When we meet Mike Williams on a chilly Monday afternoon in East Williamsburg, the sky is the same shade as his cream-colored Metallica hoodie. The Atlanta producer, better known by his beatmaking moniker, Mike WiLL Made-It, arrives calm and collected. I ask if this laid-back demeanor means he's recuperating from a blow-out weekend. On Friday, Will released his newest record, Ransom 2, and celebrated his 28th birthday. But no. "I just tried to take it easy and have a good day," he confesses. "I've had a lot of work going on, so it was nice to slow down a little."The week before releasing Ransom 2 in its entirety, Will had been dropping its tracks one after another. First came "Gucci on My," an infectiously simple trap ode to the Italian house, featuring 21 Savage, Migos, and YG. It was followed by the Lil Yachty-assisted "Hasselhoff," "Come Down" — with one of Rae Sremmurd's three appearances — and Future's high energy guest spot, "Razzle Dazzle." Will saved some of Ransom 2's best tunes for the final countdown. "Aries (YuGo)" saw an unexpected turn from Pharrell, while "Perfect Pint" united Gucci Mane and Kendrick Lamar over an evocative Rae Sremmurd hook. Both of these bangers arrived in the 48 hours before the full release. You can understand why he wanted a chill weekend.It's astrologically fitting that Ransom 2 dropped on Will's birthday. Susan Miller recently described March-born Aries as "always full of ideas, always thinking of new ventures to start, and always so enthusiastic about what you are doing." An even more cosmic excerpt from the birthday month reads: "One of your most engaging talents is your ability to build the ultimate dream team that gets results." When Will rolled out the rest of Ransom 2's 17 tracks on Friday, his fans found Young Thug, Rihanna, Big Sean, Ear Drummers signee Andrea, and 2 Chainz also in the mix.Continue reading on I-D.
Advertisement