Introspection Section

Duality is one of the most important concepts in the universe. It weaves together the fabric of reality and creates the individual ego. Over the last three years, Mike Posner has shown me a lot about duality. Posner has released three albums recently.  A Real Good Kid, Keep Going and Operation: Wake Up.

 Each release has its own unique characteristics. The journey through these releases has been turbulent. Posner lost his father.  He went through a breakup. He walked across all 3,000 miles of America. And he connected with Ram Dass and made a drastic change in his public image. Each experience shaping the many singular parts of Posner that creates the whole person.  

The Bhagavad Gita is an ancient Hindu spiritual book that delves into the depths of duality. A brief synopsis of the story revolves around a great war and a prince’s decision to fight. Arjuna, the prince, is met directly by a human manifestation of god.  In the human form of Krishna, god instructs Arjuna on the path of the spiritual warrior. Ascending past the trivial concepts of good and bad or hot and cold is critical. The spiritually enlightened must transcend through the human creations of matter and become one with the source of the universe. At the source, there are no good actions or bad actions. Only the presence of being.  

Operation: Wake Up is a very human album. It is full of emotions and duality. There are moments of desire and greed. Stints of happiness and sadness. And a gambit of human emotions and scenarios that are all created by the ego. Prior to this latest album, Posner made a very interesting marketing decision. He deleted all his previous Instagram posts. There was no more record of the inspiring acts he completed over the past few years. No videos of the breathtaking hiking he did post Keep Going. No record of the highly publicized walk across America.  He instead replaced the feed with an outpour of marketing photos for Operation: Wake Up. And the subject matter was dark. The photos show an emaciated Posner in a variety of Hollywood portraits. The captions often leaving a cynical note of depression or angst with music industry.  

His fans were quick to check in with him in the comments. “Are you okay” was posted numerous times. Soon, the fans began to turn. Some citing that Posner was profiting off mental illness and had finally sold out. He ditched the positive self-reflective Mike of the past and was now in full “Hollywood” mode. In a live video the other day, Posner mentioned he lost thousands of followers through this process.  

One social media interaction stood out the most. Responding to a comment that said, “I want happy/hiking Mike back”. Posner poignantly responded, “happy Mike + sad Mike + all other Mikes = Mike.”  

Posner knew what he was doing with the marketing roll out for Operation: Wake Up.  He also cited Andy Kaufman and the angle of blurring reality and truth. But I think it was intentional on a much deeper level. Posner wanted to alienate the fans that can only accept once version of Mike Posner. He was inviting them to leave his fan base. In hopes of making more room for true fans that can understand the message. And there is always a message if you look hard enough.  

On another level, Posner is also versed in some Hindu philosophy and the workings of Ram Dass. Dass even has a book titled Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita. One of my favorite quotes from the Gita says, “You have the right to work, but for the work’s sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working” (Gita 2.47).

Operation: Wake Up is Posner doing his work. The work of an artist. With no afterthought of the repercussions or rewards gained. I’m sure many people in the industry thought he was crazy when he explained the concept for this album. Financially, I can’t say whether it helped or hurt him. But what I do know for sure. Posner is happy with the work he created.