The controversial Killer Mike interview that became a big mistake
Some issues are sensitive and can be discussed calmly and civilly, but some topics are untouchable and lead to a media firestorm. Atlanta emcee Killer Mike knows all too well about the latter, having experienced it firsthand in 2018.
2018 was a strange year globally and was tense, to say the least. Not only was Donald Trump settling into his first term as US president, but there were an unbelievably high number of school shootings. A reality that put the US in a state of turmoil, leading to increased civil unrest.
One in particular, the Parkland High School shooting, became the fifth most deadly mass shooting event in the nation’s history. Still, although this was all to Killer Mike’s knowledge, in 2018, he sat down for an interview with the highly polarising National Rifle Association (NRA) to speak about the importance of the Second Amendment.
Furthermore, the interview was uploaded to the internet on the same day as the March for Our Lives rally, a large youth-led protest against gun ownership that even hit Washington DC. The march had support from well-known celebrities such as George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and Kanye West. Still juxtaposed with this was an interview by Killer Mike, in which he accused those wanting to change gun laws of being “the lackey of the progressive movement.”
Speaking with NRATV, the ‘Scientists & Engineers’ rhymer even admitted that he discouraged his children from participating in anti-gun protests, unveiling, “I told my kids on the school walkout, ‘I love you, [but] if you walk out that school, you can walk out my house!’ We are a gun-owning family, we are a family that my sister farms. We are a family where we’ll fish and hunt, but we are not a family that jumps on every single thing that an ally of ours does because of some stuff we just don’t agree with.”
However, upon receiving widespread backlash and experiencing a social media firestorm, Killer Mike attempted to put it into context, stating that he was there to speak about the meaning of guns to African Americans and how they can be of help and wasn’t using it as an opportunity to attack those on the March For Our Lives rally.
In a video he uploaded, the Atlanta native blamed the NRA for using his words as a weapon, asserting, “That interview was used a week later by NRATV to disparage a very noble campaign that I actually support. I’m sorry that an interview I did about a minority — black people in this country — and gun rights was used as a weapon against you guys.”
He continued, “That was unfair to you, and it was wrong, and it disparaged some very noble work you’re doing.” The lyricist even encouraged the student-led movement to keep pushing forward with their campaign, telling them to “Plot, plan, strategize, organize, and mobilize.”
Still, it was a massive blow to Killer Mike in the short term. Even his Run The Jewels partner, El-P, had to put out his own statement in which he supported Killer Mike’s right to his own opinion. Speaking of their duo, he insisted, “We are our own men, and we speak for ourselves individually.” But he backed Killer Mike also telling fans, “I can not and will not ever turn my back on that man. He wouldn’t turn his on me. Or you.”