Killer Mike released his first solo album in over a decade on June 16, then launched into a nationwide press run. After spending much of the past 10 years touring and creating music with El-P as Run the Jewels, it was finally time for Michael Render to reintroduce himself.
In Michael, he uses open-book narratives that lay bare his personal history and spirituality, forging connections with middle class listeners who he feels are too rarely represented by both artists and politicians.
His High & Holy Tour featuring The Midnight Revival, which reached Dallas on Friday night during its last weekend, was teased as an experience similar to the Black Pentecostal churches in which he grew up. He wanted the audience to leave with positive feelings after service. His tour crossed both coasts, but he also filled venues in the south, hitting cities like Birmingham, Ala., Charleston, S.C., and Norfolk, Va. His stop in Dallas was the second to last date.
The stage at House of Blues featured white flowers arranged around a pulpit and the DJ booth, a setting fit for sermons. The Midnight Revival, his gospel choir, came out dressed in green robes to Aretha Franklin’s “How I Got Over.” They danced and slapped tambourines and introduced our preacher for the evening, the man of the people.
“He’s Adamsville’s finest, an Atlanta legend,” a voice said from the speakers. “This is Miss Betty’s grandson. Jesus’ boy. A man that goes by many names, but tonight I bring to you: Michael.”
Killer Mike, dressed in a saintly all-white outfit, commented that people who paid for an “underground rap show” were mistaken. This was going to be a journey of praise and this was the revival.
For an hour and a half, Killer Mike performed the entirety of Michael, starting with “Down By Law.” He peppered in classics like “Kryptonite” and “Never Scared,” but the setlist always returned to his self-titled album. He used “Scientists & Engineers,” the collaboration with Future and Andre 3000 that he challenged DJs to play on the radio, to keep the program on track.
The Midnight Revival elevated his songs to another divine plane. He preached between tracks, using his words to set up the next or give commentary.
“I have met some really good men in this city that would help and aid a brother in any way could go,” he said. “I ain’t talking a couple when I say ‘brother,’ I’ve met great men in this city and the women who love them.”
Killer Mike is an outspoken critic and activist. After performing “Talk’n That Shit,” he repeated the last verse acapella, repeating the line, “I don’t give a f— who the president is if the president ain’t for me.”
“Slummer,” a reflection of a teenage relationship and how he went through his ex-girlfriend’s abortion with her, had him encouraging the men in the room to be more open about sex education. He used an example of being the bigger figure, to teach younger people how to use contraception. “I like to say to all women, no court has the autonomy to tell you what to do with your body,” he said.
The energy in the room reflected Killer Mike’s. Those fans who wanted to get crunk on a Friday night got their chance earlier in the set with “Ready Set Go” before Mike cut it off with a “Sike!” By mid-set, he locked in and took us to the A, delivering “Kryptonite” alongside Purple Ribbon All-Stars member BlackOwned C-Bone, the Big Boi song “Kill Jill,” and Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared.”
Killer Mike’s sermon continued with “Reagan,” using the former president’s name as a perpetuation of injustice, railing against everything his policies to his wife’s anti-drug commercials. The 11-year-old song segued into “Something for Junkies,” off Michael. It felt like little has changed since “Reagan” was released in 2012.
Whether you came to see Killer Mike from Run the Jewels or to participate in the deeply Southern roots of Michael, there was something for every fan. After pleasing RTJ fans with “Don’t Let the Devil,” he got emotional after “Motherless,” revealing a photo of his late mother on a wooden easel stand. He began speaking to her directly as if she were in the room. “If you’re blessed to still have a parent, no matter what your relationship (is), make sure you reach out cause they was young, they was dumb, and they don’t know what the f— they was doing just like you don’t so find some forgiveness in your heart,” he said. A sermon.
Mike blew smoke up toward the heavens during show closer “High & Holy,” a song that seeks atonement and calls for leading with the light of God. This was the Michael he wanted his fans to know. He expressed his gratitude and appreciation for his grandmother, who introduced him to church revivals. He thanked the audience for the fellowship who came to see him on a Friday night. The crowd came without regard to religion, race, or creed. It caused Killer Mike to shout into the microphone for the many reasons why he’s thankful.
“I want to thank the lord tonight. I am so thankful to be here. Me and [DJ] Trackstar used to play 100 people here. Thank you lord,” he said.
Before the house lights turned on, Mike welcomed to the stage The D.O.C., a Dallas native who famously lost his voice in 1989 and went on to pen songs for West Coast legends like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Kurupt.
“I want to thank the lord for The D.O.C. tonight,” he said. “I want to thank you for not giving up. I want to thank you for showing us to push through. And I love you and I honor you. Thank you. Amen.”
Mike thanked him for giving all those artists a voice, concluding his in-person worship service by sending the audience out into Victory Park with feelings of gratitude.
