Best local lyricist: Killer Mike

Killer Mike in Kirkwood
Photo credit:

KILLER MIKE is a rapper with an agenda, and usually those make for the most focused MCs. In Mike’s case, it makes him one of the best - both in Atlanta and beyond. Representing for the working class, his latest release, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II, is a precise continuation of the street knowledge he branded on the first installment. Songs such as “Good Bye (City of Dope),” “Pressure” (featuring Ice Cube) and “God in the Building” elevate his standing in hip-hop’s lyrical hierarchy. Killer Kill from Adamsville (as he’s affectionately known) has the storytelling, nonirritating braggadocio and metaphors to make even the most noted lyricist brush up his pen game. www.myspace.com/grindtimeonline. - Jacinta Howard



To view the complete 2008 Best of Atlanta/After Dark critics’ and readers picks, click here.

Photo by Maurice Garland