![]() In the 2000s, his songs landed on Billboard charts and the EA Sports "Madden NFL 2004" football video game. He first rapped on Atlanta-based hip-hop group Outkast ’s 2000 album Stankonia, and launched a solo career soon after. ![]() It never occurred to Render to not pursue hip-hop or politics or activism - and he never doubted that he could be an artist or MC. ![]() His community introduced him to Black intellectuals like James Baldwin and Langston Hughes, who also celebrated Blackness. Render says he never felt inhibited by his Blackness, because Blackness was celebrated in Collier Heights. "The closest I got to white people growing up was watching Bob Ross or 'The Wonder Years' on TV. "I didn’t grow up with insecurities about race, I grew up in a Black majority," he tells. Render credits the culture of his community with shaping who is today. Render’s parents were teenagers when he was born, so he was raised in part by his grandparents in Collier Heights, Atlanta. It’s not sad, but it’s about missing and wanting." "But when you hear me talking about my mother, I’m empty now. I just wanted to be an MC, and Killer Mike was like me being a superhero," Render tells. "That Killer Mike character was invented when I was 9. Throughout the autobiographical album, Render paints a portrait of the southern rap cyphers, Sunday church services, and barbershop discourse that shaped who he is today. He allows himself to grieve the death of his mother and apologize for selling drugs as a teenager. "It is about helping other human beings understand that I share an experience with you, that you can meet me at, that transcends color, that transcends class, that transcends geographic location, and I meet you right at your humanity." "There is a character behind Killer Mike that is a whole human being that I’ve always wanted people to meet and introduce so they can understand the nuance of why I am," Render said during an event at SXSW 2023. While Render's solo outings have always been a mix of bravado and personal, his latest is particularly deep and insightful, dealing with the death of his mother, and his life growing up in the predominantly Black neighborhood Collier Heights, Atlanta. Michael stands in contrast to the big, bombastic (and less personal) vibe of Run The Jewels, who have released four albums since forming in 2013. I’m not gonna die with a woulda been coulda been eulogy." "I’m tired of sitting and waiting for people to say it for me. My verses have proved it," Render, 48, told. "I’m one of the best rappers on the face of the earth, and that is authentic. In support of the new record, he's touring 19 U.S. The album, Killer Mike’s sixth solo effort, drops June 16 and follows 2012’s R.A.P. After more than 20 years in hip-hop - as one-half of the supergroup Run The Jewels and also as a solo artist - the Atlanta rapper Killer Mike is ready to make what he calls "a generational statement."īorn Michael Render, the activist rapper's statement comes in the form of his personal "origin story": a 14-song solo album called Michael.
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