Atlanta's New Tunnel-Boring Machine Named for a Rapper

"Earlier this year, Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management asked the city's residents to help name a new $11.6 million tunnel-boring machine the city was constructing to turn a local quarry into an emergency drinking-water reservoir," reports Kevin Lozano.

"The naming competition was narrowed down to three finalists: 'Driller Mike,' 'Peach Beast,' and 'Scarlett.' Today [Sept. 21], it was announced that “Driller Mike,” an homage to Atlanta resident, Killer Mike, won the contest," adds Lozano.

Fans of hip hop know Killer Mike as an politically and socially conscious rapper, who, in addition to his solo work, also performs as half the group Run the Jewels. Run the Jewels was featured in Planetizen's 2014 list of music about places. Killer Mike had a mainstream media moment at the end of 2015 when he met with and endorsed then-Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders. He also addressed the Democratic National Convention in July.

Lozano is sharing new first reported by the Associated Press. For the record, Killer Mike is quite pleased with the drill being named in his honor, as he told the Associated Press in his own words:

It was the funniest thing in the world to me. I didn't take it seriously, because I'm a rapper. Cities don't associate themselves with rappers. But I'm a business owner, a dad, an active member of politics in Atlanta, so I was honestly honored that people in Atlanta saw fit to name something after me.