San Antonio rapper Mike Dimes just dropped his major-label debut, and he's already planning ahead

San Antonio rapper Mike Dimes unexpectedly hit it big — really big — in 2021 when his song "My Story" went viral on TikTok, racking up what's now reached a total of 15 million views. It's since pulled in 15 million additional streams on music platforms.

After the 2022 LP In Dimes We Trust, which built on that online success, Dimes is back with his first major-label album, Texas Boy, which dropped Friday on all platforms via a partnership between Epic Records and SinceThe80s.

"Really… I'm kinda nervous. It's been a while since I dropped a project," Dimes told the Current this week on a Zoom interview. "So, I have all these emotions [I am] going through," 

If there was any hint of that nervousness, it was in the 22-year-old's frequent smiles, which showed flashes of gold from his grill set made by renowned jeweler Johnny Dang.

"I am very, very excited to show a piece of work that I have put a lot of dedication to, but it's like butterflies I got," he added.

Dimes has drawn praise for his confident flow and ability to create compelling narratives. He glides over beats the way an oil slick does over the surface of water. His best creations "revolve around menacing, three-dimensional beats," Pitchfork wrote in a glowing 2022 review of In Dimes We Trust.

While discussing his rhyme schemes, Dimes said he's focused more on storytelling than spitting crass punchlines. He said fans can expect a more confident and vulnerable version of his sound on Texas Boy. The release is almost completely different from the work that came before it, he added.

What’s more, the album features a star-studded supporting cast, including appearances by Joey BadA$$, Wiz Khalifa and Denzel Curry, to name a few. Curry shows up on the album's fourth song, "Arsenal."

"[Denzel Curry] is big, bro. He took me on my first [North America tour]," Dimes said. "He taught me a lot, like my big bro, and we talked about making a song for the longest time."

Dimes, a military brat, moved around the country a lot as a kid. Despite that and his sudden surge of success, he calls San Antonio home.

During his years at Johnson High School, Dimes decided to knuckle down and focus on his future. That led him to swap a basketball for a microphone and surround himself with people who shared his vision of success.

In 2021, Dimes gave himself nine months of runway to make his dream of launching a professional music career a reality. With roughly a month left in that allotment, Dimes recorded "My Story," and exploded online. According to Dimes, the viral success felt like it was meant to happen.

While riding high that newfound fame, Dimes was still working as a part-time cashier at the H-E-B off Bulverde Road and Loop 1604. It was while pushing carts at the grocery store and being asked to freestyle that he realized he should dive full-time into hip-hop.

"I was doing everything but work at that job," he said, laughing.

Fittingly, while in San Antonio for the release of Texas Boy, this Saturday, Dimes will host a giveaway at two of his former employer's stores: 17238 Bulverde Road and 1150 Loop 1604, buying groceries for up to 15 families at each location. He'll also purchase additional groceries to donate to the San Antonio Food Bank.

Dimes told the Current he's already planning and strategizing his next album, a project on which he hopes to do something he didn't do on Texas Boy: singing.

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