{"id":9214,"date":"2025-07-16T21:59:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T01:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/?p=9214"},"modified":"2025-07-16T21:59:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T01:59:27","slug":"__trashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/__trashed\/","title":{"rendered":"Killer Mike Said What He Said"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<section class=\"wrapper\">\n<section class=\"main\" data-editable=\"main\" data-track-zone=\"main\">\n<article role=\"main\" data-track-type=\"article-detail\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/article\/instances\/clij4kp2k000j0pj7kfk7kiq6@published\" class=\"article feature\" data-content-channel=\"Music\" data-crosspost=\"\" data-type=\"Q&amp;A\" data-syndication=\"original\" data-headline=\"Killer Mike Said What He Said\" data-authors=\"Craig Jenkins\" data-publish-date=\"2024-08-02\" data-tags=\"killer mike, a long talk, run the jewels, el-p, rap, music\" data-issue-date=\"\" data-components-count=\"42\" data-canonical-url=\"http:\/\/www.vulture.com\/2024\/08\/killer-mike-michael-run-the-jewels-interview.html\">\n<style>\n      .layout > .ad-splash,\n      .one-column-layout > .ad-splash {\n        display: none;\n      }\n    <\/style>\n<header class=\"article-header feature vertical\">\n<div class=\"lede-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primary-area\">\n<div class=\"article-header-section rubric-nav\">\n<p>                a long talk\n        <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-header-section\">\n<h1 class=\"headline-primary\" data-editable=\"overrideHeadline\">Killer Mike Said What He Said<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"display-teaser\" data-editable=\"displayTeaser\">Is the Southern rap legend a truth teller or a capitalist in activist\u2019s clothes?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bylines with-portrait\">\n                <span class=\"author-photo-container\"><\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-photo\" src=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/ec9\/22a\/d9059ac17217fcf9c02beca480940e5c5b-critics-portraits-0006-CraigJenkinsFINAL.2x.rsquare.w168.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of Craig Jenkins\"><\/p>\n<p>                <\/span><br \/>\n            <span data-editable=\"bylines\" class=\"primary-bylines with-bio\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"main-author hidden-expanded-bio\"><span>By<\/span> <span class=\"author-name\"><br \/>\n        <span>Craig Jenkins<\/span>,<br \/>\n          <span class=\"author-bio\">a Vulture music critic who also covers TV, comedy, and video games<\/span><\/p>\n<p>      <\/span><\/div>\n<p>              <\/span>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"secondary-area\">\n<div class=\"secondary-area-header\">\n            <time class=\"article-timestamp\" datetime=\"2024-08-02T10:00:00.000-04:00\" data-editable=\"publishedDate\"><br \/>\n              <span class=\"article-update\">Updated <\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"article-date\">Aug. 2, 2024<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/time>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"secondary-area-component\" data-editable=\"secondaryZone\">\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"secondary-area-social-icons\">\n<div class=\"save-section\">\n              <span class=\"save-icon-svg-wrapper\"><br \/>\n                <svg width=\"13\" height=\"18\" viewbox=\"0 0 13 18\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n  <path d=\"M6.82044 13.1352C6.63462 12.9795 6.3638 12.9795 6.17798 13.1352L1.13441 17.3637C0.883047 17.5744 0.5 17.3957 0.5 17.0677L0.500001 2.42353C0.500001 2.1177 0.631794 1.81493 0.882246 1.58471C1.13411 1.3532 1.48408 1.21667 1.85692 1.21667H11.1415C11.5143 1.21667 11.8643 1.3532 12.1162 1.58471C12.3666 1.81493 12.4984 2.1177 12.4984 2.42353L12.4984 17.0677C12.4984 17.3957 12.1154 17.5744 11.864 17.3637L6.82044 13.1352Z\" stroke=\"black\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<p>              <\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"save-text\">save<span class=\"saved-text\">d<\/span><\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<p class=\"article-save-tooltip-text\" role=\"tooltip\">\n              Save this article to read it later.<br \/>\n              <span class=\"save-tooltip-close-icon-svg\"><br \/>\n                <svg width=\"12\" height=\"12\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M6 7.00008L11 12.0001L11.7071 11.293L6.70711 6.29297L12 1.00008L11.2929 0.292969L6 5.58586L0.707107 0.292969L0 1.00008L5.29289 6.29297L0.292893 11.293L1 12.0001L6 7.00008Z\" fill=\"black\"><\/path>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<p>              <\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"tooltip-triangle\"><\/span>\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"article-save-coach-mark-text\" role=\"tooltip\">\n              Find this story in your account\u2019s \u2018Saved for Later\u2019 section.<br \/>\n              <span class=\"coach-mark-tooltip-close-icon-svg\"><br \/>\n                <svg width=\"12\" height=\"12\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M6 7.00008L11 12.0001L11.7071 11.293L6.70711 6.29297L12 1.00008L11.2929 0.292969L6 5.58586L0.707107 0.292969L0 1.00008L5.29289 6.29297L0.292893 11.293L1 12.0001L6 7.00008Z\" fill=\"black\"><\/path>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<p>              <\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"tooltip-triangle\"><\/span>\n            <\/p>\n<p>                <span class=\"comments-icon-svg-wrapper\"><br \/>\n                  <svg width=\"18\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n  <path d=\"M9.55469 13.1825C9.27855 13.1825 9.05469 13.4064 9.05469 13.6825V17.5927C9.05469 17.6197 9.04757 17.6345 9.0408 17.6442C9.03246 17.6561 9.01841 17.6683 8.99901 17.6765C8.97961 17.6846 8.96104 17.6861 8.94671 17.6837C8.93506 17.6818 8.91953 17.6765 8.90024 17.6576L4.48455 13.3256C4.39107 13.2339 4.26535 13.1825 4.1344 13.1825H2.36188C1.33279 13.1825 0.498535 12.3483 0.498535 11.3192V3.04743C0.498535 2.01833 1.33279 1.18408 2.36189 1.18408H15.3603C16.3894 1.18408 17.2237 2.01833 17.2237 3.04743V11.3192C17.2237 12.3483 16.3894 13.1825 15.3603 13.1825H9.55469Z\" stroke=\"black\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><\/path>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<p>                <\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"coral-count\"><\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"no-comments-text\">Comment<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"error-pop-up\">\n        <span class=\"error-exclamation-icon-svg\"><br \/>\n          <svg width=\"6\" height=\"14\" viewbox=\"0 0 6 14\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n  <path d=\"M4.84191 13.478C4.84191 13.826 4.64391 14 4.24791 14H1.54791C1.22391 14 1.06191 13.85 1.06191 13.55V10.85C1.06191 10.586 1.17591 10.454 1.40391 10.454H4.51791C4.73391 10.454 4.84191 10.574 4.84191 10.814V13.478ZM4.13991 8.708C4.12791 8.888 4.07391 9.02 3.97791 9.104C3.89391 9.176 3.74991 9.212 3.54591 9.212H2.30391C2.12391 9.212 2.00391 9.176 1.94391 9.104C1.89591 9.032 1.85991 8.918 1.83591 8.762L0.935906 1.058C0.923906 0.926 0.947906 0.823999 1.00791 0.751999C1.07991 0.679999 1.16991 0.643999 1.27791 0.643999H4.67991C4.91991 0.643999 5.02791 0.769999 5.00391 1.022L4.13991 8.708Z\" fill=\"#DB2800\"><\/path>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<p>        <\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"error-pop-up-text\"><\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"error-pop-up-close-icon-svg\"><br \/>\n          <svg width=\"14\" height=\"13\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 13\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n  <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M12.9823 1.22855C13.1775 1.03329 13.1775 0.716709 12.9823 0.521447C12.787 0.326184 12.4704 0.326184 12.2751 0.521447L7.00185 5.79474L1.72855 0.521447C1.53329 0.326184 1.21671 0.326184 1.02145 0.521447C0.826184 0.716709 0.826184 1.03329 1.02145 1.22855L6.29474 6.50185L1.02145 11.7751C0.826184 11.9704 0.826184 12.287 1.02145 12.4823C1.21671 12.6775 1.53329 12.6775 1.72855 12.4823L7.00185 