Image via Previous Industries/Instagram
Will Schube still can’t believe Larry David got Salman Rushdie to say ‘fatwa sex’ on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Previous Industries, a new group, which includes the LA-via-Chicago indie star Mike Eagle alongside Video Dave and Still Rift, is the union of a collaborative spirit that was already official in every other way. They just needed a name and a record. Video Dave has been Open Mike Eagle’s right arm on the road and on wax for nearly a decade, and Rift’s relationship with Eagle goes back to their high school days in Chicago.
Previous Industries’ first album, Service Merchandise, is a family affair. The talent on display is that of a preternaturally gifted poet, with the vibes like an Adult Swim show based on MF DOOM’s mischievousness. Absurdity and pathos duel like the Greeks intended. Service Merchandise sounds like three brothers drinking a little too much and shooting the shit, occasionally getting to the line that divides “fucking around” from “finding out.”
To hear the members of Previous Industries say it, their album was fueled by Mike, Dave, and Rift sitting in a room, drinking, and envisioning their first album as a trio. As Mike explains, “You can tell that what you’re hearing isn’t very different from what happened on that day.” The energy is raw and dynamic, veering from laidback and playful to intense, aggressive, and wistful.
Service Merchandise tackles the pangs of getting older, and how those pains often breed beautiful things. Mike spent some of his early 30s in Hellfyre Club and it ended on less than perfect terms.
Perhaps it was simply a coincidence, but Mike began making the best music of his career after his first group fell apart, and it seems clear that his career elevated when he came to the realization that you gotta do most of this shit on your own. Mike built a world-class discography and created a mini media empire with podcasts, livestreams, merchandise, and more. “I learned a lot from Hellfyre,” Mike explained, “But I also learned how not to be in a group.”
Previous Industries arrives at the perfect time, where Mike can use a change of pace after a run of stellar solo albums, Dave can solidify his rap bonafides alongside a world-class spitter, and Rift can introduce himself to a wider audience than previously available. This is a rap record made by rap fanatics because they love rapping. It’s pure joy, and oftentimes these three MCs stake their claims as three of the best in the game, in part because of how well they highlight one another.
As Mike explained to me during our conversation, “if everyone’s intention is to do best for the group, the egos automatically know what they have to do.” To help explain the aesthetics of Previous Industries, I had each member of the group choose five albums, singles, or collections emblematic of their vision for the project.