Page 74 - SHARP September 2022

KILLER MIKE STRIKES BACK
ONE HALF OF RAP DUO RUN THE JEWELS IS BACK WITH AN INCENDIARY NEW TRACK, “RUN,” THAT DECONSTRUCTS WHAT
IT MEANS TO BE A PATRIOT IN AMERICA
By Marc Basque
IF RAPDUORUNTHEJEWELSARETHEX-MEN,THEN“RUN,”THEFIRST
solo single in a decade from Atlanta’s own Killer Mike, a.k.a. Michael Render, follows the continuing adventures of Wolverine. “As a Black American, I have a set of experiences that are totally unique,” explains Render. “So when you hear that rebel on a Run the Jewels track, this record gives you an opportunity to understand what helped him become so fierce and so dedicated to the cause of the X-Men.”
“Run,” which dropped on Independence Day as a reminder of a freedom which has always been tentative to some, was accompanied by a provocative video directed by Montreal native Adrian Villagomez. “It was inspiring to me [simply] because a French Canadian, because he was not American, did not come with the same prejudices, and really shot it like it was an Afrofuturist video,” Render says.
The striking and visceral short film depicts a young Black man running through a metaphysical war zone where modern-day allies stand alongside Black historical figures like Frederick Douglass, Shirley Chisholm, and Fannie Lou Hamer. While the subject matter sounds grim, “Run” is suffused with hope, from the soulful church organs that open the video to the soaring horns throughout the track, which seem to herald a better tomorrow – a future where evil is, if not fully conquered, certainly in retreat.
SHARP spoke to Killer Mike about the new track, his political am- bitions, and the prosecution of Young Thug, Gunna, and YSL.
74 SEPTEMBER 2022
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM
CULTURE
PHOTO BY JONATHAN MANNION