It's been a whirlwind year and a half for Killer Mike following the release, critical acclaim and subsequent awards run for his long-gestating passion project Michael, and now he's keeping the momentum going with a new song, Humble.
Contrary to the title, Mike is taking a victory lap on the song, rhyming about his recent accomplishments and status in both Atlanta and the rap game at large over a soulful beat co-produced by his longtime A&R Cuz Lightyear. And why shouldn't he? “Humble” comes on the heels of another honor for Michael—it won Best Album at the BET Awards last night, following the Grammys sweep that Mike pulled off this past February.
Of course, that night was temporarily marred by Mike's arrest during the ceremony—which made him winning one last award for it in the very same building four months later even sweeter, a detail he made sure to highlight in a fiery and typically impassioned acceptance speech. Mike addresses the arrest on “Humble,” rapping that despite being treated like an “animal” he walked “out the door with my head up and handcuffs with pride/Cause all of my heroes wore handcuffs, the FBI shot some of them and they died.”
Back in February, Mike spoke with GQ shortly after his arrest and subsequent release and shared his mindset during the ordeal. “…Man, you'll find yourself in a position where it's just you and God. I was just by myself, and I was just thankful I took time to thank God and to say, I appreciate the blessings you've given me. And after a few hours, man, I got out and I went partied and had fun. And I was glad that I had used those three hours to be thankful to God and to be calm and to meditate. Because the very next morning, I got a call that my child, after being on the list for three years, finally got his kidney. And I can just truly tell you that God is real.”
In a December 2023 interview, Mike also spoke with GQ about his intention to keep his foot on the gas following Michael's successful rollout, sharing that he has been in the studio and that “more is coming, not less," with the stipulation that the album “still has a lot of life left.” True to those words, “Humble” is being billed as the first offering that will come from a project acting as an “epilogue” to Michael. Sounds like we're getting a lot of new Mike music in the weeks to come. Pray for his haters.