VIDEOS PAY TRIBUTE TO MIKE’S LATE MOTHER AND MARKS THE DEBUT OF NEW SONG MOTHERLESS FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM MICHAEL
 
SHARES ALBUM ART AND TRACKLIST
 
WATCH THE FILMS HERE:
DON’T LET THE DEVIL (PART I) / MOTHERLESS (PART II)

TORONTO, ON – May 11, 2023 – Killer Mike has shared a two-part short film tribute to his late mother, comprising a pair of songs from his forthcoming album, MICHAEL (out June 16 via Loma Vista Recordings), including his most recent single, DON’T LET THE DEVIL (feat EL-P & thankugoodsir), and the previously-unreleased song, MOTHERLESS. In keeping with the album’s nakedly autobiographical nature, the two-parter kicks off with Mike digging through keepsakes in his mother’s Atlanta home when he discovers and smokes a joint among her belongings that unlocks a wave of memories. DON’T LET THE DEVIL, directed by Davi Peña based on a treatment by EL-P, is a joyful and nostalgic homage to the parties Mama Niecy used to throw in the family’s home.
 
Mike notes: “El’s heard me talk about these bohemian-artsy-disco infused parties my mom used to throw when I was kid. I’d hear everything there- that’s where I first heard Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow & Whodini. So when we were trying to figure out what the video for DON’T LET THE DEVIL should be – Jaime came back with this treatment written out and I cried at the end. What’s even crazier is he didn’t know what we were doing for MOTHERLESS either but that’s the magic I guess.”
 
MOTHERLESS, directed by Shane Smith, is a somber tribute to the impact she had on all around her, culminating in a recreation of the moment Mike rapped the phrase “my Momma dead” in the recording studio, realizing immediately after that it was the first time he had spoken those words aloud.
 
“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 explains. “It was the last song made for the album because I hadn’t uttered these words 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 honoured to show her as the total beautiful badass she was.”
 
He continues, “These aren’t meant to be sad videos or eulogies. This is a celebration of a BAD ASS BLACK GIRL from the westside of Atlanta. She’s been affectionately called OG Mama Niecy by the many people she helped stay on their path.”
 
To complement Killer Mike's very personal, fan driven two-part presentation of his music videos, DON’T LET THE DEVIL and MOTHERLESS, BET/MTV also participated in the launch of his new music. Hosting a broadcast premiere for MOTHERLESS the same day, with hourly plays across six of their network channels (BET Jams, BET Soul, Yo! MTV, MTVU, MTV Live, and MTV Biggest Pop) and release day profile on Paramount's Times Square Billboard.
 
Killer Mike recently announced a 19-date U.S. tour in support of his forthcoming solo album, MICHAEL – his first major solo outing since touring in support of his 2012 album, R.A.P Music. Tickets for the tour – which kicks off July 10 in Birmingham and makes its way across the U.S., including an appearance at Pitchfork Music Festival and a performance at New York City’s iconic Apollo Theatre, before wrapping up August 5 in New Orleans – are on sale now. See full dates below.
 
MICHAEL TRACKLIST:
1. Down By Law
2. Shed Tears
3. RUN
4. N Rich
5. Talkin Dat SHIT!
6. Slummer
7. Scientists & Engineers
8. Two Days
9. Spaceship Views
10. Exit 9
11. Something For Junkies
12. Motherless
13. Don’t Let The Devil
14. High And Holy
 
UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
July 10 - BIRMINGHAM, AL - Saturn
July 11 - CHARLESTON, SC - Music Farm
July 13 - ATLANTA, GA - Tabernacle
July 14 - NASHVILLE, TN - Ryman
July 15 - CHARLOTTE, NC - Underground            
July 17 - NORFOLK, VA - NorVa
July 18 - WASHINGTON DC - Lincoln Theater          
July /20 - NEW YORK, NY - Apollo
July 21 - PHILADELPHIA, PA - Franklin Music Hall                    
July 23 - CHICAGO, IL - Pitchfork Festival
July 24 - MINNEAPOLIS, MN - First Avenue       
July 27 - SEATTLE, WA - Showbox
July 28 - PORTLAND, OR - Crystal Ballroom
July 29 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Fillmore       
July 31 - LOS ANGELES, CA - Ace Theater
August 1 - PHOENIX, AZ - Van Buren       
August 3 - HOUSTON, TX - House of Blues
August 4 - DALLAS, TX - House of Blues
August 5 - NEW ORLEANS, LA - Joy Theater

Watch DON’T LET THE DEVIL here
Watch the video for MOTHERLESS here
Pre-save MICHAEL here
Watch the video for TALK’N THAT SHIT! here
Watch the video for RUN (feat. Young Thug) here

DOWNLOAD – MICHAEL album artwork
DOWNLOAD – MOTHERLESS single artwork
DOWNLOAD – hi-res photo