7.20896L12.2751 12.4823C12.4704 12.6775 12.787 12.6775 12.9823 12.4823C13.1775 12.287 13.1775 11.9704 12.9823 11.7751L7.70896 6.50185L12.9823 1.22855Z\" fill=\"#DA4022\"><\/path>\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<p>        <\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<div class=\"lede-image-wrapper feature vertical\" data-editable=\"lede\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper crop-override\">\n          <picture><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 1180px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 1180px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.2x.rvertical.w570.jpg 2x\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 1180px) \" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.rvertical.w570.jpg\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 768px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.2x.rvertical.w570.jpg 2x\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.rvertical.w570.jpg\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.2x.rvertical.w570.jpg\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source> <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.rvertical.w570.jpg\" class=\"lede-image\" data-content-img width=\"570\" height=\"712\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;\"> <\/picture>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n          <span class=\"credit\">Photo: Brinson+Banks<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"body\">\n<div id=\"vulture-zephr-anchor\" class=\"article-content feature\" data-editable=\"content\">\n<div class=\"lede-image-wrapper feature vertical\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper crop-override\">\n            <picture><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 1180px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 1180px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.2x.rvertical.w570.jpg 2x\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 1180px) \" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.rvertical.w570.jpg\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 768px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.2x.rvertical.w570.jpg 2x\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.rvertical.w570.jpg\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.2x.rvertical.w570.jpg\" width=\"570\" height=\"712\"><\/source> <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/600\/412\/f466528fe3df1bd74b8e820abb7afc34b1-Killer-Mike-Brinkson-Banks.rvertical.w570.jpg\" class=\"lede-image\" data-content-img width=\"570\" height=\"712\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;\"> <\/picture>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"lede-image-data\">\n<div class=\"attribution\">\n                  <span class=\"credit\">Photo: Brinson+Banks<\/span>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clij4kp2k000i0pj7l6d97x0i@published\" data-word-count=\"30\"><em>This interview originally ran in 2023. We\u2019re republishing it on August 2, 2024, in honor of Killer Mike\u2019s <\/em>Songs for Sinners &amp; Saints, <em>an epilogue to last year\u2019s album, <\/em>Michael<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph_drop-cap\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clzbavkxt000e3b826wm98xvf@published\" data-word-count=\"186\">Killer Mike is a fascinating character, a rapper whose nonlinear career path took him from incredible work with OutKast to the mixtape grind and then into arenas and music festivals alongside El-P, his partner in Run the Jewels. He is also a product of the Black entrepreneurial spirit of Atlanta in all its complex permutations: the trapper, the musician, the mom-and-pop business owner, the voice in local and national politics. In 2016, Mike endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, and in 2020,\u00a0in the heat of the George Floyd protests, came under fire for a press conference with rapper T.I. and Atlanta\u2019s then-mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, during which he implored protesters \u201cnot to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy.\u201d Where Killer Mike\u2019s fans see a truth teller, his critics see a capitalist in activist\u2019s clothes and question his ideas and intentions: How his advocacy for gun ownership plays into the NRA\u2019s agenda and whether his meetings with Georgia governor Brian Kemp and football star and chaotic 2022 Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker were fruitful endeavors. But the 48-year-old rapper has no problem clapping back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwfwr000i3b6xh7ln410t@published\" data-word-count=\"162\">This month\u2019s <em>Michael<\/em> (out June 16) is his first solo album since 2012\u2019s El-P-produced <em>R.A.P. Music<\/em>, and it\u2019s a window into the circumstances informing his musical and political sensibilities, a family history, an Atlanta hip-hop primer, and a snapshot of lives that were altered forever during the crack era. \u201cScientists and Engineers\u201d with Future and Andre 3000 is a jaw-dropping Dungeon Family reunion; \u201cMotherless\u201d reckons painfully with the loss of a parent and the toughness and yearning that come with it. <em>Michael <\/em>owns its namesake\u2019s strengths and flaws and the generational movements that make him possible, so I spoke to Killer Mike over Zoom in mid-May to dive into the rap history he\u2019s been a part of and the ways <em>Michael<\/em> builds on the street narratives and social consciousness introduced in his 2003 debut, <em>Monster,<\/em> but also to pick his brain about politics and backlash. He\u2019s an effective orator, and what he doesn\u2019t say is just as illuminating as what he does.<\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/divider\/instances\/clikk2w7l004w3b6xjvi9qv9b@published\" class=\"divider_short\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n  <span class=\"divider-border\"><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<section data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/subsection\/instances\/clisydl1d000g3b6y614ew8lk@published\" class=\"subsection\">\n<div class=\"header-wrapper\">\n<div data-editable=\"title\" class=\"title-wrapper\">\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"content\" data-editable=\"content\">\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clisydpp1000n3b6yasmayfbi@published\" data-word-count=\"238\"><strong>I was surprised to hear you\u2019d made a solo album. For the past decade, you and El were focused on Run the Jewels. I think <em>Michael<\/em> is telling not just your story but a wider one about the resilience of the South and the Dungeon Family.\u00a0What made you itch to talk about it 11 years after <em>R.A.P. Music<\/em>?<\/strong><br \/>I am one half of Run the Jewels, and Run the Jewels is an X-Men-like universe. There\u2019s \u2014 God bless the dead \u2014 our confidant, Gangsta Boo. There\u2019s Zack de la Rocha. There\u2019s Josh Homme. There\u2019s Mavis Staples. Like uncanny X-Men, El and I are people who didn\u2019t necessarily fit the mold of the greater rap scene, but we created this wild, unique thing on our own and formed this amazing hybrid group together. But every character has an origin story. And many people knew El\u2019s origin by way of Company Flow, by what he\u2019d been able to do with the <span class=\"clay-annotated kiln-phrase\">Weathermen<\/span>, and what him and Camu \u2014 God bless the dead \u2014 were able to do. It was very established, but I still was somewhat of a mystery because I\u2019d always been presented by proxy to someone else. OutKast gave me an opportunity to change my life. I\u2019m forever grateful. But I was still an attachment. There was never a moment where people got a chance to see the whole of Michael. They saw bits and pieces in the music.