Atlanta mainstay Killer Mike has been a profuse player in the game for a while now, but has only recently caught attention in his own right. For years, the MC worked in the shadows of Atlanta greats such as Ludacris and frequent collaborator Outkast, with whom he won a Grammy for his appearance on ‘The Whole World.’ Of late, Killer Mike has taken his career into his own hands with a series of politically charged and visually striking music videos, beginning with his single ‘Burn’ (banned from BET for its use of revolutionary imagery). Since then, he’s released videos for ‘Reagan’ and ‘Untitled,’ both of which survive the precedent set by his previous videos, albeit with more production power behind them.
Mike isn’t quiet about his left-leaning beliefs and influences, citing authors like James Baldwin and feminist writer bell hooks as influences. Certainly not the norm for his Atlanta scene, or pretty much anywhere else in the hip-hop landscape, for that matter. Like many other artists previously profiled here, he benefited from having a strong presence at home during his childhood: his grandmother encouraged him to attend a specialized arts program in high school. Here’s to hoping that this rap philosopher keeps things moving in a positive direction in the coming year.
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