47-year-old Atlanta emcee Killer Mike is set to release his comeback solo album Michael any day now. Considering he took a solo hiatus over the past decade to release four different albums as 1/2 of the Run The Jewels duo, Mike is now ready to put out his first full-length LP since 2012.
Videos by American Songwriter
During a listening party for Michael in New York on Monday (April 17), he played the album for his invite-only crowd. Held inside a church, Mike’s project wow’d attendees, as it included a feature verse from Lil Wayne and an interlude from comedian Dave Chappelle.
One of the key highlights of the album though, according to those present, was when he played the song “Scientists & Engineers,” which features fellow Atlanta natives Future and Outkast legend Andre 3000. In videos uploaded by Twitter account @OnThinIce and Instagram account @deborhoxtail, the angelic song can be heard, including consecutive verses from the song’s two high-profile guests.
“Scientists & Engineers” will be the seventh of 14 songs on the Michael track list, according to a pamphlet from the listening party that @deborhoxtail posted to Instagram. It is also the second overall collaboration between Andre 3000 and Future, following up their 2014 track “Benz Friendz (Whatchutola).” Previous promotional singles like “Run (feat. Young Thug)” from July 2022 and “TALK’N THAT SHIT!” from October 2022 will also land on the LP, as the rollout for the project has lasted nearly a year.
Additionally, in the album pamphlet, Mike included a paragraph that briefly describes the journey he took to get to this point. Subtly praising Andre 3000 and his legendary OutKast duo, Mike shows why Michael will be an epic moment for his career.
“Killer Mike gets recognized for many things — Being an OutKast protégé, a member of rap powerhouse Run The Jewels, one of Atlanta’s biggest advocates, a Bernie Sanders whisperer, and, perhaps most importantly, a voice of reason in an increasingly insane world,” he wrote. “Michael is the most comprehensively autobiographical work he’s presented to date musically and personally.”
Mike, along with his other RTJ half El-P, is getting ready for his upcoming Run The Jewels tour from September through October. So, it would be fair to assume Michael will release at some point before then.
(Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
