Here is the 6th studio LP from New York City emcee, songwriter & producer Wiki. Formerly a member of the Ratking trio, he would go on to drop his solo debut No Mountains in Manhattan in 2017 under XL Recordings not too long after their disbandment followed by the sophomore effort OOFIE that next fall & Telephonebooth through his own label Wikset Enterprises. Coming off the Navy Blue-produced Half God & the Tony Seltzer-produced 14K Figaro however, he’s looking to dig up some Ancient History.
“G.T.F.O.H. (Get The Fuck Outta Here)” begins with this drumlessly soulful intro admitting that he feels like he isn’t missing out in 2026 whereas “Right Away” gets a little more optimistic over sample-based trap instrumental catching himself on a good day. “1 Time” chefs towards a boom bap direction talking about people not knowing how much power he truly has while “Park” psychedelically spends the early hours of the day sitting in the grass.
Navy Blue gets behind the boards for one of my personal favorite tracks “I.H.N.Y. (I Hate New York)” from the opulent boom bap beat to the lyrics detailing the love/hate relationship Wiki has with the city that made him the very person who he’s become but after “Bloom” featuring duendita & produced by Lil Ugly Mane raps & sings about people knowing where to find them right when the sun rises every morning, “Old Gods” reaches the halfway point solely spitting heat over a Tony Seltzer instrumental.
“Bourbon” kicks off the 2nd half of the album talking about being the cornerstore’s biggest clientele while “All in the Lining” featuring Your Old Droog finds the pair joining forces for another abstract boom bap standout Navy Blue cooked up once again. “Marm Era” soulfully describes memories he can recall like they happened yesterday while “Had Your Fun” continues the sampling to let everyone who thought he was done know that he’s still here.
Salimata joins Wiki for the romantic “Something New” talking about giving up their bullshit for each other over a MIKE beat to wind down the last few moments of Ancient History while the song “7 Deadly Sins” gives us a moody description of Christianity’s capital vices. The title track spends the last 5 minutes of the full-length with a symphonic instrumental from one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist talking about his shorty being sick of him.
Although I’d still consider Half God to be the most essential statement in Wiki’s solo catalog with 14K Figaro likely becoming a close 2nd at this point & of course placing the spectacular Faith is a Rock collaborative album he did with MIKE a few years ago on that same pedestal, I still liked a good chunk of Ancient History for it’s departure from the predominant trap production & conscious subject matter of it’s 2023 predecessor for a more drumless sound & getting more cryptic with his songwriting.
Score: 3.5/5
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