Melly Mike Releases Debut EP TIME4WAR

Melly Mike's debut Epic Records EP, TIME4WAR, is out now. The eight-track project marks a major milestone for the Minneapolis artist and U.S. Army veteran, and includes 'Young Black & Rich,' the record that became a phenomenon.

TIME4WAR lives up to its name, confronting the people who switched sides while reflecting on the version of himself who once accepted less. 'Cut Throat' sets that tone from the jump, and 'Ain't Sweet' keeps that same aggression front and center, an uptempo cut packed with wordplay that bites, Melly making it clear that he's well aware of who's been watching his every move. Also featured are 'F**ked Up,' 'I'm So Glad,' and 'Pride B4 The Fall.'

That determination goes back further than any of these songs, to a small Minnesota town where Melly was raised by Liberian immigrant parents who hustled to get him into a better school, even when there wasn't much else to give. 'At home, I had love but no money or food. At school, I had opportunities, but I didn't fit in with a lot of the kids,' he has said. He found his place at the library after school, losing himself in manga and music. 'The only outlet I really had was art,' he recalls. But art, at that point, wasn't going to pay for a higher education.

The U.S. Army became his next proving ground. Joining fresh out of high school, Melly spent six years in service and earned Soldier of the Year honors twice. A promotion to sergeant was within reach, but he walked away from it instead, choosing to pursue music over a secure military career.

By 2024, Melly was at his lowest, and he began rebuilding himself from the ground up: waking up at 5:00am, taking cold showers, running daily, and turning to self-improvement books. 'Young Black & Rich' came out of that discipline, a personal affirmation he wrote to get himself through a difficult time, never expecting anyone else to hear it.

Then an 11-year-old Indonesian boat racer named Rayyan Arkan Dikha danced to it during the Pacu Jalur race, and the song stopped being his alone. The clip sparked the global 'aura farming' trend, with everyone from Travis Kelce, iShowSpeed, and KSI to Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan joining in. It drew coverage from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post, while Complex later named it one of the best viral moments of 2025. 'Young Black & Rich' has generated tens of millions of streams, cracked the top 50 of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and inspired a Fortnite emote, while its success brought Melly to Indonesia as the Pacu Jalur festival's Global Ambassador.

Signing with Epic Records in 2025 was a turning point for Melly Mike, but his story was far from finished. On 'The Same,' he pushed back at the people who called his growth a betrayal of who he used to be. When his friend Jorge Munoz-Pederson was killed, 'God's Time' became Melly's way of leaning on his faith, trusting that the timing of his life still meant something. He kept working. 'All I Need' was him admitting the hunger never left, that millions of streams and a festival stage in Indonesia hadn't quieted the part of him that still felt like he had something to prove. Then came 'Turnin Your Back,' as Melly addressed those who disappeared when it mattered and those who reappeared once it paid off.

TIME4WAR is where all of it lands, and the EP is available now.

Tracklist

1. Cut Throat

2. Pride B4 The Fall

3. All I Need

4. Ain't Sweet

5. Turnin Your Back

6. Young Black & Rich

7. F**ked Up

8. I'm So Glad

Photo Credit: Epic Records

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