Killer Mike says that he dropped $500,000 of his own money to work on his new album, Michael. He discussed his highly-anticipated sixth studio album during a new interview with Spin. Mike explained that it was originally conceived as a collaborative project with Cuz Lightyear, until the Arkansas rapper took a job at Mass Appeal Records.
“So me and Cuz double round, like, all right, let’s just make a mixtape. We’ll put it out through Mass Appeal, that way, it’ll help get you get going over there. We start working, and Cuz was like, ‘Man, we are making some serious deadly records. I’m gonna tell you what we’re gonna do: your solo record. I’m about to pause my career. And we’re gonna get your solo record together.'”
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As the costs to produce the project continued, Mike recalls his wife, Shay Render, asking, “What the fuck we doing buddy?" He added: “She’s like, ‘Well n***a, I’m glad you being reimbursed ’cause I got some issues that you spending half-a-million fucking dollars on a dream project.’”
Michael will be released on Friday, June 16 with features from Andre 3000, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, El-P, Dave Chappelle, and more. It's Mike's first solo album in over a decade. He last released R.A.P. Music back in 2012. In the years since, he's mostly worked with Run The Jewels.
Killer Mike For "Spin"
As for the Andre 3000 collaboration, Mike recently explained that it nearly didn't come to fruition. “He called me, he’s like, ‘Kill, I don’t know about the song, man,” Mike explained. He added that he then sent over a more finalized version with Eryn Allen Kane's vocals. “I sent it over with Eryn’s hook and stuff. He hit back with, ‘Yeah, yeah, you got the record. Who is that?!’” Elsewhere in Mike's interview with Spin, he discusses his upbringing, politics, race, and much more.
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