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clisyehic000q3b6yqs8b6iof@published\" data-word-count=\"165\">I just needed people to know that the character Killer Mike was created by a 9-year-old boy named Michael. And that boy grew up in a distinctly southern Black city where his enemies and heroes looked like him. Doesn\u2019t mean poverty wasn\u2019t around him, doesn\u2019t mean violence or crime wasn\u2019t around him. But it means that Black millionaires who didn\u2019t sing and dance for a living were around him. It meant the Black educated and elite who taught him were his teachers. It meant he went to schools named for Frederick Douglass. It meant that he grew up hearing gospel and funk and soul and he grew up experiencing the harshness of the drug era and the opportunities that opened up after. I wanted people to know that the character in Run the Jewels is a whole human being and a man who feels like there\u2019s something that needs to be said. I think I told the best story of a young man in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwg83000m3b6xble96tyx@published\" data-word-count=\"120\"><strong>You mentioned the X-Men. I\u2019ve heard that you grew up on comics. Who were your legends?<\/strong><br \/>I have two great fathers, biological and non-biological. So when people see me taking pictures of Hot Wheels and listening to rock music and shit, that\u2019s my non-bio dad, Tony. Big Mike is my bio dad. We would go to the West End together. You know how your dad would creep off and go buy a <em>Playboy<\/em> or something? He\u2019d let me peruse the comics section. I fell in love with the X-Men and Batman and later Spawn. I\u2019m not a read-every-comic guy. Comics are like rap or skateboarding or BMX: something adventurous for boys. There\u2019s stories of glory. Comics make you a better reader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwgbx000o3b6xdt403yt6@published\" data-word-count=\"172\"><strong>Losing Gangsta Boo in January<\/strong><strong> was my first clue that 2023 was going to try us as much as 2022 did. Could you speak to your friendship with her and her legacy?<\/strong><br \/>I love Lola with all my heart and soul. She was good to me and for me. She was good to my wife. She was good for my wife. Run the Jewels was better for having known her and having her make dope art with us. I\u2019m worse off without her. I miss her terribly. It is difficult to even talk about her now. I pray that the people of Memphis can hold her name high. Man, as a 15-year-old girl, she changed the world as a member of Three 6 Mafia. Oftentimes my wife and I just play her music and just smile and shed a tear and keep going. So I hope that we continue to give her her flowers as she was one of the most underappreciated and overlooked, absolute lyrical fucking monsters the South has ever produced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwgr6000q3b6x10a2mqgh@published\" data-word-count=\"261\"><strong>Working<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>with<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>OutKast<\/strong><strong> in the early 2000s, you were able to see firsthand the country start to really open up for southern hip-hop. What was that experience like?<\/strong><br \/>We knew that New York, because the media was out there, was its own animal. We knew that L.A. also had made their way. But at one time, the South was just considered the third coast. They was like, <em>All y\u2019all together<\/em>, which I think was a great unifier regionally and helped us to travel. Miami is subtly different from Atlanta and subtly different from Houston and subtly different from Memphis and subtly different from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. But you get this big gumbo of funk and soul and gospel. We all understand each other\u2019s sound. OutKast and Goodie Mob opened doors for a more soul- and funk-based sound out of the Curtis Mayfield school. Dungeon Family provided an alternative to what was predominantly dance based, what we call booty music. I think that that was the first phase of the flower opening up. Then, when you get to the New South Movement in the early 2000s, you get different sounds like the crunk movement that Bone Crusher was helping to usher in. You had room for other people with T.I. bringing trap music into the fold. Elliott Wilson and I were talking yesterday, and he thinks it starts in 2005, but I think from 2003 forward, the South was becoming a dominator. Even before 2000. So when people say, \u201cMan, y\u2019all almost in a 20-year run,\u201d shit, I give us 25.<\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/clijc4d29001e3b6rkl3kainn@published\" class=\"nym-image horizontal break-out original-horizontal image\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image-container horizontal break-out\">\n<div class=\"img-figure\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper hidden\">\n<picture><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 1180px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 1180px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/a3d\/496\/8648fb4910c543573135d837987e1c18fa-killer-mike-outkast.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg 2x\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 1180px) \" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/a3d\/496\/8648fb4910c543573135d837987e1c18fa-killer-mike-outkast.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 768px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/a3d\/496\/8648fb4910c543573135d837987e1c18fa-killer-mike-outkast.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg 2x\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/a3d\/496\/8648fb4910c543573135d837987e1c18fa-killer-mike-outkast.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/a3d\/496\/8648fb4910c543573135d837987e1c18fa-killer-mike-outkast.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/a3d\/496\/8648fb4910c543573135d837987e1c18fa-killer-mike-outkast.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" class=\"img-data\" data-content-img alt=\"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Season 10\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;\"> <\/picture>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>      <script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n        {\n          \"@id\": \"#articleSchema\",\n          \"image\": {\n            \"@context\": \"http:\/\/schema.org\",\n            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n            \"creditText\": \"Paul Drinkwater\/NBC\",\n            \"caption\": \"The South got something to say: Killer Mike (left) performing with OutKast in 2000.\",\n            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/a3d\/496\/8648fb4910c543573135d837987e1c18fa-killer-mike-outkast.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\",\n            \"width\": \"1800\",\n            \"height\": \"1200\"\n          }\n        }\n      <\/script>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"nym-image-figcaption attribution\">\n      The South got something to say: Killer Mike (left) performing with OutKast in 2000.<br \/>\n      <span class=\"credit\">Photo: Paul Drinkwater\/NBC<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwh4v000t3b6x7y6gzgwy@published\" data-word-count=\"220\"><strong><em>Monster<\/em> turned 20 this year, and it feels like a signpost for the direction rap music was headed during the aughts, a blend of rowdiness and articulation. I hadn\u2019t listened to <\/strong><strong>\u201cAkshon\u201d<\/strong><strong> and <\/strong><strong>\u201cA.D.I.D.A.S.\u201d<\/strong><strong> in a minute, but in 2002, 2003, I would\u2019ve told you the Dungeon Family had cracked the code and figured out how to tie all the threads of Black music together.<\/strong><br \/>I walked into my friend and business partner T.I.\u2019s trap-music museum, where they give you a timeline of trap music. It says \u201c2003: Killer Mike makes the first attempt at making a conscious trap album.\u201d I was a rapper, but I also was a kid that trapped in front of your house. And I went to Morehouse. So I was a hybrid of sorts presenting what was important to me. People kind of get it now, but there are a lot of talented kids in Atlanta that aren\u2019t getting their credit that are dope, whether it was Two-9 and Curtis Williams or Kenny Mason and J.I.D. now. I\u2019m very proud to be a part of that. Dungeon Family <em>has<\/em> cracked the code. Unfortunately, every record deal doesn\u2019t go through the roof. But when you look at the perfect hybrid of cool and funk and soul and trapping and conscious, you got to think about Cool Breeze.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwh9b000v3b6x4xle50q4@published\" data-word-count=\"78\"><strong>I was about to ask whether Cool Breeze is in the museum.