Many people not familiar with hip-hop beyond the pop charts and gossip columns (or “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”) came to know Killer Mike for his impassioned, thoughtful campaigning on behalf of Bernie Sanders. But in the hip-hop community, his bona fides as a serious thinker and activist are older than that, and he’s been adding to them in speaking out on the issue of police brutality and the violence inflicted on protestors. He recently sat down with Atlanta radio station 107.9 to reflect on steps he thinks are needed for true change to occur in this country.
Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman.
After the hostess apologizes for using Killer Mike as a pick-me-up to help her make sense of and find calm behind the rash of killings and the assaults that protesters have faced in their wake, the solemn rapper replies, “I don’t know how good I’ll be at picking anybody up today. I’m angry, I’m hurt, I’m disgusted, I’m ashamed to be a part of this country. I’m just filled with hurt and grief. It is time to get angry and do something.”
After making clear that Atlanta’s policemen and policewomen are a different breed than what he’s encountered elsewhere in the country (“I have survived more encounters with police here [in Atlanta],”) he states that economic strategies in dealing with oppression are key, and lays out just how well-planned boycotts work – you have to be willing to undergo inconveniences, stay in it for the long haul so there’s a real economic hit, and then leverage that into the change you want. The whole while, the fatigue and pain in his voice are palpable. See the whole thing below.
