Killer Mike, a beloved member of Run The Jewels, is well-known for his commitment to his solo career. His upcoming solo album, Michael, is set to be released next week. As such, he is featured as the cover star for Spin magazine. In an accompanying article written by Khari Nixon, the cost of bringing Killer Mike's vision for Michael to life is revealed. At the beginning of the project, Cuz Lightyear, a collaborator of Killer Mike, took on the official role of A&R. For this role, he received a salary. This is typical, but what is not typical is that the rapper paid it out of his own pocket.
By the time Killer Mike enlisted No ID to transform the project from a mixtape to an album, he had already spent over a quarter of a million dollars. As the project progressed, this amount increased to over half a million dollars. Typically, such a large bill would create issues with a record label. However, at the time, Killer Mike was not signed to any label. Eventually, he struck a deal with Loma Vista Records. They are known for distributing records by artists like Denzel Curry and Action Bronson. They will now distribute Michael upon its release. Luckily, the advance from this deal reimbursed the rapper for the money he had invested in making the album.
Killer Mike Says Comparisons To 50 Cent's Sales Hurt Him
In his interview with Spin, Killer Mike also revealed that 50 Cent may have unknowingly "damaged" his early career. However, that is simply because Mike compared his sales to 50's sales. The two were both on a major label. However, 50 Cent far outsold Killer Mike. "My first record deal damaged me. It made me afraid, it pulled me back. I hadn’t done terribly on the major," he said. "I just, you know, I came out the same year as 50, selling 10 million f*cking records." Killer Mike went on to say the experience made him realize he is more comfortable with independent artists.
Recently, Killer Mike gave fans a taste of what his new solo album has to offer. He has released two singles from the album thus far. First, there was "Don't Let The Devil" featuring El-P. Killer Mike followed that up with "Motherless" featuring Eryn Allen Kane. Furthermore, he also released videos for the tracks which conjured up imagery of summers in the rural South. The catchy production with the soul and emotional lyricism made for a strong first and second showing of the album. What do you thin