Mike Wiald & Red Shirt Mike: Writing, Burnout, and the Draft

Three conversations in one, and the first is the one people will send to each other. Kavawon opens on creative burnout — the funk after a big push, peaks and valleys, giving yourself grace, and the argument that anxiety is trapped energy that needs somewhere to go. Procrastination, self-worth, notification overload, and 'Eat the Frog'. K-Ski turns up with a broken hand from a slip outside the Falafel Spot and does the show anyway. Mike Wiald takes the middle. 'I Feel Nothing' — two sides of addiction — plus how writing a battle round differs from writing a song, competition versus therapy, thirty-two bars with no editing at eight bars a day, and why he now stacks singles rather than forcing an album. Then Red Shirt Mike, for the longest and most argumentative stretch the show has run. Why an Icon vs Set The Bar card will not happen, why cypher shows do not pay, and a real defence of battle rap against its reputation — media literacy, camaraderie inside competition, and what Jay-Z gets wrong calling it negative. It widens into Kendrick vs Drake, the UMG distraction theory, Occam's razor as an antidote to conspiracy thinking, and self-censorship versus the 'woke mob'. It closes on the draft, Vancity Eras, and the question underneath running any scene: if I got hit by a bus, does Set The Bar survive? Recorded at B-Side Radio, Vancouver BC. 0:00 Kavawon's creative funk after burnout 1:58 Humble the Poet: you need fun too 5:52 Peaks, valleys and giving grace 6:58 Anxiety as trapped energy 9:14 Procrastination and self-worth 10:38 Notifications and negative self-talk 14:14 Turning knowledge into a course 15:01 'Eat the Frog': hard task first 17:13 K-Ski's broken hand 19:41 650 emails after two weeks off 20:47 Handing the mic to Mike Wiald 22:39 Mike Wiald: 'I Feel Nothing' 24:17 Love Force gallery and merch 26:27 Engineer chemistry: Coach K vs Eugene 30:09 Battle rounds vs writing songs 33:29 32 bars, no editing 36:28 Sitting on a beat, writing diagonally 38:52 Stacking singles, not forcing an album 41:40 Vancouver battle highlights 43:27 Stepping back to build the platform 44:40 Merch: Team Wild and Bib World Order 47:27 'I Feel Nothing': two sides 49:11 Song: 'I Feel Nothing' 50:41 Naming the project; the Cobalt show 54:36 Red Shirt Mike: come to a battle 56:17 Why Icon vs Set The Bar won't happen 58:48 Why cypher shows don't pay 1:02:39 Limited energy, needing organizers 1:05:00 Why he rarely battles at home 1:07:36 Battle rap's reputation and literacy 1:11:05 Jay-Z calling battle rap negative 1:12:48 Kendrick vs Drake and the UMG theory 1:18:25 Occam's razor for conspiracies 1:21:24 Self-censorship vs the 'woke mob' 1:24:12 Call Up Season 10: Mike vs Aaron 1:27:22 Shine 9, Shiva, Eclipse and Drolene 1:30:59 Bringing back Rivals 1:32:29 The draft and a coaching season 1:39:22 Why Vancity Eras 3 keeps falling apart 1:41:46 A year-long draft season idea 1:44:56 Turning down 85% of ideas 1:46:22 Booking months ahead 1:50:14 Why BC's pipeline outlasted Alberta 1:53:04 If I got hit by a bus 1:55:29 April 11 at the Turf, and outro