Killer Mike Michael Album

Killer Mike teased the release of Michael, his first solo album in more than a decade, in March. The Atlanta rapper claimed at the time that it was a genuine classic and his best work to date, raising anticipation for the project.

Well, Michael lives up to the hype and possibly even exceeds it, so it appears that the confidence was justified. On the passionate opening track with CeeLo Green, “Down By Law,” Mike says, “I just think timing is everything.”

He discusses his past as a drug dealer while pondering our relationship with God. On the Mozzy-assisted “Shed Tears,” which features soulful wails and choir vocals that sound like they’re taking listeners to church, the emotions are high.

On the song “NRICH,” which features Eryn Allen Kane and 6LACK, he raps, “And that’s word to Michael and Fresh, the realest ni**as/ That’s the movies ni**as should watch, f*ck Scarface and Blow/ You still talking New Jack City, that’s why you ni**as poor/ I opened Greenwood and showed ni**as that we is more,” Additionally, Future and Andre 3000 appear on the disjointed single “Scientists & Engineers.”

Killer Mike is a true messenger, as evidenced by songs like “Two Days” and “Motherless,” the latter of which is a heartbreaking dedication to his deceased mother. On the album’s final track, “High & Holy,” which brings the musical journey full circle, the wordsmith laments, ““We carry rifles, granny carried bibles/ We carry hatred for our rivals,”

Michael is an admirable body of work that serves as a reminder that Killer Mike is a preternatural mic controller who is fully in tune with where he came from and the man he has become after being molded by the fires of life. It features Young Thug, Curren$y, 2 Chainz, Kaash Paige, Fabo Jagged Edge, and Ty Dolla $ign.