On a breezy late-September night, in what used to be the PHLI streetwear shop on Michigan Ave., King Louie's presence was towering over the venue as media, friends, and drink sponsors were trickling in to preview his long-awaited project, Life With Louie.

As the space started to fill up with patrons, so did the air with excitement —we’d all get an early preview of Louie’s first full-length ‘tape in almost six years. But if the Dro City representative was nervous or restless to be finally putting something out, he did not show it. Instead, he exuded his signature confidence throughout the whole night.

At first, he displayed it with cool composure. Even when technical difficulties delayed the event as the DJ tried to collect the right songs to play, Louie sat nonchalantly in front of the makeshift booth —taking a few shots straight out of a bottle and posing for photos—allowing his team to troubleshoot in the background.

Once the party got back on schedule, it didn’t take long for everybody in attendance to recognize that Louie was once again backing up his bravado with quality music. With each new track played, the crowd became more and more animated. Stamped by his skillfully nimble rhymes across production with dark undertones and door-busting kick drums, Louie reasserted himself as a force to be reckoned with.

Louie has always excelled in molding familiar sounds into his own idiosyncratic style, in Life With Louie he flexes his breadth of scope and command. “Rude Boi” pulls from Detroit’s frantic scene and “Si Si Señor” is a raucous TikTok-ready jam, but they never feel like anything else other than a King Louie record. Elsewhere, “Eye of the Target” and “Restless” are piercing street rap records that paint haunting pictures of his lived experiences while the lead single, “Kisses,” and “She Gone Let It” balance it all out with humorous hedonistic bars.

By the end of the night, Louie was visibly enjoying sharing this new music with people —while maintaining his stoic energy—by brandishing his smile often while emphatically rapping his lyrics.

The following day, Louie and I linked up for a brief interview and photoshoot. Donning a relaxed black sweatsuit fit with the hood pulled up over his head and dark shades covering his face, it was evident that he sees the business side that comes with his gift as a necessary evil. While taking our interview in stride, Louie respectfully fielded my questions with succinct and reserved answers.

Anyone with an understanding of what he’s had to deal with within the industry can sympathize with why —for someone who’s always preferred to keep to himself and his team—he’d rather do without it.

At the height of Drill's initial breakout moment in 2012, Louie signed with Epic Records through local label Lawless Inc.. The former failed to capitalize on Louie’s talent while the latter relationship with the artist turned sour soon after. When I asked him why it had taken so long to release a new project since 2016’s Tony 2, he replied with a concise and diplomatic, “business.” However, in a different interview last year, he mentioned that issues with his prior label had kept his classic mixtapes out of DSPs for years.

For over half a decade, Louie managed to serve his fans with loosies and videos but virtually did it as an independent artist while his catalog’s ownership was in limbo. Following an apparent resolution in 2021, everything from Chiraq, Drillinois to Tony 2 arrived on streaming channels to much fanfare amongst drill devotees, and Louie was able to dictate his music’s future.

For Louie, as much as for the fans, a proper new project was long overdue. “I always wanted to put out a project titled Life With Louie.” Louie said, “I wanted to do it for quite a while and it was just [to reflect] the time period of the last couple of years of life with Louie through the art.”

Life with Louie has certainly not been easy; those who’ve followed Louie’s career closely are also aware of the multiple attempts against his life. But in spite of all the business and personal turmoil he has faced —Louie has kept the same spirited approach to creating records as when he first started. “I love music. I'm in love with my music and my craft, so it's always exciting. Every day I wake up is exciting.”

One of Life With Louie’s most impressive feats is that it stays close to the sound attributed to the original drill movement while feeling fresh and of the moment. Over the years, the subgenre has been bastardized by different takes all over the world. Some are better versions than others. But this ‘tape is an important reminder that they all share a DNA thread that traces back to the late Pac-Man, who originated the term “drill” back in the late 2000s, and his close friend King Louie.

When inquired if he felt that Pac Man’s legacy wasn’t receiving the credit it deserved, Louie provided a level-headed response that nevertheless acknowledged history’s injustice. “Of course, I don't think it's been getting the respect because it's like nobody gives credit to who the credit should be given to, you know what I'm saying?” Louie shared. “Even if they don't give it to me, it's even worse that they don't acknowledge or even know who Pac Man is. But I still look at things as ‘let the good overpower the bad.’ It's still as big as it is. So that's also for bro's legacy.”

The King Is Back: King Louie's Newest Tape Marks his Return