By Kyle Eustice for Rapstation.com
Killer Mike has announced his first new solo album in more than 10 years, Michael. The project serves as the follow-up to 2012's R.A.P. Music, which loosely served as the introduction to Run The Jewels, Mike's longtime duo with Company Flow MC/producer El-P. Coinciding with the announcement is the release of the album's inaugural single, "Don't Let The Devil" featuring El-P and Thankyougoodsir. Production duties are handled by El-P, No I.D. and Little Shalimar.
“RTJ is the X-Men, this is my Logan," Mike said. "My favorite group (US) with my favorite producers! It’s our 10 year anniversary and MICHAEL is an origin story so I wanted to start with El."
RTJ will embark on a 10 -year anniversary run this fall but are currently celebrating the release of their collaborative sneakers with Nike this week. Run The Jewels unveiled the collab last November with a series of Instagram posts. Killer Mike tweeted a close-up video of the sneakers in another Twitter post that announced the drop date of April 20, which just happens to be his birthday. The shoe features a two-tone upper black and pink upper, with jewel-styled Swooshes and yellow shoelaces in an effort to mimic the Run The Jewels logo.
Michael is scheduled to arrive on June 16. In the meantime, listen to "Don't Let The Devil" below. And don't forget to wish Killer Mike a very happy birthday!