<\/strong><br \/>If he\u2019s not, I\u2019m going to call Tip today and make sure he gets in. Cool Breeze is that guy. He\u2019s pre\u2013trap trap music, you know what I\u2019m saying? He predated Tip and DJ Toomp. He was a cue that trap music ain\u2019t got to be badly mixed, redundant, slow, stereotypical. It can be slick, cool. It can even be sexy, for lack of a better word.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwhgs000x3b6x0n1kr5ry@published\" data-word-count=\"169\"><strong>Something I think <em>Michael<\/em> communicates well is how many lives and how much infrastructure got smashed coming into the \u201980s, and the terrible choices it forced people to make. The image in \u201cSomething for Junkies\u201d of the woman remembering what it felt like to party before addiction set in got me thinking about how we\u2019re living in a sequel to the fruits of the mistakes of that decade.<\/strong><br \/>Talking to the little homies on the block, sometimes I say, \u201cMan, all y\u2019all are junkies, y\u2019all just like your grandparents. Y\u2019all like to do pills and party. Your grandparents did coke and party.\u201d The problem was they didn\u2019t know there was bad news around the corner. So I try to let the little homies know if you don\u2019t prepare for tomorrow, a fast will come after the feast. I say that with no judgment. I tell people all the time: Forgive your parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles for what addiction did to them because they didn\u2019t know. It was just fun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clirneemr000h3b6yj60r5wir@published\" data-word-count=\"182\">The \u201cDon\u2019t Let the Devil\u201d video is based on parties my mom would throw in the \u201980s. They drank and smoked pot and danced, but eventually that moved onto freebasing. The story in \u201cSomething for Junkies\u201d where I talk about my aunt, is a true story. She told me, \u201cNigga, your dope ain\u2019t no better than nobody else\u2019s. The reason I come to you is because you treat us like human beings.\u201d And that never left me. <span class=\"clay-annotated kiln-phrase\" aria-describedby=\"annotation-1\" tabindex=\"0\">I needed to say that.<\/span> Rap has made more money off crack cocaine than we ever made off crack cocaine. The greatest legacy of the drug era is the ammunition it provided artists, what it gave Ice Cube, what it gave Ice-T, what it gave Schoolly D, what it gave KRS-One, what it gave Nas, what it gave Jermaine Dupri, what it gave OutKast, what it gave Goodie Mob. [<em>Sings.<\/em>] \u201cOne to the two, the three, the four \u2026\u201d These kids that would\u2019ve been thrown by the wayside in that era received artistic ammunition to create something that makes millions and billions of dollars now.<\/p>\n<aside data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/video\/instances\/clikjwfwg000h3b6x8tbx1s2u@published\" class=\"video-component\" data-editable=\"url\" data-origsrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=agbDwqcWn2w\">\n      <!--\n      \n\n<div class=\"iframe-wrapper\">\n          [embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=agbDwqcWn2w[\/embed]\n      <\/div>\n\n\n      --><br \/>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwhoe00113b6xah0jyh5g@published\" data-word-count=\"57\"><strong>I also think on a certain level the album is this journey from the \u201cI said what I said\u201d energy on the front end to you reflecting on arguing too much in the back end.<\/strong><br \/>No, that\u2019s not what I\u2019m saying on the back end. I meant what I said. I meant exactly what the fuck I said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwhsh00133b6xbquzoztx@published\" data-word-count=\"109\"><strong>Let me pull the line that struck me \u2026 In \u201cHigh and Holy,\u201d you said, \u201cI apologize if I ever spoke distasteful.\u201d In \u201cMotherless,\u201d you agree you can be <\/strong><strong>argumentative<\/strong><strong>. I\u2019m saying you were reflecting, not retracting.<\/strong><br \/>\u201cTalk\u2019n That Shit\u201d stands as what the fuck I said. I was saying I shouldn\u2019t speak distastefully in front of my elders. I\u2019m a Southerner, and sometimes you get mad and cuss at the table in front of aunts or uncles, so I was apologizing for the times in my youth that I let my ego get in the way of my manners in front of old people. I\u2019m not thinking about shit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwhwi00153b6xw8l99sg4@published\" data-word-count=\"253\"><strong>\u201cTalk\u2019n That Shit\u201d starts in on people who care too much about your business in the first verse, but then you offer a good reason to talk about you in the verse with the <em>Brokeback Mountain<\/em><span class=\"clay-annotated kiln-phrase\" aria-describedby=\"annotation-2\" tabindex=\"0\"> line<\/span>.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>First of all, it\u2019s a talk-shit record. \u201cOh, so you use Twitter as a way to talk shit to me? I don\u2019t give a fuck by what you\u2019re saying. I\u2019m going to use this record to show you I can rap over three different DJ Paul beats.\u201d Let me tell whoever sees this interview: Black folks be fooling y\u2019all. Black folks get in front of these cameras like he doing right now and they say, \u201cHey, man, we\u2019re progressives \u2026\u201d Black folks talk crazy shit behind closed doors. Behind closed doors, you better believe Barack Obama saying, \u201cNigga, what is you talking about?\u201d So the song is taking all the plantation face off and getting back to the basics of when you hear a Black person from the Boul\u00e9 or an educated Black elite say, \u201cNegro, is you out of your mind?\u201d I\u2019m talking that shit, but I just stopped dressing it up. I\u2019m talking directly to Black folks. That ain\u2019t for nobody else. That record is letting Black folks know that I don\u2019t give a fuck what you think about me. I love you because you Black. What you think about me doesn\u2019t matter as much as you working locally, because instead of criticizing a rapper, if you work locally, you really can change the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clirnh1rs000n3b6yi27ig309@published\" data-word-count=\"138\">And at the end of days, man, I\u2019d rather die Dick Gregory than die silent. I\u2019d rather die someone who had the courage to tell the truth to my people than someone who didn\u2019t. So \u201cTalk\u2019n That Shit\u201d is for Black folks. It is for our space. Am I going to discuss this record on CNN and MSNBC? No. Am I discussing this record with you because you Black? Yep. Will we talk about it in a room full of white folks? No. White people who hear this record, understand that you experience this record as voyeurs. So although I value you, I appreciate your appreciation of the art, this record and these conversations that are on this record are from a Black perspective. I hope you feeling it affects you. And if it doesn\u2019t, man, too bad.<\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/clijc4kw5001m3b6r5fmfndvf@published\" class=\"nym-image horizontal break-out original-horizontal image\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image-container horizontal break-out\">\n<div class=\"img-figure\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper hidden\">\n<picture><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 1180px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 1180px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/274\/d87\/061ad302ec5c54a6e415b37f2ce1d3850b-killer-mike-el-p-run-the-jewels.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg 2x\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 1180px) \" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/274\/d87\/061ad302ec5c54a6e415b37f2ce1d3850b-killer-mike-el-p-run-the-jewels.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 768px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/274\/d87\/061ad302ec5c54a6e415b37f2ce1d3850b-killer-mike-el-p-run-the-jewels.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg 2x\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/274\/d87\/061ad302ec5c54a6e415b37f2ce1d3850b-killer-mike-el-p-run-the-jewels.