As far as political minds in hip hop go, Killer Mike is one of the all-time greats. He's spoken his mind on current events both in his music and online, and now he's followed The Game's lead and written an editorial about Freddie Gray's murder and the ensuing protests in Baltimore. It centers on he fact that he was at the White House correspondents dinner at the same time the protests began; check out an excerpt below and the full thing on Billboard.
"I tweeted and Instagrammed so my fans could share this incredible night -- and as I followed social media, I saw that Baltimore was burning. As I sat there and watched my timeline, I felt helpless, hopeless: “Here I am at this lavish event -- the most powerful man in the world is black, and people like him are being killed by the citizens who are paid to protect them.” I left the dinner numb."
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"For the people of Baltimore -- I don’t criticize rioting because I understand it. But after the fires die down: organize, strategize and mobilize. Like Ferguson, you have an opportunity to start anew. I don’t have a solution because whoever’s there will have to come up with it. But we need community relations: riots are the language of the unheard.
I’m grateful to have been invited to the dinner, and Sway let me know how important it was that we both were there, representing hip-hop. But as I got into the car at the night’s end, and the driver played “Pressure,” a song by me and Ice Cube, I could not help but wonder if this country will ever truly be what is promised in our Constitution for people who look like me."
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