Exclaim!'s Staff Picks:​ On 'MICHAEL,' Killer Mike Is a Braggadocios Blast

Maps and Desire, I Want to Turn into You came out — but his self-assured bravado is a big part of what makes his first solo album in more than a decade such a blast.

He gets a little more poignant and personal than he does with Run the Jewels, rapping about things like his late mother ("MOTHERLESS") and the time his teenage girlfriend got an abortion ("SLUMMER"). Even so, my favourite moment is when Mike links up with his RTJ bandmate El-P on "DON'T LET THE DEVIL" and they do what they do best over a banging, badass beat.


   
(Loma Vista)
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