After penning some of the more thought-provoking and moving essays on race relations in the U.S., Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me, has emerged as one of the preeminent voices in today's landscape of surface-level media. With that emergence has come new writing opportunities, including penning the next and future issues of Marvel's Black Panther comic.

In the video above, Coates sets the stage for Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet - Part 1, as the Run the Jewels track "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" plays in the background. Draw your own parallels between the science fiction narrative Coates explains and the American one he so often comments on, but with quotes like, "Two people who were in love but did not act on it out of duty to country. Well, country ain’t what it was before," it's hard to imagine the comic wasn't at least in part influenced by modern day politics.

What makes the RTJ choice all the more interesting, is that Killer Mike and Coates have exchanged dissenting opinions on presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, whom Mike has vocally endorsed. Coates on the other hand, wrote a piece questioning why, of all of Sanders' ambitious and minority-friendly propositions, he is against reparations. The dialogue was constructive with Coates tweeting, "For the record @KillerMike as sharp with the insights and the rhymes. Ain't gotta agree on everything. Shouldn't agree on everything."

There is clearly a mutual respect shared between Mike and Coates, which is further evidenced by Run the Jewels' involvement in the Black Panther rollout. Peep the video above to hear Coates explain the stakes for his upcoming comic.