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/274\/d87\/061ad302ec5c54a6e415b37f2ce1d3850b-killer-mike-el-p-run-the-jewels.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\"><\/source> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/274\/d87\/061ad302ec5c54a6e415b37f2ce1d3850b-killer-mike-el-p-run-the-jewels.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\" class=\"img-data\" data-content-img alt=\"2016 Project Pabst\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;\"> <\/picture>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>      <script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n        {\n          \"@id\": \"#articleSchema\",\n          \"image\": {\n            \"@context\": \"http:\/\/schema.org\",\n            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n            \"creditText\": \"Paul R. Giunta\/Getty Images\",\n            \"caption\": \"\u201cUncanny X-Men\u201d: El-P and Killer Mike as Run the Jewels.\",\n            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/274\/d87\/061ad302ec5c54a6e415b37f2ce1d3850b-killer-mike-el-p-run-the-jewels.2x.rhorizontal.w900.jpg\",\n            \"width\": \"1800\",\n            \"height\": \"1200\"\n          }\n        }\n      <\/script>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"nym-image-figcaption attribution\">\n      \u201cUncanny X-Men\u201d: El-P and Killer Mike as Run the Jewels.<br \/>\n      <span class=\"credit\">Photo: Paul R. Giunta\/Getty Images<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwi0q00173b6xfm2somy5@published\" data-word-count=\"48\"><strong>I don\u2019t want to make it seem like this is a conversation about what white people might make of that song. I just feel like the <em>Brokeback<\/em> verse opens you up to questions of what you\u2019re about.<\/strong><br \/>I don\u2019t have a <em>Brokeback<\/em> verse. I don\u2019t have a <em>Brokeback <\/em>verse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwi4k00193b6xiuub1950@published\" data-word-count=\"38\"><strong>You rhyme \u201cwoke ass\u201d with \u201cBrokeback\u201d in a verse, and it undercuts what you\u2019re trying to get across in the rest of the song. People \u2014<\/strong><br \/>So help them understand. Help them understand, Black man. It\u2019s not my job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwidx001b3b6x5qctgtml@published\" data-word-count=\"25\"><strong>That\u2019s what I\u2019m here for, one of the many reasons I\u2019m here. I need to find out whether you meant well.<\/strong><br \/>You know I meant well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwii1001d3b6xp5so64dz@published\" data-word-count=\"27\"><strong>I don\u2019t know.<\/strong><br \/>You got Langston Hughes on your shirt. You brilliant. I trust you. I\u2019m not letting you convince me you\u2019re dumb. I know you brilliant, brother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwine001f3b6xr4sio4l1@published\" data-word-count=\"44\"><strong>We are living in an era where so many people are starting down strange pathways \u2014<\/strong><br \/>I don\u2019t care what era we living in. We ain\u2019t going to let them do it. I know you ain\u2019t going to let them do it. I trust you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwj0e001h3b6xob4b9fj7@published\" data-word-count=\"58\"><strong>Here\u2019s what I\u2019m saying: That trust doesn\u2019t exist anymore, and this is not about you personally. The trust for people with platforms is not where it was. We watched people with valuable platforms say ridiculous things and detonate money. We\u2019ve seen Ye. We\u2019ve seen a lot.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>I\u2019m not comparable to anything you just said. So I don\u2019t accept that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwj3z001j3b6xa4elnob1@published\" data-word-count=\"83\"><strong>I\u2019m not trying to compare you to Ye. I\u2019m explaining why I have to ask you about what I\u2019m asking you about.<\/strong><br \/>I understand the reasons. What I\u2019m telling you is I trust you to be intelligent, Black man. Like my grandma would say, \u201cNigga, you got good sense. So I trust you.\u201d What we got in the second verse, I told everybody,<br \/>Get their goddamn guns. If I\u2019m in New York, and I\u2019m you, <span class=\"clay-annotated kiln-phrase\" aria-describedby=\"annotation-3\" tabindex=\"0\">hyperlocally<\/span>, I\u2019m going to start advocating to be able \u2014<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwj7p001l3b6xpjvyjxyx@published\" data-word-count=\"251\"><strong>The laws are tighter here.\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>Let\u2019s say I\u2019m a Black man in New York. I live in a time where my life is under threat from the state. My life is under threat from criminals. And I live in a state, in a city, where essentially the right to protect myself is outlawed. Now, I know white friends in New York who have have AR-15s and shotguns because as long as you can get it in your house, it\u2019s legal. But they ain\u2019t worried about getting stopped before they get it in their house, right? After we done went through you know whatever you going to do to the first verse of \u201cTalk\u2019n That Shit,\u201d let\u2019s get to the second verse: Black self-defense. Negroes, the state is not going to protect your Black ass. So you better take your Black ass to a firing range. You better take your Black ass to a political rally. You better fight for your rights. By the time we get to the third verse, what am I talking about? Black classism. Within the Black community, we feel like if we\u2019re educated, we\u2019re somehow elite and we ain\u2019t gotta worry about the other 90 percent. I\u2019m saying on the third verse, \u201cNo, man, I speak on the behalf of the poor, the downtrodden, the working-class southern Black man.\u201d I don\u2019t give a fuck who the president is, if the president ain\u2019t for me. I said, \u201cI\u2019m a bad nigga. I\u2019m Stagger Lee, poor house man, Spike Lee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwjbo001n3b6x2fvcjuqh@published\" data-word-count=\"132\"><strong>I like the Spike Lee\u2013Stagger Lee line.<\/strong><br \/>As a Black man, you are the media. You are responsible to teach people how to think right. As a Black man, I could get caught up on wokeisms. I could get caught up on what the fuck Kanye said. I could get caught up on if this one line offended somebody. Or I could introduce the world to who Stagger Lee is. I asked my granddaddy about N.W.A. one time, \u201cPoppy, why they mad about N.W.A.?\u201d He said, \u201cShit, I don\u2019t know. They act like they ain\u2019t never heard Stagger Lee before.\u201d I got to run my chubby ass to the library, find a record with Stagger Lee on it, and hear about a nigga who was a stone-cold man who wore a Stetson hat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwjfc001p3b6xw2zj2k1f@published\" data-word-count=\"62\"><strong>Do you think it\u2019s possible for America to have a healthier gun culture?<\/strong><br \/>I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s possible for America to have a healthy gun culture because I don\u2019t know what a healthy gun culture is. I care that Black people take advantage of every right that the U.S. Constitution promised before we have to give it back or give it up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwjm9001r3b6xh1za64l1@published\" data-word-count=\"146\"><strong>So if our states allow the sale of ARs, it\u2019s game on?<\/strong><br \/>Black people, you should have five guns and knowledge of how to use them. You should have a revolver. You should have a semi-automatic pistol. You should have a long gun like a shotgun. You should have a bolt-action rifle. And you should have a military-style rifle. You should go shooting at least once or twice a month as a family. You should train and take a Stop the Bleed class together so you know what to do in case of an accident. You should know that if the world breaks down around you, there is no government that is going to save you. The only thing you will have is your ability to grow food, to find fresh water, to kill or slaughter or have animals as protein, and to defend yourself through firearms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwjq4001t3b6x9w3ywclq@published\" data-word-count=\"104\"><strong>Short of societal breakdown, we have to talk about the people who are not using all the guns that are available to everyone in a way that is helpful to society. Yes, it\u2019s legal to have a wealth of arms right now. Should we be tightening up what\u2019s out there for sale?