Killer Mike has dropped two emotional new videos that touch on the loss of his mother and grandmother – one for the previously released song "Don't Let the Devil" featuring El-P and thankugoodsir and another for "Motherless" ft. Eryn Allen Kane. The songs appear on his forthcoming album, MICHAEL, due out on June 16.
The two-part video (produced by Landon Kavolick and directed by Davi Peña) is somber and emotional, as Mike weaves the story about two major losses in his life, his mother and grandmother, with poignant lyrics that show how deeply the losses resonate. The video concept and treatment was created by El-P, and features a raw, real display of emotion from Mike as he processes the deaths of the two women who shaped him into the man he is today. At the end of part two, Mike is greeted by well-known Atlanta native, Dr. taj anwar baoll, who is initiated/crowned Iyalosa Obatala in the Lucumi/ Santeria tradition and Iyanifa in traditional Isese (Ifa), as his mother passes over to the next life.
“When I first played Dion (No I.D.) the album he said two things—one of which was that I was essentially holding something back and that was the song ‘Motherless,’” Mike said in a statement. “It was the last song made for the album because I hadn’t uttered these words [“my momma dead”] out loud since her transitioning. When I tell the story of my mother the tales told include one when I walked in on her attempting to take her own life—it gets to the heart of how deeply sensitive an artist and human she was. She survived, was diagnosed bi-polar and depressed; she fought that until the day she died. She lived a beautifully rich outlaw of a life and I am honored to show her as the total beautiful badass she was.”
Mike is set to head out on tour in support of his upcoming album, which he's said is his most personal to date. The High & Holy North American tour will cover hits from his much-anticipated forthcoming effort “as well as classic hits from R.A.P. Music, PLEDGE, and more." The tour is billed as a night of "celebration and soulful connection."
Check out the videos for "Motherless" and "Don't Let The Devil" below.
