Michael

The cover of Michael is a school yearbook photograph of Michael Render at nine years old. Someone has drawn on it: a halo above his head and a pair of devil's horns. The doodles turn a plain studio portrait from an Atlanta childhood into a small drawing of a split personality.

Killer Mike chose the image to introduce the person behind the name. It was his first solo album in over a decade, and he framed it as an origin story, built around his grandmother, the church and the streets of Collier Heights. The halo and horns describe the boy he remembers, one he called "that little mischievous" kid "who knows the word of God." Elsewhere he described him as "just a little mischievous, heart-of-gold." The cover holds both sides without choosing, which suits songs that move between sermon and street story. Looking at the photo years later, he joked: "I would've named me Handsome Mike!" About the boy himself he was simpler: "That's me for real."

Childhood photos are a long tradition on rap covers, from Illmatic onward, but the hand-drawn halo and horns give this one its own voice, closer to a kid defacing his own picture. The album won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2024, one of three awards Killer Mike took that night. Michael was released on 16 June 2023.