\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>No. I don\u2019t believe a new law should be passed. I believe any law affects Black people worst and first. I\u2019ve given you a statement about what I feel like Black people should do. There ain\u2019t nothing else to say. I\u2019m never going to change my stance on it. What we got next?<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwk13001v3b6xc5qehu8d@published\" data-word-count=\"22\"><strong>I just feel like the story of the last month has been \u2014<\/strong><br \/>I don\u2019t have any comments on any of those stories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwk7s001x3b6xx30zvahc@published\" data-word-count=\"71\"><strong><em>[Laughs]<\/em><\/strong><br \/>I\u2019m willing to talk about this: I, Michael Render, am responsible for a tribe of people. My responsibility is land ownership and fishing and hunting and self-defense. I was taught by my grandfather, who was born in 1922, and that was reinforced by my father, who was born in 1959. It is being reinforced to my daughter by me, who was born in 1975. In my household, that will never change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwkb7001z3b6xr89ntk5f@published\" data-word-count=\"106\"><strong>We have a problem that we didn\u2019t have in the \u201950s and in the \u201970s, which is that the rate of mass shootings is skyrocketing.<\/strong><br \/>I don\u2019t have the ability to talk about those things because I have not done the studies. I don\u2019t know the data. What I do know is if a coyote gets at my wife\u2019s eight-pound dog, I have a couple of guns that\u2019ll take care of that coyote. What I do know is should anyone choose to intrude on my wife\u2019s space and try to kick in our door, certainly their mother\u2019s going to pay for a funeral. That\u2019s what I know.<\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/clijc48eo00163b6r5b7xsjx8@published\" class=\"nym-image horizontal column-outdent original-horizontal image\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image-container horizontal column-outdent\">\n<div class=\"img-figure\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper hidden\">\n<picture><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 1180px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 1180px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/e6f\/6a6\/47abbb3aaff75f9ee92b42897a658afe0b-killer-mike-chain-.2x.rhorizontal.w700.jpg 2x\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 1180px) \" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/e6f\/6a6\/47abbb3aaff75f9ee92b42897a658afe0b-killer-mike-chain-.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 768px), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/e6f\/6a6\/47abbb3aaff75f9ee92b42897a658afe0b-killer-mike-chain-.2x.rhorizontal.w700.jpg 2x\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/e6f\/6a6\/47abbb3aaff75f9ee92b42897a658afe0b-killer-mike-chain-.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/source><source media=\"(min-resolution: 192dpi), (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/e6f\/6a6\/47abbb3aaff75f9ee92b42897a658afe0b-killer-mike-chain-.2x.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/source> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/e6f\/6a6\/47abbb3aaff75f9ee92b42897a658afe0b-killer-mike-chain-.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\" class=\"img-data\" data-content-img width=\"700\" height=\"467\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;\"> <\/picture>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>      <script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n        {\n          \"@id\": \"#articleSchema\",\n          \"image\": {\n            \"@context\": \"http:\/\/schema.org\",\n            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n            \"creditText\": \"VLNS\",\n            \"caption\": \"\u201cThat chain \u2014 and I\u2019m glad you noticed it because I paid a lot of money for it \u2014 is based on a 15-year-old Michael\u2019s imagination.\u201d\",\n            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/pyxis.nymag.com\/v1\/imgs\/e6f\/6a6\/47abbb3aaff75f9ee92b42897a658afe0b-killer-mike-chain-.2x.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\",\n            \"width\": \"1400\",\n            \"height\": \"934\"\n          }\n        }\n      <\/script>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"nym-image-figcaption attribution\">\n      \u201cThat chain \u2014 and I\u2019m glad you noticed it because I paid a lot of money for it \u2014 is based on a 15-year-old Michael\u2019s imagination.\u201d<br \/>\n      <span class=\"credit\">Photo: VLNS<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwki300213b6xd5fsd9hf@published\" data-word-count=\"190\"><strong>I saw your monogrammed Archangel Michael chain in the <\/strong><strong>\u201cRun\u201d<\/strong><strong> video and thought, <em>This guy definitely appreciates the warrior iconography of the faith.<\/em> Was there thought process there or did the religious chain with your name just perfectly encapsulate what the album is getting at?<\/strong><br \/>I think that people have to understand that I\u2019m first and foremost an artist. The things that I talk about in terms of what people would perceive as warrior stuff, it\u2019s just being a Southern man. I mean, shit, I\u2019m in better shape than I was three years ago, but I\u2019m not going to fight no MMA fight. I\u2019m taking my boxing classes like every other man to lose a little weight, throw a sharper punch. I think that every warrior is balanced by an artist. Rap is pugilistic poetry, right? But it is also <em>The Iliad<\/em>. It can even be Don Quixote fighting windmills. I believe that boys and men have to exercise a warrior spirit mentally, physically, and spiritually. For me, <em>Michael <\/em>is an internal struggle between the light and the dark, the pure, humble nature and the ego that\u2019ll get big and inflated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clirooztw001k3b6ygp9pxf7g@published\" data-word-count=\"192\">But that chain \u2014 and I\u2019m glad you noticed it because I paid a lot of money for it \u2014 is based on a 15-year-old Michael\u2019s imagination. Michael is a lover of Renaissance art. I\u2019m a lover of sculpture. That chain is an exact replica of a sculpture that sits in front of the Church of St. Michael in Berlin. I\u2019ve done that before with the Winged Victory of Samothrace. So the jewelry that you see me wear usually does not have diamonds, because I don\u2019t know the real value of diamonds. Gold is money anywhere you go in the world, is what I\u2019ve learned. With a $50,000 chain around my neck, I know how much money I got. I saw my idols do that, not just my rapper idols. My father bought a beautiful Franco. So that\u2019s why people see me wear gold. But the ornaments that you see me wear are pieces of art that I can\u2019t figure out how to steal. Lord knows, if I could figure out how to steal the Winged Victory of Samothrace out the fucking Louvre, that shit would be in my backyard right now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwknp00243b6x6714e1bn@published\" data-word-count=\"61\"><strong>That\u2019s funny considering how a lot of art gets in museums in the first place.<\/strong><br \/>That\u2019s what the fuck I\u2019m saying! Now help the audience understand what the fuck going on. I\u2019m glad you noticed the chain because the chain has meaning. I\u2019m named for this angel because my father was. I love this beautiful sculpture, so I had my own made.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikjwkrt00263b6xh3ioyr76@published\" data-word-count=\"139\"><strong>Being in a rap duo that plays a lot of festivals, you\u2019re probably a lot of people\u2019s first rap show. Do you think about what you want folks who are new to the culture to take away when they see you?