.idk. is back in full narrative mode. Today, the artist born Jason Mills shared a new animated video for SCARY MERRi, a haunting visual that officially sets the tone for his forthcoming mixtape Even The Devil Smiles, out January 23. The release continues a chapter that feels deeply personal, reflective, and uncompromising, further cementing .idk. as one of hip hop’s most intentional storytellers.
The new video arrives alongside the announcement of the mixtape and ahead of a special live appearance in New York City this week, where .idk. will perform at DMX 55, a celebration of the late icon’s life on what would have been his fifty-fifth birthday.
SCARY MERRi Sets A Dark And Purposeful Tone
The animated video for SCARY MERRi, created by artist Ryan Polk, is eerie, disorienting, and emotionally charged. Built around a sinister beat from Conductor Williams, the visual feels like a drunken stumble through memory and consequence. Its two-dimensional stop motion style mirrors the chaos in the record itself, landing somewhere between nightmare and confession.
.idk. uses the track to unpack smash and grab stories, interrupted holidays, and the realities of incarceration. The timing of the release feels intentional, sitting in that strange stretch between Halloween and the end of the year, where reflection often hits hardest.
Rather than chasing surface-level aesthetics, SCARY MERRi leans into discomfort. It is not meant to be easy. It is meant to be honest.
watch “SCARY MERRi” below:
Even The Devil Smiles Explores Survival And Second Chances
Inspired by the raw immediacy of the ’90s and early ‘2000s mixtape culture, Even The Devil Smiles is positioned as one of .idk.’s most introspective projects to date. The mixtape draws from Black expressionism, lived experience, and the artist’s own journey through the US criminal justice system.
The project features contributions from a wide range of producers, including Madlib, Kaytranada, No I.D., Joey Valence and Brae, Ratboy, Goldie, and Conductor Williams. Sonically, it balances gritty rap foundations with moments of melody, all in service of storytelling rather than trend chasing.
At its core, the mixtape is about survival. .idk. has openly reflected on the fact that if he had served his full fifteen-year sentence after being incarcerated at seventeen, he would only be getting out in 2025. Having served three years instead, every release carries the weight of time that almost disappeared.
As .idk. himself explains, the project dives directly into the mindset that shaped him before, during, and after incarceration. Real recorded phone calls with Deangelo Sneed, a high-ranking Blood who saw potential in him early on, appear throughout the project as emotional checkpoints. The result is a body of work that treats music as documentation and testimony.
A Chapter That Began With S.T.F And DMX
This era officially began with S.T.F, a collaboration with Kaytranada and the late DMX. The track holds historic weight, as it became the first posthumous DMX collaboration approved by the estate since his passing.
For .idk., the moment was deeply personal. DMX had previously appeared on his breakthrough projects Is He Real and USee4Yourself, making the collaboration both a tribute and a continuation of creative lineage.
This week, .idk. will honor that connection by performing at DMX 55 at SOB’s in New York City, alongside Denzel Curry. The performance serves as both remembrance and celebration, reinforcing how closely this chapter of .idk.’s career is tied to legacy and reflection.
.idk. Continues To Blur The Lines Between Music And Art
Born in London and raised in Maryland, .idk. has built a career defined by range and intention. His work has taken him from NPR Tiny Desk to the cover of GQ, from lecture halls at Harvard University to gallery premieres at MOCA in Los Angeles.
Beyond music, he has created and produced a lecture series at Harvard through No Label Academy, collaborated with artists like Tyler The Creator, Pusha T, Pharrell, MF Doom, Young Thug, JID, Rico Nasty, and Chief Keef, and partnered with brands including Nike, Dior, Mercedes-Benz F One, and McLaren.
Most recently, .idk. unveiled a collaboration with Land Rover on the Defender one ten point three, a project rooted in his lifelong love of car customization. For him, creativity has never lived in one lane.
With over one billion global streams and a catalog that balances independence with cultural impact, .idk. continues to expand what hip hop can hold.
SCARY MERRi and Even The Devil Smiles feel less like a release cycle and more like a checkpoint. A reminder that creation can survive captivity, and that reflection can still move forward with purpose.
“SCARY MERRi” is out now, listen to it here.
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