DARK - EP: MENDII AND THE QUESTIONS WE CARRY

There’s something fitting about Mendii releasing DARK just before Halloween. The six-track EP arrives with monochrome imagery, distorted faces and unanswered questions. Its world feels difficult to pin down, much like the thoughts running through the music.

Across the project, Mendii explores identity, ambition, exhaustion, uncertainty and connection. He doesn’t always offer clear answers, but that seems to be the point. Sometimes, understanding begins with admitting you don’t have everything figured out.

Having known Mendii since 2017, I listen with added context. I’ve watched him develop, step away from music and return to releasing work. That history colours my perspective, but it doesn’t mean every creative decision works for me.

So, let’s get into DARK.

IN TH3 VOID

Mendii opens by questioning identity, morality and ambition. Biblical imagery, pop-culture references and social commentary collide as he considers what it means to exist, be perceived and become somebody significant.

The repeated declaration, “WELCOME TO THE DARK”, establishes the EP as a place to enter rather than something to explain immediately. References to Martin Luther King Jr., Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi add tension, placing ambition alongside contradiction.

Some references leave me unsure where he’s going, but that ambiguity suits the project. As an opener, it establishes DARK’s philosophical direction.

Songwriting

The writing combines biblical imagery, pop culture and social commentary to question identity, morality and ambition. Some ideas remain open to interpretation, but that fits the EP’s unresolved nature.

Production

The production feels like an entrance into unfamiliar territory. The recurring refrain gives the track focus while the surrounding sound supports its uncertainty.

behind the bally

Who do I do this for?

That question drives the song. Mendii discusses money, ambition, responsibility and the people who might benefit from his success. Beneath the bravado is uncertainty about whether he’s pursuing these things for himself, his family, his community or all three.

The song continues the questions raised in Societal Blues: success is one thing, but what is it meant to accomplish? Mendii leaves that tension unresolved, making the track a strong continuation of the EP’s themes.

Songwriting

The writing moves beyond wanting success and asks who that success is meant to serve. Its central question gives the song weight.

Production

This is the beat choice that puzzles me most. I appreciate the questions Mendii is asking, but the instrumental doesn’t connect with me in the same way as the writing. It isn’t objectively wrong; the thing just sounds weird, can't lie.

ROLLING (feat. NOSHEYY)

Here, success becomes consuming. Mendii talks about locking in, chasing money and pushing forward, but the pressure follows him into his sleep. His dreams become nightmares.

Then the song shifts into something more humorous: he’s trying to work out how to approach a woman he finds attractive. The same mind wrestling with life’s larger pressures can’t figure out how to say hello.

NOSHEYY’s interruption, “Okay guys, remember to lock the fuck in,” echoes one of the EP’s recurring ideas. Discipline may help Mendii move forward, but the song also asks what happens when that discipline leaves no room for rest.

The contrast gives the track personality. It balances ambition, fatigue, humour and indecision without forcing them into one mood.

Songwriting

The writing balances ambition, exhaustion and humour. Mendii’s overthinking appears in both his larger reflections and everyday situations, while NOSHEYY’s contribution reinforces the pressure to keep moving.

Production

The production accommodates the track’s darker and more playful sides, though the shifts don’t always feel completely unified. It works best when the contrasting moods sit beside each other.

stIll AN iNT3RLU3

This is my personal favourite on the EP.

It’s short, raw and centred... then instantly cuts to a phone conversation with his day-one. For the first time, we hear him outside the performance of his music, speaking with someone who understands his history.

He sounds tired to me, though I wouldn’t presume to know everything behind that impression. What matters is the intimacy of the exchange. Sometimes, a small moment communicates more than an elaborate statement.

Songwriting

The track is deliberately brief and unguarded. Rather than building around a complex concept, it lets an ordinary conversation carry the emotional weight.

Production

The minimal presentation is part of what makes it work. The conversation remains the focus, and its brevity strengthens the track.

IN MY MIND

Mendii turns inward, questioning mortality, ambition, family and his emotional state. The repeated references to questions in his mind suggest someone caught in a cycle of thought, trying to understand feelings he can’t fully explain.

A phone conversation with someone checking in on him connects that uncertainty to a real relationship. Introspection doesn’t happen in isolation.

The ideas are strong, even if this isn’t the track I return to most.

Songwriting

The writing captures the difficulty of examining yourself without having the language to explain everything. Its focus on mortality, ambition, family and emotional uncertainty extends the EP’s themes.

Production

This is my least favourite track, mainly because of the production. Mendii can hold his own on the microphone and with the pen, so I want more from the instrumental.

The finished track doesn’t come together as effectively as I’d like. That’s a criticism of the execution, not the ideas behind it. Mendii is still developing, and I’m interested in how he continues to refine his sound.

& seen (an ode to the muses)

Mendii has clarified that this track is an ode to the Muses, specifically Euterpe, the Greek muse of music. In Greek mythology, Euterpe is associated with music and lyric poetry, making the subtitle a more literal clue to the song’s subject than I initially realised.

That context shifts how I approach the track. Rather than reading it solely as a reflection on a longstanding human connection, there’s another possibility to consider: the relationship between an artist, the music that inspires him and the source of that inspiration.

I’m still giving this one time, but knowing who the song is dedicated to gives me a different lens through which to hear it. Sometimes, a little context changes the questions you bring to a song, even if it doesn’t provide every answer.

Songwriting

The writing allows for several interpretations, but Mendii’s explanation gives the track a clearer foundation. Its themes of inspiration, connection and creative devotion become more apparent when heard as an ode to Euterpe.

Production

I’m still giving this one time. The atmosphere supports the song, but I haven’t heard it enough to make a firm judgment about the production.

WHAT REMAINS

DARK is a project full of questions. Identity leads into ambition, ambition leads into exhaustion, and exhaustion gives way to introspection. Along the way, we find friendship, affection and the people who remain important despite distance and change.

The recurring instruction to “lock the fuck in” becomes more complicated as the EP progresses. It sounds like a call to focus, but the project also shows what happens when that focus becomes relentless.

My favourite moment is stIll AN iNT3RLU3, where Mendii steps outside the language of songwriting and lets us hear an ordinary conversation. My reservations concern particular production choices, especially on IN MY MIND, rather than his writing ability.

We’ve taken different routes since then, but we’re still here, still talking about music. Mendii has already been sending me snippets through Untitled, so I’ve heard glimpses of what’s coming. I won’t spoil anything. You’ll have to wait.

I’m glad he’s still making music. I don’t need every creative decision to work for me to appreciate what he’s doing. I’d rather be honest about what resonates, what puzzles me and what I want to hear more of.

I’ve watched this guy find his feet, take detours, step away and return. Now he’s given us DARK, and I’m looking forward to whatever comes next.

Been that guy, still that guy. You’ll just have to wait and see for yourselves.