For the past few years now one of the most original and promising rappers coming out of the New York underground has been the Irish-Puerto Rican based in Manhattan Patrick Morales, also known as Wiki. After rocking for a few years with the eclectic soundscapes of Ratking alongside rapper Hak and producer Sporting Life and releasing some very unique works with Wiki93, So It Goes, and 700-Fill, the young rapper released his first independent mixtape Lil Me in 2015. In Lil Me, the artist explored a variety of themes familiar to him such as life in New York (NY), his childhood, what it means to be an Irish-Boricua and a New Yorker, and his passion and love for rap. In his latest release, the debut album No Mountains in Manhattan (NMIM), Wiki continues to explore these topics while keeping his signature eclectic sound and adding a few others.
(album cover for No Mountains in Manhattan)
After releasing Lil Me, Wiki and Ratking were left to think about the future of the rapper and the group. Sadly, the group broke up, but Wiki moved forward and released NMIM in 2017. In order to promote the project, Wiki went across New York City’s five boroughs on a small tour declaring himself the mayor of NY as he states in his second single for the album, “Mayor”. By doing said tour and taking on this identity, Wiki shows his love for the city that saw him grow and how he’s truly a person of and for the people as he states “Anyone can talk to / Anyone can walk through my block too / Ask me any question, y’all can harass me.” However, in order to get a full grasp of the album’s complete themes one must first look at the first song in the album, “Islander,” where the artist presents his identity as an islander of three islands “Puerto Rico, Ireland, Manhattan chimed in by him every place I been.” It is in this tune where we get the project’s thesis and how we can continue to understand the project in its entirety. After “Islander” and “Mayor” we get what was released as the first video single in‘ “Pretty Bull”, a party track that celebrates the variety found in NY from “writers” to “dealers” to “haters”. The project then moves on to the fantastic collaboration with rap legend and Wu Tang Clan original Ghostface Killah, “Made For This,” a song which sees unity between two different generations of lyricists expressing how they were born to be rappers. In a way, the track comes off as the old school embracing the new school after the new generation has proven itself to the masters and it serves as a perfect example of what could happen if these two decide to unite instead of defying each other.
(Wiki rapping as found on his Twitter)
As stated previously, Wiki is one to rap about his environment in NY and that’s what he does in the song “Chinatown Swing” where he documents everyday activities in NY’s Chinatown. However, while in “Made For This” Wiki declared how he was brought to the city to rap, in the song “Litt 15” he doubts his ability to be a great rapper as he feels his habits such as smoking and drinking will keep him from becoming the legend he can be. As he states, he is the “Young Simba practicing his roar / Young contender catching an applause / But I’m dolo on my roof.” In the following song, “Face It,” Wiki continues to address his struggles with addiction and how the self-placed pressure to put NY back to its top spot in the hip-hop map makes it difficult for him to get out of these troubles. Rap was his addiction and it lead him to others. Then, in the album’s third single, “Stick Ball”, Wiki raps about his experiences as a kid playing the popular sport and compares it to the way he’s rejecting major record labels (“The label say that they want me / Tell me that they can sell me / I ain’t a product / I produce honest shit”) and how he would always prefer to being that kid who came from NY’s streets rather than becoming an all out celebrity who forgets his roots (“Sometimes swear man I seen it all / The schemes unfold with these kids / Reminisce playing ball with a stick”) over a beat influenced by hardcore punk and improvised jazz. Afterwards, in “Elaine”, the Irish-Boricua raps about how it can be difficult to balance a loving relationship while being a rapper as it can be difficult to have a regular life while striving for success in a life filled with glamour.
(a still from the video for “Stickball”)
Moving on to the dream-like “Pandora’s Box” where Wiki continues to touch on his Puerto Rican roots in a love song where he reminisces about his relationship with ex-girlfriend Destiny Frasqueri, known as Princess Nokia in the music industry, and how she served as a person who helped him solidify his role in music, his identity as a Puerto Rican (“Told me I was Boricua”) and as a “teacher” who “made me feel I belong / Like I was one of ya / Cause I was one of ya.” This are topics he continues to explore later on the album in the songs “Baby Girl”, “NMIM” and “Leppy Coqui.”
(Wiki, on the right, with part of his crew as found on his Twitter)
In “Baby Girl”, the listener gets to experience Wiki celebrating his new love life in a party track dedicated to his new love interest stating how he loves to spend time with her (“I don’t wanna think about the World today I might kill / I’ma chill with my baby girl”) and how he would do anything for her such as “I’ll cover your head when they throw elbows at the shows.” Then on “NMIM”, Wiki raps about his role in the rap game while paying homage to the city that brought him up. Meanwhile, in “Leppy Coqui” he wraps up the album’s thesis by rapping about how rapping was a mere dream and is now a reality while accepting his identity as a “mutt” (a mixture of races and cultures) and “leppy coqui” (his way of saying Irish-Boricua, leppy being a slang used to refer to leprechauns and coqui being one of Puerto Rico’s most common native animals) from NY.
(flyer for one of Wiki’s shows using his flagas found on his Twitter)
Wiki’s NMIM is an album about identity first and foremost. Like in most of his previous works, be they with Ratking or solo, the artist continues to tell stories while exploring his role as a rapper, New Yorker, and Irish-Boricua in songs that show his unique lyrical delivery and taste for different sounds. While his style of rapping is strictly influenced by 1990s and early 2000s rap, one can also find his inspiration from hardcore punk in songs like “Stick Ball” and the sub-genre of oi! in the way his choruses are made in songs like “Pretty Bull” and “Baby Girl”. In short, Wiki’s NMIM demonstrates the artist’s continuous growth as a person and artist while reaffirming his taste for blending different genres.