Mike Wilson’s album "Fenix" shows an MC of venerable versatility. While many rappers discover they have a flow and stick to a single application of it, Wilson explores his flow from track to track. Hailing from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, his Native Tongue roots often show, but he also conjures equal parts LA and ATL. His new video for the track “Red Matter” is pretty much a single verse laying out his mission statement as an MC. He boasts, “I hash tag three sixes and steal police sketches to hire new priests based on police records. My goal is to implode the world. That’s one method to see your soul suffer and get one off the checklist.” From hooks borrowed from Broadway musicals to Star Trek references, Mike Wilson is reflecting on the whole spectrum. - BrokeMC

On Martin Luther King Jr.'s day it seems more than appropriate to publish the Open Submissions results of a category dominated by African American and Jamaican musicians, i.e. the HIP HOP + OTHER category (where "other stands mostly for R'n'B, Reggae, and Afrobeat. These are genres that are getting more and more space in The Deli, also because NYC's Hip Hop, after a few years of "stagnation" seems to be going through some sort of reinassance.

Total submissions in this category: 11

Jurors: Travis Leipzig (The Deli Portland), Michelle Bacon (The Deli KC), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC).

Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers' Poll, starting around 01.20):

1. Morning Sun + The Essentials (Reggae) - 8

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2. Mike Wilson (Hip Hop) - 7.75

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Honorable Mentions (score above 7):

George Grant and The Mighty Templars, Ajo, Reggie Mills, Justin Morelli.

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More results on their way.

The Deli's Staff