Killer Mike is BACK with a new SOLO project ‘Michael’ and the LATEST track from the project is ‘SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS’ featuring Eryn Allen Kane, Future and the reclusive, ANDRE 3000!!!! Take a LISTEN!
‘Michael’ is Killer Mike’s FIRST proper solo effort in almost a DECADE!
The album, produced by No I.D., is a bighearted gospel crossover with an impressive roster of collaborators, including André 3000, Future, Mozzy, Dave Chappelle, and, of course, El-P.
Mike spoke about growing up in the church, digging deeper into his darkest feelings with No I.D., and negotiating the race and class dynamics of hip-hop that often rile both artists and fans.
Several years ago, I had a conversation with producer London on da Track. He was talking to me about how he and his siblings were raised by his grandparents. His granddad was a minister, and all the kids in the house played an instrument in the church. London played piano.
They were the family. We belonged to a big, prestigious Baptist church on our side of town, Mount Olive Baptist Church. After Sunday school, we’d go with my grandmother to these little small Pentecostal and Holiness churches. London on da Track’s family was the kind of family I detested. The daddy is the preacher, the mama is the lead singer, the daughter is the second lead—they were so talented. After I got past my envy of those families, I fell right in the league with them, and those were my favorite churches to go to because of the amount of talent. The same people that would be playing in the club the night before—sometimes clubs that my mom went to—would be playing bass or guitar in the Pentecostal band. They were full of life. They were full of laughter. They were full of joy. They were full of reverence and sincere praise. And it was all set to some of the dopest, most badass music ever. If it wasn’t for families like this, you wouldn’t get Mario Winans, you wouldn’t get London on da Track, you wouldn’t get Whitney Houston. I’m blessed to have had that same Pentecostal experience.
All church ain’t got good music. The Black church has great music. God got a way, and music has been the way in the Black Southern religious experience. You learn the word of God from the preacher, and if he’s a really good preacher, he’s got a voice on him. He can sing, too. I absolutely feel God’s presence when I listen to certain rap music. I said that 11 years ago on R.A.P. Music, and today, I stand more cemented in that after having worked with the cast of people that I worked with making this record. They absolutely came out of the Black church background and experience. You can hear it in the hooks. You can hear it in the bass lines. You can hear it in the organs. You can hear it in the choruses.
In this record, I was very sincere. I’d been walking the line for a long time. Early in my career, I was trying to manage: How do I be Michael and still be crunk? Then: How do I be Michael and still find a hit record? Run the Jewels gave me the freedom to just be a badass emcee and not have to chase a chart. We developed our own sound, our own brand. We’re one of the greatest touring bands, one of the greatest rap groups ever. Finally, Killer Mike is validated. And then I realized, sitting at home during the pandemic, that I’d never gotten a chance to introduce people to Michael. Now, I have an opportunity to show people the experience of a 9-year-old boy on that album cover with the halo and the horns, that little mischievous motherfucker who knows the word of God. [Ringer]
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