Mike Will Made-It returns with star-studded 'R3SET.' It's his first solo album in nearly a decade

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly a decade has passed since Mike Will Made-It’s last solo album. The hip-hop super producer spent much of that time learning, expanding his business endeavors and rebuilding his musical vault after his hard drives were stolen.

“We all go through ups and downs and bumps and turbulence and all that kind of stuff during whatever journey,” said the 36-year-old Grammy-winning producer. “I was able to do a lot of reflection and look at the landscape of the game … just learn a lot and put it into perspective.”

The producer of Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” and co-producer of Beyoncé's “Formation” put all of his newly acquired knowledge into “R3SET,” his 15-track star-studded album out Friday.

Following 2017’s “Ransom 2,” this new project features contributions from rap megastar J. Cole, as well as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, arguably the hottest street rapper out. There are also heavyweights like 2 Chainz, Ludacris, T.I. and CeeLo Green paired on some tracks with newer artists like Monaleo and Teezo Touchdown.

During his unintentional solo hiatus, Mike Will still created music, including crafting the 2018 “Creed II” soundtrack, collaboration projects with Yo Gotti and Trouble, and co-producing three songs on Miley Cyrus’s “Endless Summer Vacation” album which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2023. He also built an 80,000-square-foot (7,432-square-meter) compound used as a creative event space in Atlanta, that also houses his state-of the-art studio.

“If I know this recipe, and I know it’s gonna work, and I know I gotta put it in the Crock-Pot and it gotta sit in there … I just gotta deal with you telling me, ’Man, it’s taking too long,” he explained. “But I know once you taste it, it’s gonna slap you upside the head … I took the same approach with the album.”

The man who joined a rapping Miley Cyrus with Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa on “23” spoke with The Associated Press about the “Flowers” singer, unanswered phone calls and trap beats created with AI. This interviewed has been edited for brevity and clarity.

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: I lost my hard drives, that was a big one. I fulfilled my label deal. … And then took a step away. I ain't know I was gonna take this long.

That’s the thing about this industry, too: it’s like, when you're hot, everybody's in your face, they’re your ‘bro,’ they’re rocking with you. And then, if you’re not on them charts or you’re not hot, the conversation’s just a little different. You’re not able to reach the same folks at the same time. That kind of gets discouraging.

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: It’s surprising, but that’s when you’re not looking at it like business … This corporation is just doing what they have to do to build and expand. Just because me as a corporation is dormant right now … it might not make sense for this corporation to (collaborate).

MIKE WILL MADE IT: I gotta represent for the town, for this sound that I grew up on … I filled that position way back in ‘07, ’08. So now, 2026, like no matter how big the (expletive) gets, every project that I ever went into, from Rihanna to Beyoncé to Miley to Jay-Z to Kendrick, I’m always thinking about that sound.

Even with Miley, I grew up on MTV AM, like crossover records, pop records … doing that record (“23”) with Miley was like a perfect bridge to that. … At that time, we were trying to create a new genre called trap pop … we still were thinking to keep that DNA in there.

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: I think I got three songs on her last album. … Me and Miley got a boatload of records. So, it’s like this specific record, I didn’t really call anybody and say, ‘Yo, I need you for this album.’ I literally just been working.

MIKE WILL MADE-IT: I’m one-of-one … I don’t think they ever said AI knows how to do magic. You feel me? They can’t do God’s work.

Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.

Mike WiLL Made-It poses for a portrait on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Mike WiLL Made-It poses for a portrait on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Mike WiLL Made-It poses for a portrait on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Mike WiLL Made-It poses for a portrait on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday ordered the release of 250 political prisoners as part of a deal with Washington to lift some U.S. sanctions, the latest step in the isolated leader’s effort to improve ties with the West.

Lukashenko pardoned the prisoners after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, in the Belarus capital of Minsk.

Coale hailed the release as a “significant humanitarian milestone” and a testament to Trump’s “commitment to direct, hard-nosed diplomacy.”

The last time U.S. officials met with Lukashenko, in December, Washington announced the easing of some sanctions, and 123 prisoners were released and sent to Ukraine and Lithuania.

A close ally of Russia, Minsk has faced isolation for years. Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been sanctioned repeatedly by Western countries — both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Lukashenko’s rule was challenged after a 2020 presidential election, when tens of thousands poured into the streets to protest a vote they viewed as rigged. They were the largest demonstrations since Belarus became independent following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

In an ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.

Five years after the mass demonstrations, Lukashenko won a seventh term last year in an election that the opposition called a farce.

More recently, Belarus has freed some political prisoners to try to win favor with the West. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, Lukashenko has released dozens of prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key dissident figures Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Viktar Babaryka and Maria Kolesnikova.

Trump spoke to Lukashenko by phone in August 2025 after one such release and even suggested a face-to-face meeting in what would be a big victory for the Belarusian leader, who has been dubbed “Europe’s Last Dictator.”

There are currently more than 1,100 political prisoners in Belarus, according to the country’s most prominent human rights group, Viasna.

In this photo released by Belarusian presidential press service, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, right, and U.S. Presidential envoy John Coale, second right, talk during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP)

In this photo released by Belarusian presidential press service, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, right, and U.S. Presidential envoy John Coale talk during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP)