The part-time jewel runner is strapped and flexing in his latest set of visuals.
It seems we might be getting more solo stuff from Killer Mike soon. Following his previous single with Young Thug, “Run,” the Run the Jewels frontman has just released a Seck-directed video for his track “Talk’n That S**t!” It’s not the more left-field, socially charged, El-P-produced mayhem and chaos that he’s most associated with now thanks to their duo, but it’s a style and swagger that Killer Mike is more than comfortable with.
After a vocal intro from Jamie Foxx, the video becomes a visual tribute to the people and communities in his hometown of Atlanta, as the music video switches from locale to locale focusing on different people. Mike himself rarely exits the small studio that he’s rapping in throughout the video, but the distance makes the focus on the community the main pull for the visuals.
“The song is self explanatory,” the MC explained in a statement. “With the video, I wanted show the freedom and beauty in being able to turn up in spite of all the f**k-s**t. That upsets the bourgeoisie even more—in spite of all your criticisms, we’re gonna live free and stay lit.” This song and “Run” are Mike’s first solo releases since 2012’s R.A.P. Music.
The Atlanta ambassador highlighted various community organizations in Atlanta in the music video, which he has emphasized on social media. One of them, and the first of five to receive a recorded shoutout from Killer Mike, is PAWKids at Grove Park. Mike passionately told followers that it helps children “immensely.” Other organizations in the video are Bass Reeves Gun Club, Next Level Boys Academy, Youth Build, and New Georgia Project.
We see these organizations at meetings, social spaces, outside dancing, in parking lots, and just going about their lives around their neighborhoods. Various citizens hold guns in front of the American flag, the camera pays a visit to the strip club, and one of the video’s final shots is a sticker on a street sign that reads “Rap lyrics are not a crime.” Killer Mike has been one of the most vocal artists who have used Young Thug’s incarceration and the YSL case to criticize the legal biases against rap music and the court system’s unjust metrics for what constitutes as trial evidence. On the topic of politics, he stressed the importance of voting on a recent performance of “Run” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
He was also one of a few rappers (including E-40, Meek Mill, YG, and more) who were present at the signing of California’s Decriminalizing Artistic Expression act, which bans rap lyrics from being used as court evidence. Mike’s multimedia resumé is also building thanks to a recent cameo on the Netflix show Ozark.
While the 47-year-old is not the most prolific of solo artists, he’s had more than a few songs and albums to promote as of late, so maybe he’s gearing up towards something. There’s the upcoming Latin remix of RTJ4 as well as the aforementioned Thug track and music video.
Given Mike’s penchant for classic hip-hop skill and community activism, it’s no surprise that the music video for “Talk’n That S**t!” sees him and his city do exactly that. Check out the track on your preferred streaming service below.
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