“Go to Ya Head” by Mike Smiff

A thick bottom-end can move mountains with the right amount of volume, and if you listen to “Go to Ya Head,” the new single from the one and only Mike Smiff, as loud as your stereo can pump it out, then you definitely can expect such results. It doesn’t take longer than thirty seconds for this latest track from the noted rapper to suffocate us with the wallop of its enormous bassline, but its muscly construction isn’t an isolated feature in “Go to Ya Head”. Mike Smiff is putting the pedal to the floor in this song, and giving hip-hop enthusiasts something to get excited about in 2023.

Smiff has never struck me as someone who gets nervous in the studio, but he sounds a lot more comfortable on this track than his competition has in the past. The words slip away from his lips with a gentle resonance that bleeds right into the bass and drum grind creating the grooves in the rhythm. He doesn’t rush himself here; he’s taking his time and letting every bit of sonic weight pummel us with its gargantuan strength and depression-displacing size. The bass isn’t the only source of heaviness in this song; whether it be the lyrics, the vocals, or even the drums, everything in “Go to Ya Head” is colossal by design.

The rhythm is well-defined by the percussion as well as the bass in this single, and it hypnotizes us with its stoic repetition right out of the gate. Even before the drums have come into view, the implied tempo is making our hips sway and encouraging us to throw our cares to the wayside. The beats get a little lumbering in certain places, but it’s all part of Smiff’s conceptual master plan to get us engaged on every level in this track.

I think that “Go to Ya Head” has the potential to become a real favorite in Mike Smiff’s live gigs, and I say that because of the song’s surreal bones. The structure of this single is incredibly bendable, and with a raging crowd there to fuel his passion, it’s not hard to picture this track being extended into a ten-minute jam that would have everyone in the club on their feet and swinging to the grooves. It’s admittedly not a traditional dance song, but that’s probably what makes it such an intriguing listen amidst the lackluster output of club-driven hip-hop recently.

There’s a lot here for even the most discriminating of critics to dissect, but at the end of the day, I don’t know that hip-hop buffs will find a more engaging single out this season than they will in “Go to Ya Head”. It’s got just enough of a vintage sonic profile to win over fans of the old school while boasting an exquisitely cosmopolitan style that will drive millennials of all backgrounds and tastes wild. This is a very thrilling time for new music, and Mike Smiff is showing himself to be one of the more fascinating artists in his scene with this all-new release.

Mindy McCall