He's a Mike Killer on the Low
Yea you've heard of Killer Mike or Mike Bigga and probably know him more for his effort on Bone Crusher's Never Scared...
Or even on his collabo with Outkast that ended up winning a Grammy...
Either way he's never had that single or that album that puts his name in everyone's mouth...not just people around the ATL or the South. Still, he's dropped a few tracks that have went completely unnoticed and have been easily ranked in the top 10 on some of my monthly song lists. Many would argue he's just another Freeway or Beanie Sigel from the South and while that's a pretty good argument since they all have a similar, grimy and abrasive way they go about telling their stories and spitting their verses, I'd argue he's better than both.
First case in point, a track that I came across last summer that samples a track that only the salt of the earth type of Hip Hop fans would know by SA-Ra's track Butterscotch Frequencies. Somethin' about the beat, the gruff, muffled chorus with the slow moving clap of the beat augmented by the high pitched chimes throughout the track. Now listening to it, it's got a subtle funk about it that is infectious. Mike Bigga killed the sample though, he flipped it and owned the track, give it a listen..
Killer Mike - Doin' It Well Great Track!!!
Moving on to the newer track that was up there with Drake and T.I.'s lead singles as top 5 Hip Hop tracks last month. What I like about it most is the Mohammed Ali samples at the beginning of the verses. This was taken from a poem around the time of his Rumble in the Jungle fight with George Foreman in 1974:
That's the type of ol skool swag is the brand that artists like Drake and Fabolous are bringing with their verses on a track by track basis. Slightly corny if you really think about it, but at the same time fun and creative enough with the imagery and rhyming that it's strangely inspirational in an on some other shit sorta way. Know what I'm sayin?
Before the last verse he continues with the Rumble quotes with Ali exclaiming..
While the beat does its part by bringing an inspirational tone, lyrically Mike brings it on the track too with lines like "I'm a fighter, I'm warrior a pugilist, I'm Ali talkin' Cash Money stupid shit" and "You don't know you better ask the click about me, movin' birds Matt Ryan, Steve Bartkowski, scramblin' with the yams like Cunningham, took it in for the win and cried I'm Goin HAM!!"
Pretty hype track that'll get you runnin' a lil' faster on the treadmill if ya know what I'm sayin'...
Killer Mike - Didn't I Tell Ya HYPE!!!!!
Or even on his collabo with Outkast that ended up winning a Grammy...
Either way he's never had that single or that album that puts his name in everyone's mouth...not just people around the ATL or the South. Still, he's dropped a few tracks that have went completely unnoticed and have been easily ranked in the top 10 on some of my monthly song lists. Many would argue he's just another Freeway or Beanie Sigel from the South and while that's a pretty good argument since they all have a similar, grimy and abrasive way they go about telling their stories and spitting their verses, I'd argue he's better than both.
First case in point, a track that I came across last summer that samples a track that only the salt of the earth type of Hip Hop fans would know by SA-Ra's track Butterscotch Frequencies. Somethin' about the beat, the gruff, muffled chorus with the slow moving clap of the beat augmented by the high pitched chimes throughout the track. Now listening to it, it's got a subtle funk about it that is infectious. Mike Bigga killed the sample though, he flipped it and owned the track, give it a listen..
Killer Mike - Doin' It Well Great Track!!!
Moving on to the newer track that was up there with Drake and T.I.'s lead singles as top 5 Hip Hop tracks last month. What I like about it most is the Mohammed Ali samples at the beginning of the verses. This was taken from a poem around the time of his Rumble in the Jungle fight with George Foreman in 1974:
"For this fight, I’ve wrestled with alligators,
I’ve tussled with a whale.
I done handcuffed lightning
And throw thunder in jail.
You know I’m bad."
-Mohammed Ali
That's the type of ol skool swag is the brand that artists like Drake and Fabolous are bringing with their verses on a track by track basis. Slightly corny if you really think about it, but at the same time fun and creative enough with the imagery and rhyming that it's strangely inspirational in an on some other shit sorta way. Know what I'm sayin?
Before the last verse he continues with the Rumble quotes with Ali exclaiming..
"Just last week, I murdered a rock,
Injured a stone, Hospitalized a brick.
I’m so mean, I make medicine sick"
-Mohammed Ali
While the beat does its part by bringing an inspirational tone, lyrically Mike brings it on the track too with lines like "I'm a fighter, I'm warrior a pugilist, I'm Ali talkin' Cash Money stupid shit" and "You don't know you better ask the click about me, movin' birds Matt Ryan, Steve Bartkowski, scramblin' with the yams like Cunningham, took it in for the win and cried I'm Goin HAM!!"
Pretty hype track that'll get you runnin' a lil' faster on the treadmill if ya know what I'm sayin'...
Killer Mike - Didn't I Tell Ya HYPE!!!!!
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