Happy 10th Anniversary to Killer Mike’s fifth studio album R.A.P. Music, originally released May 15, 2012.
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I don’t know if Michael “Killer Mike” Render knew he would end up as one of hip-hop’s most respected elder statesmen and political activists when he first started working with OutKast over two decades ago. After appearing on songs like “Snappin’ and Trappin’” and the GRAMMY-winning “The Whole World,” it was apparent to anyone with ears that he was a talented emcee. However, with R.A.P. Music, released a decade ago, he enshrined himself as one of the all-time greats.
R.A.P. Music (as in “Rebellious African People” Music) is Mike’s fifth solo release, and the best album in his personal catalogue. The Atlanta resident initially made his name as a member of the Dungeon Family, making memorable contributions to numerous tracks by other core members of the collective. A few years later, he dropped Monster (2003) a reasonably successful debut, but not one that really made a lasting impact. Mike wouldn’t really surge to the forefront of hip-hop’s vanguard until he teamed with rapper/producer Jaime “El-P” Meline to record R.A.P. Music, their 21st century version of Ice Cube’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990).
Killer Mike and El-P came together after being introduced to each other through Jason DeMarco, veteran of The Cartoon Network and creator of the popular Toonami video block and creative director for Adult Swim. As the founder of the network’s Williams Street Records imprint, he worked with both Mike and El, giving both work during the financially lean times of their career. After El had told DeMarco about his creative vision moving forward, the executive put him in contact with Mike.
It was a pairing that no one would have anticipated, but it somehow made complete sense. Mike’s verbal stylings were a perfect match for El-P’s beats. In that sense, the album succeeds at being the spiritual heir to AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, in both theme and execution. As an emcee, Mike could hit as hard as a cudgel or seem as contemplative as a Buddhist Monk. El-P worked hard to work in lockstep with Mike’s rhyme scheme, crafting a soundtrack that would honor their late ’80s/early ’90s East and West Coast influences, but still be respected as a “Southern” album.
Mike and El-P connected at the right time in their careers. Mike had long been regarded as a special emcee, but his record sales throughout the ’00s hadn’t matched his critical acclaim. El-P was similarly held in high regard by critics and had cultivated a dedicated following, but his Def Jux imprint had recently folded, and he was not in a good headspace.
Originally, El-P hadn’t planned on recording the entirety of R.A.P. Music. He’d gone to Atlanta to play Mike some beats, and hopefully get a flew placements on what would become Mike’s latest project. After the two chopped it up in the studio and El played Mike some of his tracks, both realized that there was the potential for something special.
El-P, who had been working on his own solo album, Cancer 4 Cure (2012), placed the project on hold to devote his energy to R.A.P. Music. The two recorded a few songs in Atlanta, then Mike and his wife temporarily relocated to Brooklyn to complete the recording process. The result was a towering achievement in greatness and one of the best albums of the ’10s.
Killer Mike is one of those emcees whose vocal presence matches his physical one. He sounds every bit of his 6’3”, 300-plus pound frame when he’s on the mic. His stature is commanding throughout R.A.P. Music, serving as the center of gravity on nearly every track.
Mike never feels more authoritative than he does on “Big Beast,” the album’s opener. He delivers a pair of thunderous verses, each hitting with the force of a forearm to jaw. Joined by fellow Southern O.G.s Bun-B and T.I., Mike makes a definitive return to microphone dominance and asserts his status as a top-tier emcee. “Predators, we eyeballing all of y'all lames,” he raps. “Let me fall off, I'm taking all of y'all chains / All of y'all watches and all of y'all cars / ‘Well, who he talking to?’ All of y'all stars.”
R.A.P. Music can be a lot of fun when Mike locks in and rhymes with similar ruthless aggression. “Go!” serves as a less-than-two-minute lyrical brawl, with Mike attacking the mic with unwavering ferocity. Mike described the track as a lengthy freestyle that pays homage to his West Coast influences. “I'm a gorilla, so I get realer,” he raps. “I spit hot fire; retro Godzilla / Homicide maniac brainiac / Sipping on a pint of 'gac in a Cadillac.” El-P’s beat is pure late 1980s/early 1990s rawness, backed by a flurry of scratches from DJ Abilities.
“Butane (Champion’s Anthem)” is another banger, as El-P steps from behind the boards to join Mike with his raps, in what became their first released lyrical collaboration. The beat sounds as close to something that would appear on a Company Flow or early El-P album as anything on R.A.P. Music, as it plods menacingly with awkward precision. The pair of emcees bring the energy of a Blackpool Combat Club tag-team match, with the pair’s contrasting styles coming together to bludgeon their opponents into submission.
