 LP A Museum of Contradiction. Track 2 from the release, “cz”, opens with a set of luscious yet open-ended synth chords- a near half minute introduction that could send the song in any number of directions. However, the soothing chords sharply shift to an aggressive melodic backing, with a consistent and rattling drum pattern that sneaks into the mix shortly after. Mk.Gee settles perfectly into the song vocally, with a tone of drudge and sorrow matched by the lyrical content. There is a certain irony to being able to feel the full impact of lines like “Everything hurts a little more in the summertime” while on a brisk January evening walk. The song's dealings in doubt, temporary feelings, and forgetting painful experiences makes this a record that will not only fit perfectly into my night drive rotations but hold an infinite emotional stake in my life. For that reason… I’ve found my favorite from Mk.Gee.