Mack Wilds also known as Tristan Wilds aka Mike from The Wire (one of the most memorable characters in television history) just released his sophomore studio album titled AfterHours, and although after multiple spins it doesn’t seem to have a record on the level of Don’t Turn Me Down <<< a certified classic off his debut New York: A Love Story, it does have a lot of good melodies and rhythms that at the moment are criminally being overlooked by the audience they’re intended for.
From his debut to his sophomore Mack did switch over from Sony to EMPIRE, which seemed to come without the major budget but perhaps for the artist came with better residuals, yet even still it’s the actual music - separate from internet noise and pop stardom - but the actual music, that truth be told hasn’t really missed a beat.
AfterHours is critiqued track by track below, and although it hasn’t seemed to garner the attention it deserves, the music lives forever and is worth another listen.
Intro
“Yo it’s Mac… that’s why night time be the right time with you” decent intro but off the telephone look I can’t help but think of one of Mack Wilds most incredible records from the album before, another one that was criminally overlooked considering the level of fire it was.
Bonnie & Clyde ft Wale
“Ohh I swear to God, If he were me why would I trust you… knowing his calls still get through” Smooooooooth single that honestly… Wale doesn’t elevate at all. No shade on ‘shine’ or the artist himself, it’s been a minute since I heard something from Wale that caught my ear.
Obsession
“Stuck on the phone, creeping through your Instagram and Twitter, while shorty’s home, and the problem all along, is I don’t see nothing wrong with us…” Decent album cut but overall one of the more forgettable records off the tape
Senses ft Tink
“she gon spin on it like a DJ, taking off her panties on the freeway” 💪💪💪 tough record and decent album cut that’s playlist worthy and good for the vibe, meanwhile remember Tink? Shoutout to her
Vibes ft Cam Wallace
“Don’t let 'em turn down your light… I want you to feel these vibes… all night” All 🔥🔥🔥 ya’ll crazy for sleeping on this… the radio/media/etc stay sleep but this too good to ignore [minus the featured verse that I could do without]. Even still press play on this!
Stolen Gold
“She finna be… stolen, stolen gold, play with her heart she might get stole” Decent album cut nothing more nothing less
Couldthisbelove?
“Good god, this woman’s gonna be the end of my days…” Although it could easily be thought of as interlude coming in under two minutes, this is still one of the toughest records on here and another one worthy of a playlist submission.
Stingy
“People tell me I’m stingy… with you…” This one samples the Ginuwine classic and Mack definitely made it his own. Another one that’s album cut worthy can’t be mad at this at all
Go Crazy
“Turn the lights off, girl, I’m finna make you go crazy, no backdrops just backshots, oh, movin that thang like that gon fuck around and make us a baby, sweet satisfaction” More 🔥🔥🔥
Explore
“They say love is a battlefield, I’m lost in the war, she wanna explore…” And another one. More 🔥🔥🔥
Choose
“Cause all we had to do was choose…” Mannnnnn 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Crash
“We got all day all night, to say what’s on your mind, it’s the same shit on repeat, so how bout we spend some time, turn off this broken record girl, angel, won’t you sing for me” As good as the entire tape is, it’s without a doubt highlighted by the outro that has a certain vibe to it… issa vibe… and you gotta hear this for yourself… play this on the West Side Highway with the sun coming down and thank me later ☀️☀️☀️🔥🔥🔥
Honestly out of 12 records Mack Wilds really didn’t miss. This is 12 records of straight heat front to back, with no skips or clear filler in 40 minutes of new original music. One things for sure is that Mack has clearly learned how to get the most out of his talent, as if he understands that less is more and from a song structure standpoint, he can use that simplicity to his benefit. Mack’s not an artist who can out dance or out sing the best of them, but it’s clear that he has an ear for music and can make good songwriting come to life, whereas by my count he’s 2 for 2 in coming out with cohesive albums that leave you coming back for more.