Single Review: Mic Nickels – “El Matador (feat. Method Man),”

Pouncing beats, street-smart vocals, and synthesized melodies are fused in a vividly surreal cocktail that can’t be resisted in the new single from Mic Nickels, “El Matador (feat. Method Man),” and even though it’s a rookie offering from an as of yet unproven artist, it couldn’t sound much more complete and focused.

Shades of pop, hip-hop, and even a taste of something more avant-garde can be found in the instrumentation and the shared vocals between Nickels and Method Man, but for as amalgamative a piece as this is, there isn’t a moment in its nearly three minutes of play where we feel as though the pair of musicians behind its creation sound unsure of themselves or where they’re going aesthetically here. “El Matador” might not be the most inventive rap cut you’re going to hear before 2023 is over, but in terms of sheer intensity and textured grooves, there isn’t a track I’ve heard in the year thus far that can stand up to its vitality, and more specifically, its relentless charisma. This is hip-hop for and by the big boys, and it’s arriving at the perfect time.

The groove in this song is primarily dependent on the lead vocal, but I don’t know that I would go as far as to say that it’s been constructed around the cadence of the words exclusively. There’s an argument to be made that the bones of this track are structured to keep our attention on the rapping from the get-go, but at the same time, I feel like there’s so much action going on just beneath the bassline that Nickels intentionally wanted us to feel pulled in both directions here.

The harmonies tend to be even more expressive of the mood than the lyrics are in “El Matador,” but this doesn’t result in a hazy relationship between Method Man and the other components in the single at all. I’d love to hear these guys collaborate again in the future because if this is indeed a sampling of what they can get done when there’s nothing to get in their way, there’s an endless sea of possibilities concerning what they could potentially accomplish with an LP.

He’s still got a long way to go before he can stake a claim to mainstream success, but Mic Nickels’ new star single in “El Matador” certainly translates as a formidable greeting card to a world that is more than ready for an artist of his persuasion. Nickels is pulling out as many stops as he can to make the melodies even more meaningful than his lyrics could ever be in this song, and while it might not be the most elaborate rap composition that’s landed on my desk in the last eight months, it’s one of the first I’ve struggled to put down since the start of the summer. I see great things ahead for this young man, and I think he deserves some big props for the excitement he and Method Man are starting in their scene at the moment.

Emily Ott