Written by Sophia Burasco
In 2024, Mk.gee’s debut album, Two Star & The Dream Police, was met with critical acclaim. Since the release, the artist has been featured as a performer on the late night shows Jimmy Kimmel Live and Saturday Night Live.
The 28-year-old artist from New Jersey goes by the stage name Mk.gee (pronounced “McGee”) and debuted in 2017 with single “I Know How You Get.” The following year, he released two EPs entitled Pronounced McGee and Fool. In 2020, he released mixtape A Museum of Contradiction. I fell in love with A Museum of Contradiction in high school, so I was excited to see the release of his first studio album.
The tracks in the 33-minute project are balanced by lush instrumentals and soft vocals. It features fuzzy and hazy tones that are hard to interpret, however, I think the mysterious vibe completely goes along with how Mk.gee carries and presents himself.
At the beginning, we are eased into the album with the intro song “New Low.” With the tracks that follow, we are met with, quite frankly, confusing themes, including the popular “Are You Looking Up.” This upbeat track can be interpreted as more hopeful and optimistic. Your hopeful feelings will be crushed by the following mellow song “You got it.”
Another example of the kind of contrast heard in this album include “Rylee and I” and “Candy.” “Rylee and I” sets a darker tone before being brightened by the more lively and exciting “Candy.”
Yet again, we are met with some gloomy emotions in the slower track “I Want” that follows “Candy.” The pace of this song creates on a sense of yearning, and eases you into a relaxing mood.
The second most streamed and my personal favorite track, “Alesis,” certainly has a positive, upbeat essence, however, the lyrics of this piece represent an internal struggle. Since the release of this song, I have listened to it dozens of times, but it wasn’t until recently when I really listened to the lyrics. When I finally took in the words, it really hit a place in my soul. I feel like it represents putting on a happy front for people when in reality you might be struggling with something inside.
The lowest streams on the album are for the 10th and 11th tracks. The 10th track “Breakthespell” isn’t bad by any means, but it is very slow in comparison to the rest of the album. After that, the very underrated track “Little Bit More” eases us into the epilogue. It sounds muffled in comparison to the last track where we discover a sense of clarity.
The finale “Dream police” leaves you with a melancholy taste in your mouth and makes you want more than just the 12 tracks. The bittersweet ending reminds me of how I feel when I watch coming-of-age movies, which is wishing I knew what happened next and wondering where the journey continues.
This project is fairly relaxing listen to, however, the realization of the lyrics will hit you in an emotional, yet enlightening, way. The pure poetry and lyricism that Mk.gee has created is refreshing, and I am excited to see where his career takes off and brings him.