Mike starts off with two verses of rugged shit, boasting, “My rhymes are actually accurate, meaning I don't fiction in my diction / To the masses, this perfection is performed through many practices.” After proclaiming, “Yo, Mike, they fucked up putting us together, man!” El-P continues with his own assault, rapping, “Life is tough, you'll get snuffed in the buff, so dystopian / Ruff ruff, hear the call of the copper mutts on the hunt.”
“JoJo’s Chillin’” is another fun inclusion, as Mike utilizes his storytelling ability, his left-of-center attention to detail, and his versatile flow. He weaves a tale of Jo-Jo, an Atlanta resident who flees to New York by plane. Things get appropriately weird for Jo-Jo, as he evades racial-profiling senior citizens, has a wild tryst with a stewardess in an airplane lavatory, and receives sage advice from both real and imagined versions of Ghostface Killah.
Mike’s swagger is at its highest point on “Southern Fried,” his celebration of Atlanta hip-hop and culture. Mike throws in countless regionally specific references to the city of his birth and name-checks the Southern hip-hop artists of his youth, creating a near perfect “country-rap tune.” “That fat black motherfucker got a way with the words, I tell you, he can rap, boy,” he boasts.
Mike’s penchant for sharp political commentary also helps establish R.A.P. Music’s lasting power. Early in his career, Mike had established himself as a street soldier with a hardened political bent, and here he continues to advocate for the Black population of the United States. “Don’t Die” unfolds like an angry fever dream, with Mike envisioning himself awaking in his home surrounded by murderous police officers. After dispensing all of them in a bloody hail of bullets, he goes on the lam, transforming himself into version of as Jeriko One (from the sci-fi film Strange Days), and becomes a champion of the oppressed and downtrodden.
“Reagan” is part political science, part angry screed, as Mike breaks down the corrosive effect of this country’s 40th presidency on the Black communities throughout the country. Mike ties together the “War On Drugs,” rampant police brutality, crack cocaine flooding inner-cities nationwide, and the prison industrial complex, which uses large incarcerated Black populations as cheap labor. He ends the song with a brutal but fair exclamation point, rapping, “I'm dropping off the grid before they pump the lead / I leave you with four words: I'm glad Reagan dead.”
Mike hits some really poignant notes on R.A.P. Music. The brooding “Anywhere But Here” explores the duality of New York City and Atlanta. Mike reflects upon how both places are considered lands of opportunity by many outsiders, but native residents often become consumed by the city’s dark sides. There are few images as vivid as Mike describing himself, “Moving through New York City in a black 750 like Batman moving through Gotham / Dodging potholes as I gently move through Harlem with my wheels on slalom.”
On “Willie Burke Sherwood,” Mike recalls his upbringing at the hands of his now-deceased grandparents, learning about life through them, Lord of the Flies, and hip-hop music. He chronicles his rise as rapper, going from working part-time at UPS to becoming a GRAMMY-winning artist, mourning the fact that his grandparents aren’t here to witness his continued success.
Mike takes stock of his own internal battles on “Untitled,” the second single from the project. He struggles to find a way to advocate for radical politics that won’t compromise the safety of himself or his family. Later, on “Ghetto Gospel,” the album’s third single, he confronts feelings of failure as he tries to earn money legally through hip-hop, knowing that “my tour bus is a moving indictment.” As the title suggests, El-P incorporates a heavily gospel feel on the song’s break, contrasting pulsing synths with yells and wails for mercy and guidance.
R.A.P. Music ends on a similar note with its title track, his ode to the spiritual power of music. Mike expresses how hip-hop has become his primary tool to inspire change in the lives of his audiences and hopes it will be the key his own salvation. “So, I pray to the Lord he spare me, and I make it by and by,” he raps. “And I help souls stay out of Hell with what I testify / And maybe when I grab that microphone and never lie / That'll merit that he spare me, I won't have to feel that fire.”
R.A.P. Music would be the start of what’s become the most successful act of Killer Mike’s career. A week after its release, El-P would drop Cancer 4 Cure. The near-joint releases would lead to the two touring together, which would eventually inspire their close friendship and their formation of the duo Run the Jewels. The group has become one of the most inspiring “comeback” stories in hip-hop history. And it’s a journey that may never have started without R.A.P. Music.
Enjoyed this article? Read more about Killer Mike here:
Run the Jewels 3 (2016) | Run the Jewels 4 (2020)
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