Killer Mike’s favourite Atlanta rappers of all time
Killer Mike is one of the most consistent Atlanta rappers of the past 20 years. The 50-year-old entered the game in the early 2000s with a feature on ‘Snappin’ and Trappin’ from Outkast’s classic Stankonia album. Although his work has always been respected, his reputation turned up a notch after forming Run The Jewels with El-P, then leading to three Grammy wins with 2023’s solo album, Michael.
As a member of the Dungeon Family, Mike knows a thing or two about the best rappers to come out of his hometown. He’s been around some of the best in the business and witnessed certain artists changing the landscape of hip-hop in the city and the genre as a whole. Mike sees ’90s groups like Kriss Kross as paving the way for a lot of artists, while also nodding to prominent 2000s stars like T.I.
“I don’t know who’s the number one Atlanta rapper,” he told Complex. “I know Outkast and Organized Noize changed the trajectory. I know Kriss Kross and Jermaine Dupri and what they did broke the ceiling open for us for everything else to come after that. I know every phase of the way we have influenced, whether that’s T.I. and redefining our sound with trap music.”
He’s also quick to give credit to Dopeboy Ra (formerly Young Capone), who passed away in 2023 after being reported missing. “Rest in peace, people like RaRa, who never got his proper shot,” he said. “I think Atlanta is a phoenix. Our logo is a phoenix, and every two or three years, we burn ourselves down, and then we come up with something in new creation to rise out of those ashes.”
Mike has collaborated with Future, Outkast, T.I., Young Thug, 2 Chainz, JID, and many other major Atlanta names throughout his career. He’s willing to work with both legends and newcomers of the genre – the type of artist who isn’t too proud and is simply working for the love of hip-hop.
Despite giving flowers to others in the Atlanta hip-hop space, Mike is still extremely confident in his own ability. In his opinion, he can rap with the best of the best. No matter what type of MC he’s put up against, he believes he can do it all. “I’ll let you guys argue over who’s number one, but I’ll tell you this: stylistically, you’ve never seen an Atlanta rapper that’s mastered as many styles as me,” he explained.
He added, “You’ve never seen an Atlanta rapper who could rap with Black Thought on Monday, rap with Bone Crusher on Tuesday, get on there with Freddie Gibbs on Wednesday, pop up next to whoever your favourite rapper is in on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and show up and show out every single time.”
Mike is well aware that he doesn’t always get his due when it comes to people selecting their favourite Atlanta rappers. It’s as expected. But something he does know is that he won’t be out-rapped on a song. “Whoever the 13 n*ggas in front of me are, you put them on a track with me, its going to be danger,” he declared. “I ain’t took no L to Andre 3000 on no songs. That’s my dog, but I ain’t never took no L.”