Killer Mike has released a fiery new track, ‘Detonator’, which was produced by his Run The Jewels collaborator El-P – check out the track below.
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Last night (August 29), Killer Mike unveiled ‘Detonator’, a track written specially for the anticipated video game Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6. The track also features Rock D The Legend, while El-P’s only created the beats on the track.
Killer Mike raps on the track, urging Americans to acknowledge the “dire” state of the country: “The empire, we are led by them liars / Wake the fuck up right now, ‘cuz times is getting dire.”
‘Detonator’ marks Killer Mike’s first release since he dropped the album ‘Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival: Songs For Sinners And Saints’ earlier this month. The album served as the follow-up to the Grammy-winning 2023 record ‘Michael’.
Earlier this year, Mike was detained by Los Angeles police, which stemmed from an altercation with a security guard outside the Grammy pre-telecast. Although he was initially charged with misdemeanour battery, the city’s Attorney’s Office later decided not to pursue any criminal charges. Instead, the Run The Jewels star completed community service.
The rapper previously spoke to NME about ‘Michael’, saying the record “was an opportunity for people to know fully who I am”. He explained: “I realised this is 20 years in the game and people have never met the persona of Michael – they’ve met Killer Mike, who was named in a rap battle at 16 and is the product of a nine-year-old’s daydream of being an MC… They’ve known me as one half of one of the greatest rap groups ever, Run the Jewels, but they hadn’t met Michael.
“With Covid happening and with me getting incredibly sick for two weeks before they even named it Covid and seeing people leave too soon, I thought: ‘Man, what a shame it’d be for me to die and people not get introduced to me. So while I’m here, let me give opportunity for people to know fully who I am.’”
As for Run The Jewels, the duo have yet to release a new album since 2020’s ‘RTJ4’, which was crowned NME‘s Album of the Year. In a glowing five-star review of the album, Will Lavin wrote for NME: “Easily Mike and El-P’s best work to date, ‘RTJ4’ is protest music for a new generation; they’re armed in the uprising with a torrent of spirited rallying calls. And they are fearless in their approach to holding middle America and its apathetic leaders accountable. This is less ‘What’s Going On’ and more ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ — although there’s no doubt that Marvin Gaye would enjoy hearing Killer Mike’s last words for the firing squad: ‘Fuck you, too.‘”