Fans didn’t know if they would ever actually get MIH-TY after the August release date was a sham. Jeremih had teased a collab album with PARTYNEXTDOOR back in 2016 but due to a falling out that never happened. This experience felt different though, with arguably the hardest working man of 2018 Ty Dolla $ign involved and promoting the tracklist heavily this week, The duo dubbed MihTy, finally delivered late Thursday night.
What began as just the two collaborating and sharing ideas became a full-blown album, and the chemistry is quite obvious in the way they intermingle their hooks and verses. There’s a level of comfort they have with another, but also a force of energy shared musically. On their own, they are household names in both Hip-Hop and R&B/Soul, but together they may have set the standard for collaborative projects.
There’s a reverence to the music that came before them. Homage is paid to Mary Jane Girls on “The Light,” Notorious B.I.G on “FYT,” and Dru Hill on “New Level.” They weave their classic hits into today’s trap iteration of R&B, and bring along current stars Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa and French Montana for the ride.
At just 11 songs, MIH-TY doesn’t feel rushed or clearly wasn’t aimed at hitting certain numbers with an extensive tracklist. It has a fun energetic sound but they couldn’t go without slipping into their woozy, sensual bag. Covering very familiar topics to both artists such as sex and love, the album is an exercise of vocal sparring that we don’t see often among R&B artists. However, unlike rap where sparring could create a feeling of clash between two artists, these two simply play hot potato without ever dropping it.
The men of MIH-TY have been known for commanding strong hooks and verses on other people’s tracks, so much so that songs have been confused to be their own. However, with a full project together, one would be hard-pressed to say it was “Jeremih’s project” or “Ty’s project” because they truly work so well together. Of course, it is early and we will have to see how this project ages given 2018 is coming to a close. Whether the numbers turn out to be groundbreaking or not, many rappers and singers of today ought to tune in to this collab and take notes. Check out “Take Your Time” off of MIH-TY below.
