Released January 23, 2026.
Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge. That’s what the acronym IDK stands for. The Maryland rapper thus reconciles two sides of rap: the pedant, the intellectual, the one who teaches and imparts lessons; and the immoral, the nihilist, the populist, the one who, despite appearances, actually delivers the goods. Since his beginnings about ten years ago, he has brought together every school and generation of rap on his albums. He invited absolutely everyone to share the mic. Chief Keef, MF DOOM, Denzel Curry, Joey Bada$$, Juicy J, Burna Boy, Maxo Kream, Rico Nasty, Snoop Dogg, Benny the Butcher, Rich the Kid, Del, and even Slick Rick, among others, have all gone bar for bar with him.
His latest release, Even The Devil Smiles (which is what the acronym E.T.D.S. stands for), continues along this postmodern, cross-generational, and eclectic path. Guests include Black Thought, Joey Valence & Brae, Pusha T, RZA, and even, posthumously, DMX and MF DOOM once again. Here, however, IDK dwells on one particular facet of his rap persona: the devilish, gangsta side. From the album’s first proper track, “Halo,” he reflects on his documented criminal past – the one that landed him in prison and that, had he not been granted early release, might have kept him there to this day.
As he explains on “DEViL,” it is the “I” in IDK that is speaking. This is the ignorant rapper, the nihilist preoccupied with sex, violence, money, and confrontations with the police. His rap school is early-2000s G-Unit. 50 Cent and his associates, Eminem, and The Game are all referenced on “DEViL,” while DJ Whoo Kid is features throughout the project, which deliberately echoes the mixtapes of that era, complete with the iconic “Damn, son, where’d you find this?” drop.
Yet the mixtape aesthetic is only a smokescreen. E.T.D.S. is in fact a genuine album, boasting an impressive roster of stars and elite producers (Madlib, Conductor Williams, No I.D., and Kaytranada). It is cinematic, arty, and sophisticated music, packed with ideas: a touch of that adult childishness known as experimentation (“Cell Block Freestyle”), a reggae interlude (“P.O.”), and even some drum’n’bass (“STiGMA”), a style that has recently resurfaced on many rap records, delivered here by one of the genre’s historic figures, Goldie.
As for the proud declarations of the villainous IDK, they are ultimately not devoid of moral reflection. Prison can destroy a romantic relationship, as the story told in “MiSOGYNISTICAL” suggests. The gangsta persona may, at heart, be little more than an act, according to “Everyone Knows.” And there is also that old idea that the criminal is merely a product of a difficult environment (“Scrambled Egs – TBC”).
IDK the Ignorant has not abandoned his mission of dispensing wisdom – his “knowledge.” On this short, faux-mixtape, he may well have created the finest work of his career.
