Killer Mike dropped his latest single “RUN,” a new collaboration featuring Young Thug and Dave Chapelle with No I.D. handling the production. The song reframes America’s Independence Day with an emphasis on Black history.
“The Fourth of July celebrates the founding of this Republic and the rejection of British tyranny through taxation,” he explains to HipHopDX. “And the first person to die in the name of this great Republic was a man named Crispus Attucks, who was a son of an African father and a native mother, which by the one drop rule makes him a Black man.
“The first person to die on the behalf of America was a free Black man. True history is Crispus Attucks died for this country first. True history is if it had not been for cheap and free labor in the South, this country would not have become an economic dominator on the world stage in only 246 years. I wanted to make sure that was known on the day we celebrate this Republic.”
Directed by Adrian Villagomez, the visual begins with a Black soldier running in a field as Chappelle’s inimitable voice commands the viewer’s attention. As the man runs, it becomes clear he’s not running from anything, he’s running toward something.
Also, keep in mind that Young Thug was arrested on charges of participation in street gang activity and conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Earlier in the year, Mike spoke to ABC’s Good Morning America in Thug and Gunna’s defense—the latest example in his long-held commitment to the argument that rap lyrics shouldn’t be used as evidence in court cases.
“RUN” marked Killer Mike’s first solo music in 10 years. The rapper’s last solo project was his fifth studio album R.A.P. Music released in 2012 with the “R.A.P.” in the album’s title being a backronym for “Rebellious African People”. The album was the first collaboration between Killer Mike and El-P, who would later form the critically acclaimed duo Run the Jewels. In relation to the album, Ian Cohlen of Pitchfork noted that “even if R.A.P. Music doesn’t break enough rules or have enough of a platform to reach the levels of Fear of a Black Planet or Straight Outta Compton or Death Certificate . . . it does come off as the kind of powerful mid-career album those acts should’ve been able to make as hip-hop’s elder spokesmen”. It also featured the hit song “Reagan“.
Stream R.A.P. Music on Spotify
Run the Jewels released its fourth album, RTJ4 in 2020. The album was crowned NME’s Album of Year 2020. It received fairly positive reviews with NME describing it as “a modern protest classic and their best work yet,” concluding: “if a hip-hop album alone could change the world, this might do it.” Moreover, Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone stated, “RTJ4, which the band rush-released a few days ahead of schedule, is laser-focused. […] Mike unloads on racist cops, systemic poverty, corporate media, and other eternal enemies. But the album never feels preachy, because the music bounces as much as it brays, with an elastic flow and deep history”.
“ALL THE SMOKE” Interview featuring Killer Mike
