Killer Mike New Album Release ‘MICHAEL’ on Loma Vista / Concord
KILLER MIKE RELEASES MICHAEL,
HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM IN 11 YEARS
ALBUM FEATURES ANDRE 3000, EL-P, 2 CHAINZ, FUTURE, YOUNG THUG, 6LACK, TY DOLLA $IGN, CURREN$Y, ERYN ALLEN KANE, BLXST, AND MORE
SELECT PRESS ON MICHAEL
“A complex portrait of Southern Black masculinity” – NEW YORK TIMES
“Killer Mike’s position as one of the great and yet underrated rappers and lyricists of his time is affirmed.” – SPIN cover story
“MICHAEL is worth the wait: a soul-baring collection of deeply personal songwriting that nevertheless contains the kind of bars-on-bars rapping that RTJ fans have come to love.”
– CONSEQUENCE
BREAKFAST CLUB INTERVIEW TODAY
SWAY IN THE MORNING INTERVIEW TODAY and
SIRIUSXM SHADE 45 EVENT TONIGHT
INTERVIEWS WITH BET, EBRO, JOE BUDDEN, RICKEY SMILEY,
WORLD CAFE, ZANE LOWE, HBO’s THE SHOP, AND MORE!
“One of the most heartfelt and serious albums in his discography” – FLOOD
“This album will secure his legacy as one of the best rappers to ever come out of the South.” – DORK
TIMES SQUARE BILLBOARDS FOR MICHAEL THIS WEEK FROM SPOTIFY, PANDORA, AND YOUTUBE
BLACK MUSIC MOGUL AWARD RECIPIENT THIS WEEK
Killer Mike has just released MICHAEL, the celebrated MCs first solo full length since 2012’s critically lauded R.A.P. Music, the capstone to a huge week that included appearances on The Breakfast Club, Sway in the Morning, HBO’s The Shop, no less than three billboards in Times Square, plus features in Billboard, Vulture, The Atlantic, New York Times, a SPIN cover story, and more. On Tuesday Mike spoke with Zane Lowe to premiere “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS (ft. Andre 3000 and Future),” a song that prompted an outpouring of critic and fan attention, prompting @RAP to ask if this was the “biggest ATL collab ever” and BET to proclaim that Andre’s feature “reminds us why he’s one of the greatest to ever do it” (meanwhile others have rightly pointed out that Mike goes bar-for-bar with his former mentor).
The 14-track album, executive produced by No ID and released via Loma Vista Recordings / Concord, includes a panoply of rarified features from the likes of Future, Young Thug, Ty Dolla $ign, Curren$y, Andre 3000, 6LACK, EL-P, Blxst, Eryn Allen Kane, and more (full tracklist below). Over the course of the last few months, Mike has been presenting the album at a series of private listening sessions, guiding intimate gatherings of friends, fans, and colleagues through the autobiographical details of the album in his own words. Meanwhile Mike has been previewing the live presentation of the album joined by his backup singers The Midnight Revival for recent performances at SXSW, Shaky Knees Festival, and Bottlerock Festival. Killer Mike and The Midnight Revival will head out on The High and Holy Tour in July. The 19-date US tour kicks off July 10 in Birmingham and makes its way across the US, including an appearance at Pitchfork Music Festival and a performance at New York City’s iconic Apollo Theatre, before wrapping up August 5 in New Orleans.
MICHAEL serves as a holistic introduction to the totality of Michael Render, a lifelong rap fiend whose consciousness is seeped in the sounds of community that raised him – traversing multiple eras of southern rap flows, Sunday church service, and barbershop discourse. Anticipation for the album has been steadily building over the course of a prodigious run of singles, including “RUN (ft. Young Thug),” “TALK’N THAT SHIT!,” “DON’T LET THE DEVIL (ft. EL-P & thankugoodsir),” “MOTHERLESS (ft. Eryn Allen Kane),” culminating in this week’s release of “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS (ft. Andre 3000 and Future).” The album’s sprawling list of features was revealed in conjunction with the last track’s release, unveiled alongside a collage of each featured artists’ respective childhood photos as a callback to Mike’s school yearbook photo on the album cover. Fans are invited to participate as well, with a bespoke Instagram filter that renders a similar effect to the photo treatment on the album’s cover.
Watch the video for “MOTHERLESS (feat. Eryn Allen Kane)”
https://lnk.killermike.com/motherlessmv
Watch the visualizer for “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS (ft. Andre 3000 and Future)”
https://lnk.killermike.com/se-video
Watch the video for “DON’T LET THE DEVIL (feat. EL-P & thankugoodsir)”
https://lnk.killermike.com/dontletthedevilmv
Watch the video for “TALK’N THAT SHIT!”
Watch the video for “RUN (feat. Young Thug)”
https://youtu.be/yfFeNTcmGPY
KILLER MIKE TOUR DATES
MON 7/10 – BIRMINGHAM, AL – Saturn
TUE 7/11 – CHARLESTON, SC – Music Farm
THU 7/13 – ATLANTA, GA – Tabernacle
FRI 7/14 – NASHVILLE, TN – Ryman
SAT 7/15 – CHARLOTTE, NC – Underground
MON 7/17 – NORFOLK, VA – NorVa
TUE 7/18 – WASHINGTON DC – Lincoln Theater
THU 7/20 – NEW YORK, NY – Apollo
FRI 7/21 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – Franklin Music Hall
SUN 7/23 – CHICAGO, IL – Pitchfork Festival
MON 7/24 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN – First Avenue
THU 7/27 – SEATTLE, WA – Showbox
FRI 7/28 – PORTLAND, OR – Crystal Ballroom
SAT 7/29 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Fillmore
MON 7/31 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Ace Theater
TUE 8/1 – PHOENIX, AZ – Van Buren
THU 8/3 – HOUSTON, TX – House of Blues
FRI 8/4 – DALLAS, TX – House of Blues
SAT 8/5 – NEW ORLEANS, LA – Joy Theater
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