<\/strong><br \/>Yes. Again, if you white, this record is an amazing opportunity to be a voyeur into Black southern culture and musicianship and hip-hop. It is a beautiful thing. I got a friend, he\u2019s a white guy out of Kentucky. He grew up on a farm. He had one Black friend. They would listen to N.W.A. together. He\u2019s a rich guy now. Has amazing cars and shit. We drink moonshine together. But rap music brought us together, so he better understood culturally who we were. He\u2019s one of the coolest, most well-adjusted white guys I\u2019ve ever met in my life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clay-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-paragraph\/instances\/clikkbl9t007i3b6xm9t4rh5g@published\" data-word-count=\"206\">But I understood the importance of having a friend or a guide to take you culturally into different things. I didn\u2019t know anything about Korean culture. And so my Korean friends took me to K-town, taught me about the food, told me about the culture, and helped me understand the difference between North and South Korea in terms of mentality and thinking. People that go outside our culture are diplomats and ambassadors of sorts. This album is a Ta-Nehisi Coates moment. You remember when all the white folks woke up like, \u201cOh, shit. This Ta-Nehisi Coates guy wrote some shit.\u201d Think about this now. He\u2019s writing a book, a brilliant, beautiful book to his Black son to help guide him through this terrible, at times tumultuous thing called life, and white academia and plain white folks who want to understand culturally, they attach themselves to it and they got it. This album is by a Black man from the Deep South and a Black community, a Black city. It\u2019s for Black folks in the spirit of a returning or a church homecoming. It\u2019s the <em>Color Purple<\/em> moment when Shug Avery got back to church, hugged her daddy, and said, \u201cSee that, daddy, sinners have souls too.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related related-count-1\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/related\/instances\/clikk7jhb00713b6x7eaxnto3@published\" data-track-type=\"article-list\">\n<h3 class=\"related-title\" data-editable=\"title\">Related<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"related-links\" data-editable=\"relatedItems\">\n<li class=\"related-link\">\n          <span class=\"svg-wrapper\"><br \/>\n            <svg role=\"presentation\">\n              <use xlink:href=\"#arrow\"><\/use>\n            <\/svg><br \/>\n          <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"mobile-related-header\">\n                  <span class=\"headline\"><br \/>\n                      <em>Run the Jewels 4<\/em> Is Exactly What America Needs to Hear Right Now<br \/>\n                  <\/span>\n              <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"svg-include\"><svg id=\"arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path fill=\"#FFF\" d=\"M-250-641h1399v987H-250z\"><\/path><path d=\"M0-1h16v16H0z\"><\/path><path d=\"M0 3.439l6.12-.105S5.54.644 5.452.332c-.088-.316.21-.426.405-.244C6.188.396 14 6.86 14 6.86s-7.571 6.726-7.89 7.045c-.188.189-.49.088-.414-.23.075-.315.556-3.023.556-3.023s-4.012.056-6.252.094V3.44z\" class=\"fill-target\" fill=\"#18BBEC\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/annotations\/instances\/cliklr7cq007t3b6x7lppw5dp@published\" class=\"annotations\" data-editable=\"content\">\n  <span role=\"tooltip\" id=\"annotation-1\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/annotation\/instances\/cliklr8oh00803b6xc36rrhxt@published\" class=\"annotation\" data-editable=\"text\">The Weathermen was a collective of northeast underground hip-hop artists, including El-P, Cage, Aesop Rock, Camu Tao, Cannibal Ox\u2019s Vast Aire, the Juggaknots\u2019 Breeze Brewin, and others.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span role=\"tooltip\" id=\"annotation-2\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/annotation\/instances\/cliklramb00823b6xzsph7kse@published\" class=\"annotation\" data-editable=\"text\">From \u201cSomething for Junkies\u201d: \u201cShe took a hit, she zoned out, came back, took a spit \/ looked at me and said \u2018All of y\u2019all got the same shit\u2019 \/ She said \u2018Michael, you say you love me, I know you mean it \/ Cause you still treat your junkie auntie like a human being\u201d<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span role=\"tooltip\" id=\"annotation-3\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/annotation\/instances\/cliklrs2800843b6x0yb1t103@published\" class=\"annotation\" data-editable=\"text\">\u201cYou see, your words ain\u2019t worth no money, I ain\u2019t spoke back, bitch \/ All of you niggas hang together on some <em>Brokeback<\/em> shit\u201d<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span role=\"tooltip\" id=\"annotation-4\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/annotation\/instances\/cliswaibi001n3b6ymnx3krsb@published\" class=\"annotation\" data-editable=\"text\">Killer Mike is a proponent of being involved \u201chyper-locally,\u201d which \u201cmeans, Have you attended a community meeting this month? Do you know who your city council person is? If you do, have you communicated with them? If you stay hyperlocal, you can start to create local change.\u201d<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tags\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/tags\/instances\/clij4kp2k000a0pj77f4h26uu@published\" data-editable=\"items\">\n<h3 class=\"title\">Tags:<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"tags-list\">\n<li class=\"tags-list-item\">\n            killer mike\n          <\/li>\n<li class=\"tags-list-item\">\n            a long talk\n          <\/li>\n<li class=\"tags-list-item\">\n            run the jewels\n          <\/li>\n<li class=\"tags-list-item\">\n            el-p\n          <\/li>\n<li class=\"tags-list-item hidden\">\n            rap\n          <\/li>\n<li class=\"tags-list-item hidden\">\n            music\n          <\/li>\n<li class=\"tags-list-item\">\n          More\n        <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>          <script class=\"coral-script\" src=\"https:\/\/nymag.coral.coralproject.net\/assets\/js\/count.js\" defer><\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"comments\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/comments-link\/instances\/clij4kp2k000c0pj7q714qcbc@published\" data-cutoffcnt=\"\" class=\"comments-link no-comments\">\n<p>    <span class=\"svg-wrapper\"><br \/>\n        <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" role=\"presentation\" width=\"17\" height=\"18\" viewbox=\"0 0 17 18\" preserveaspectratio=\"xMinYMin meet\"><path d=\"M15.1.9h-12.9c-.9 0-1.5.7-1.5 1.6v9.3c0 .8.6 1.5 1.5 1.5h2.3l4.2 4.6v-4.6h6.4c.9 0 1.6-.6 1.6-1.5v-9.3c0-.9-.7-1.6-1.6-1.6z\" fill=\"#FFFFFF\"><\/path><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"comments-link-message\"><br \/>\n        <span class=\"comments-link-text-show\">Show <\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"coral-count comments-link-counter\"><\/span><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"comments-link-empty\">Leave a Comment<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>      <span class=\"ambrose-short-hed\">Killer Mike Said What He Said<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>  <script>\n    const freeLayoutsInstances = [\n      'ecom-article',\n      'ecom-products',\n      'non-monetizable'\n    ];\n    const paywalledLayoutsInstances = ['paywalled-article'];\n    const layoutInstance = document.querySelector('html').getAttribute('data-layout-uri').split('\/instances\/')[1].replace('@published', '');\n    const siteSlug = 'vulture';\n    const keywords = [\"killer mike\",\"a long talk\",\"run the jewels\",\"el-p\",\"rap\",\"music\"]; \/\/ This is set by handlebars in the server.