Every week, Consequence’s Songs of the Week column looks at great new tunes from the last seven days and analyzes notable releases. Find our new favorites and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for other great songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Killer Mike embraces the plot with a song designed for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Soul beats or synth beats, Killer Mike can do it all. Earlier this month, the Grammy winner and Run the Jewels member unveiled a gospel-inspired project titled Michael & the Mighty Midnight: Songs for Sinners and Saints, which acts as an epilogue to his deeply personal 2023 project, MICHAEL. The trademark flow, distinct energy, and overall musical fingerprint he’s honed for decades are all over the project.

But today, Killer Mike steps back closer to the space where many listeners may have first become familiar with him. The new song, “Detonator,” was produced by fellow Run The Jewels member and longtime collaborator El-P, whose presence on the song is immediately apparent. Rock D the Legend, also a member of his inner circle, jumps in for the hook. “I knew exactly who to call,” Killer Mike said of the production process.

“Detonator” was actually developed for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Mike and El-P certainly didn’t phone this one in, even if it was inspired by the incredibly popular video game franchise. It’s a reminder that great art can come from all kinds of creative starting points, and video games feel like one of the last frontiers in that regard — award-winning adaptations like The Last of Us have aided in that process of critical reassessment. But on “Detonator,” Killer Mike and El-P are in their most ’90s-feeling bag, leaning into the throbbing boom bap foundation that feels especially appropriate for a game set in that decade.

On first listen, it’s crystal clear why the creators of the new Call of Duty game would have wanted Killer Mike to be the one to bring a new song forward; political backdrops exist across almost all of his work. “You pray for peace and they give you war; you pray for more,” he raps here. With steely synths and that all-encompassing beat propelling the song forward, “Detonator” expands far beyond the categorical confines of video game soundtrack.

— Mary Siroky
Associate Editor