Album Review: PL3DGE by Killer Mike

If all political rappers were a little more like Killer Mike, political rap might not be so irritating. While guys like Immortal Technique specialize in mouth-foaming sloganeering, Killer Mike comes across as a smart man with a short fuse. The hulking Atlanta rapper entered the game as Big Boi's bruiser friend, adding muscle to OutKast tracks like "Snappin' & Trappin'" and "The Whole World".

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The third installment in Killer Mike's I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind series finds the Atlanta rapper in top form, dropping street knowledge and social commentary as if he were Joe Budden or Pharoahe Monch, and at a rapid-fire, Twista-like pace. Putting the mass media on blast rarely comes so layered, but on the masterful "That's Life II," Mike proves he's the heir apparent to Chuck D. "Mr.

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Somewhere among the demand for social equality that you see in Chuck D, the aggressive delivery that DMX had, and Jeezy’s energy, stands Mike Bigga (a/k/a Killer Mike). On PL3DGE he shows off all sides, and brings forth arguably his most complete project to date. The album begins with the incredible energy that Mike Bigga is known for on “So Glorious.” Lyrics like, “To son me, you gonna have to get a Bun B / Because the Pimp C in me won’t let you punk me” are the type of subtle but dope lyrics that not just honor Mike’s forefathers but forewarn anyone who thinks his allegiance to his grind isn’t 24/7.

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For those of you who missed the should-have-been worldwide event of Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II‘s release, allow me a moment for a brief recap. Killer Mike received one of the best debut blessings an Atlanta rapper’s ever received when OutKast threw him on their Greatest Hits throw-in “The Whole World”, one of OutKast’s biggest crossover successes. But it was sort of a strange marriage that saw Mike spending a lot more time with Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon camp than Dungeon Family proper, and eventually Mike left on unamicable terms to forge his own path as the leader of his Grind Time crew.

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For his fifth solo album, Killer Mike returns with the third installment of his I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind series. Five years after the original, the ATLien is still able to provide a conscious spark while remaining street. On the opener, “So Glorious,” Bigga sets high standards with the claim, “Pledge 3 is here, I give you the magnum opus.” With his prose, Mike lives up to the proclamation, firing shots at political figures on cuts like “That’s Life II,” where he ethers Barack Obama and Glenn Beck.

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