\n    const featureTypes = window._nymPermutive?.article?.featureTypes;\n    const freeConditions = {\n      isStrategist: !paywalledLayoutsInstances.includes(layoutInstance) && siteSlug === 'strategist',\n      isFreeLayout: freeLayoutsInstances.includes(layoutInstance),\n      hasExcludePaywallTags: \/paywall exclude\/i.test(keywords.join(',')),\n      isEcomm: featureTypes && featureTypes.includes('ecomm')\n    };\n    const structuredData = {\n      '@context': 'http:\/\/schema.org',\n      '@id': '#articleSchema',\n      hasPart: {\n        '@type': 'WebPageElement',\n        cssSelector: '.article-content',\n        isAccessibleForFree: false\n      },\n      isAccessibleForFree: false\n    };\n    for (const condition of Object.keys(freeConditions)) {\n      if (!freeConditions[condition]) continue;\n      structuredData.isAccessibleForFree = true;\n      structuredData.hasPart.isAccessibleForFree = true\n      break;\n    }\n    const ldJsonScript = document.createElement('script');\n    ldJsonScript.type = \"application\/ld+json\";\n    ldJsonScript.innerHTML = JSON.stringify(structuredData);\n    document.head.appendChild(ldJsonScript);\n  <\/script><br \/>\n<\/article>\n<section data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/prev-next\/instances\/clij4kp1i00090pj7w70a954j@published\" class=\"prev-next\">\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"tertiary\" data-editable=\"tertiary\" data-track-zone=\"tertiary\">\n<p class=\"disclaimer-text_revenue\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/disclaimer-text\/instances\/revenue-disclaimer@published\">Things you buy through our links may earn\u00a0<i>Vox Media<\/i>\u00a0a commission.<\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/sticky-list\/instances\/article@published\" class=\"sticky-list hide-all\" data-first-pin-height=\"1000\" data-next-pin-height=\"1200\" data-small-max=\"1999\" data-medium-max=\"3200\" data-content-area-selector=\".article &gt; .body\">\n<style>\n      [data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/sticky-list\/instances\/article@published\"] .spacer.multi-children .pinboard {\n        height: 1200px;\n      }<\/p>\n<p>      [data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/sticky-list\/instances\/article@published\"] .spacer.multi-children .pinboard:last-of-type {\n        height: auto;\n      }<\/p>\n<p>      [data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/sticky-list\/instances\/article@published\"] .spacer.multi-children:first-of-type .pinboard:first-of-type {\n        height: 1000px;\n      }\n    <\/style>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-space\/instances\/cjjpvhlo100143g60hjk4ge12@published\" class=\"clay-space\">\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/space-logic\/instances\/cjjpvhlo200153g60bp0jgbq5@published\" class=\"space-logic\">\n<aside data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/ad\/instances\/cjjpvhlo200163g60pk1xr5ud@published\" class=\"ad vp-1024-plus\" data-name=\"\/172968584\/nym.vulture\" data-sizes=\"300x600\" data-label=\"RightColTopMPU\" data-site=\"Vulture\">\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/clay-space\/instances\/cjju20kr4001g3g60tzhay3ix@published\" class=\"clay-space\">\n<div data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/space-logic\/instances\/cjju20kr4001h3g60xn7rc7pl@published\" class=\"space-logic\">\n<section data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/most-popular\/instances\/vulture@published\" class=\"most-popular\" data-track-type=\"article-list\">\n<div class=\"most-popular-header\">\n<h3 class=\"most-popular-title\" data-editable=\"title\">Most Viewed Stories<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<ol class=\"most-popular-items items-by-view\">\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/clsdjmf3f00000ifmdjfy8wlr@published\" data-track-authors=\"Britina Cheng\" data-track-headline=\"Cinematrix No. 481: July 20, 2025\" data-track-index=\"0\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">Cinematrix No. 481: July 20, 2025<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmd9r8xoy00000igi5n00lrww@published\" data-track-authors=\"Alejandra Gularte\" data-track-headline=\"Phillie Phanatic Caught Cheating on the Jumbotron\" data-track-index=\"1\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">Phillie Phanatic Caught Cheating on the Jumbotron<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmd7twdut00130ifwcha4up5c@published\" data-track-authors=\"Rachel Handler\" data-track-headline=\"Jennifer Love Hewitt Wasn\u2019t Sure She Wanted to Come Back\" data-track-index=\"2\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">Jennifer Love Hewitt Wasn\u2019t Sure She Wanted to Come Back<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmd9173kz00000iimj9lntbw1@published\" data-track-authors=\"Joe Reid\" data-track-headline=\"9 Big Observations About the Emmy Nominations (Plus Plenty of Small Ones)\" data-track-index=\"3\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">9 Big Observations About the Emmy Nominations (Plus Plenty of Small Ones)<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmdanarpi00000ighukisi5ao@published\" data-track-authors=\"Alejandra Gularte\" data-track-headline=\"Charli XCX and George Daniel Squeezed in a Post Wedding Smoke Break\" data-track-index=\"4\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">Charli XCX and George Daniel Squeezed in a Post Wedding Smoke Break<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol class=\"most-popular-items items-by-minute\">\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmd7twdut00130ifwcha4up5c@published\" data-track-authors=\"Rachel Handler\" data-track-headline=\"Jennifer Love Hewitt Wasn\u2019t Sure She Wanted to Come Back\" data-track-index=\"0\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">Jennifer Love Hewitt Wasn\u2019t Sure She Wanted to Come Back<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmd7tbmfc00140ihketxk3241@published\" data-track-authors=\"Maggie Fremont\" data-track-headline=\"And Just Like That \u2026 Recap: The Spins\" data-track-index=\"1\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\"><em>And Just Like That \u2026<\/em> Recap: The Spins<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/clsdjmf3f00000ifmdjfy8wlr@published\" data-track-authors=\"Britina Cheng\" data-track-headline=\"Cinematrix No. 481: July 20, 2025\" data-track-index=\"2\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">Cinematrix No. 481: July 20, 2025<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmd9173kz00000iimj9lntbw1@published\" data-track-authors=\"Joe Reid\" data-track-headline=\"9 Big Observations About the Emmy Nominations (Plus Plenty of Small Ones)\" data-track-index=\"3\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\">9 Big Observations About the Emmy Nominations (Plus Plenty of Small Ones)<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"most-popular-item\" data-track-type=\"article-link\" data-track-component-name=\"most-popular\" data-track-page-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_pages\/cmd8x2pr800000ihiamiju3yr@published\" data-track-authors=\"Chris Feil\" data-track-headline=\"RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race All Stars Season-Finale Recap: LaLaPaSnooze-a\" data-track-index=\"4\" data-track-component-title=\"Most Viewed Stories\">\n<p>        <span class=\"article-headline\"><br \/>\n          <span><span class=\"headline-text\"><em>RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race All Stars<\/em> Season-Finale Recap: LaLaPaSnooze-a<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/ad\/instances\/cjim278ye001qrnye99i4ut6r@published\" class=\"ad vp-1180-plus\" data-name=\"\/172968584\/nym.vulture\" data-sizes=\"300x600,300x250\" data-label=\"RightColTopMPU\" data-site=\"Vulture\">\n<\/aside>\n<aside data-uri=\"www.vulture.com\/_components\/ad\/instances\/cjim278ye001qrnye99i4ut6r@published\" class=\"ad vp-1180-plus\" data-name=\"\/172968584\/nym.vulture\" data-sizes=\"300x600,300x250\" data-label=\"RightColTopMPU\" data-site=\"Vulture\">\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>a long talk Killer Mike Said What He Said Is the Southern rap legend a truth teller or a capitalist in activist\u2019s clothes? By Craig Jenkins, a Vulture music critic who also covers TV, comedy, and video games Updated Aug. 2, 2024 saved Save this article to read it later. Find this story in your<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[720,7800,3005,7798,1441,49,663,7799],"class_list":{"0":"post-9214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-a-long-talk","9":"tag-el-p","10":"tag-killer","11":"tag-killer-mike","12":"tag-mike","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-rap","15":"tag-run-the-jewels"},"brizy_media":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediarevive.com\/deutsch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}