A Check-In With Michael Aristotle (Interview)
The last time I talked with Michael Aristotle, he told that he made a commitment that 2026 was his year of consistency. Let’s check in to see how he’s made progress:
Back in March, Michael gave us “003.”, his third installment of his 2026 release run for his birthday on March 27th. This project came with some heavy hit tracks and features from Will Hill, Jacquebeatz and Houston’s Erica Banks. When asked what was inspiring the momentum to continue the release series, he gladly shared:
Photo by qualitylenz
“At first, I was trying to stay on schedule so I had put out “001” on 1/1 & “002” on 2/2 and my original plan was to drop "003" as a freestyle on 3/3. I then changed my mind and decided that I wanted to put out The “East.Fm” mixtape on my birthday, which is March 27th. Unfortunately, I realized that the songs that were originally supposed to complete the mixtape weren’t going to be fixed in time due to tech issues with the original files. I felt like I just couldn’t allow anything to set me back anymore so I decided that “003.” was gonna be some of the songs from the hard drive I had ready to go for a while. Some of those songs had been sitting on that drive for two years.
The oldest song on “003.” is actually “LOOP”. I made it in 2020 as an idea for Missy [Elliott]. We were working on so many ideas during that time so we never got a chance to finish this track. I reworked the song idea into my own song two years later and kept it on the hard drive. Besides LOOP, half of 003’s songs were made in 2024 and the other half are from 2025. I decided to comprise these tracks and utilize “003.” to complete the series. I believe in making things complete. I believe in numbers and I listen to my gut feeling. The funniest part is when I finally decided to put out “003.” on my birthday, I was actually in my car and the car in front of me had a license plate that read “003.” at the end. Seeing that, I said to myself “Yeah, let’s do it!” My birthday numbers, 327, seem to follow me everywhere; every year, on receipts, license plates, addresses, even gas prices. “003.” took on its own meaning, and that meaning is "alignment.”
He even gave two singles “peach drank” and “doin2much” featuring DaKidd Half later into March to keep the momentum going. In April, he went on a well-deserved hiatus to let the full project breathe. But in May, he returned with a singular track with major impact: “MOMMY.” An ode to commemorate four years since the passing of the woman that made him into the man he is today.
He’s started the year off with consistency and as the months of this year progress, I am personally excited to see how he’s going to challenge his sound. We just don’t know what to expect from the man this year but so far, I can count that he’s dropping some sonic classics. Make sure to tap into Michael Aristotle and his latest releases on socials as @michaelaristotle and on all major streaming platforms now.