Former college baseball star Mike Stud brings “Relief” with latest album
Mike Seander, better known these days by his hip-hop name, Mike Stud, just finished up and released his much-anticipated album, “Relief.”
Stud has been hyping the album on Twitter for months, and with good reason.
The album is made up of 12 tracks ranging from humorous tracks to sentimental tracks thanking his fans.
He has spent the past three years gaining popularity with music-lovers of all kinds, and has been compared to artists like Drake and Mac Miller.
1. “Thank You” – 4.5/5 – Stud kicks off the album with a thank-you to his fans through this catchy, smooth-flowing track. In “Thank You,” Stud takes his listeners through all the people in his life he is grateful for, humbling himself to show his fans who he is really about. Definitely one of the most solid tracks on the album.
2. “Young King” – 3/5 – “Young King” has a softer sound, similar to some of Drake’s music. The lyrics talk about the lifestyle of a musician who is climbing to the top, which is what Stud has been doing for the past few years.
3. “Just Let Go” – 4/5 – This carefree, fast-paced track has a lighthearted feel to it, showing an easy-going side to Stud’s music. Like in “Young King,” Stud raps his way through his climb to the top, singing how “everything will be fine.”
4. “Batter Up” – 2/5 – This track brings back Stud’s past playing baseball for Duke before sustaining an injury and having Tommy John surgery. It starts with a ballpark keyboard and moves into lyrics about getting with girls. Though it’s catchy, it’s not as memorable as the other tracks.
5. “I’m Not Sorry” – 3/5 – Stud apologizes for partying multiple times in this track and living for the moment. It’s perfect for just hanging out or pregaming.
6. “Bad Habits” – 5/5 – Definitely my favorite track on this album.Collaborating with Kinetics and One Love, Stud brings a smooth-flowing, easygoing vibe about “walking away from bad habits.”
7. “Kids” – 3.5/5 – This track also shows a softer, more humble side of Stud’s music. Though it’s lighthearted and all about staying young forever, the message is deeper. “Success is a journey, but we treat it like a place. And it doesn’t make sense if you don’t enjoy the ride.”
8. “Feels Good Right Here” – 4/5 – Stud shows how comfortable he is with where he is at in life with this easygoing track. It’s refreshing to hear how much he respects his fans and wants them along for the ride with lyrics saying how he’s OK with the journey as “long as all ya’ll comin’.
9. “Oh No” – 2/5 – This track has a bit too much of a rap feel for my liking, and I feel like Stud’s trying a bit too hard with this one. The rest of his tracks flow so effortlessly, but this song just doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of “Relief.”
10. “F*** That” – 2/5 – Though the lyrics in this song are clever and fit together well, it’s an angrier track where Stud shows how he doesn’t have time for haters. Not a huge fan of this one.
11. “Perfect For Me” – 3.5/5 – This song, originally released as part of a series of “Sunday Stud Days” Mike put out over the summer, defines a friends-with-benefits situation in which Stud ends up falling for a girl he usually only sees late at night.
12. “Past Gone” – 4/5 – Easily the most heartfelt song on the album, and it was released earlier this year. The track is about a girl Stud met on tour who was struggling with drug abuse, depression and thoughts of suicide. He reached out to her, kept in contact with her and wrote this song about her. Seeing artists like Stud reach out to fans who are struggling is so refreshing.