Music Mondays: Eyedea and Abilities

Smiling as an Act of Resistance

For this Music Mondays post, I want to introduce you to one of my absolutely favorite hip hop groups, Eyedea and Abilities (pronounced “Idea and Abilities”).

Eyedea and Abilities

Eyedea’s birth name is Michael David Larsen. Tragically, he passed away in 2010 at only 29 years old. Although his musical corpus is rather small given his short career, I absolutely think that he was one of the most interesting rappers in recent memory. His approach combines indie rock, poetic reflections on existential themes, and a general frustration with the temptations of our capitalistic idolatry.

Eyedea (Michael David Larson)

Although I highly recommend all of his tracks, I want to highlight one here and offer just a short philosophical reflection on what I think is a depth in it that is often hard to find in much of contemporary hip hop.