When Killer Mike held a listening session for Michael back in April, he hosted it in a house of worship. Following his cover interview for the June 2023 issue of Spin, that makes more sense, as he reveals “Michael is a testimonial in church.” He also says the project is “an audio cinematic experience” that’s best heard while driving or sitting still with your eyes closed.
“You know, take a road trip, take an hour, drive to it and let it soak in and let the words hit you,” he suggested. “Like, Goddamn. Google some of the names you hear. Who the f*** is Alonzo Herndon? Why does he keep talking about this Herman Russell guy? And you’ll start to see through the eyes of that nine-year-old child.”
Michael captures the vision of 9-year-old Mike, who believed all things were possible with hard work and self-belief. As a man with many titles and experiences, he says it all affirmed that he was enough.
“I am the culmination of everything that is good about us, and I’m also not ashamed to have been—at times in my life—everything that’s bad about us. I have been a conniver, I have been a liar. I’ve been a baby daddy, a philanderer, I’ve been a drug dealer,” Mike said. “I also went to Morehouse and Frederick Douglass High School. I’ve also been an amazing organizer, and an amazing husband and father.”
“I had to figure it out,” he continued, noting his forthcoming album “is a prodigal son, coming-of-age story that’s telling young people it’s been done before.”
Michael drops June 16 and will mark the rapper’s first solo album in a decade.
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