The Sanest Commentator on Ferguson: How About a Rapper Named Killer Mike?

On last night's episode of The Independents, the rapper Killer Mike—he explains the name in the clip—came on to talk about the events in Ferguson and the militarization of police (the latter of which he has several in his family). I had not previously been aware of Mike's work, but the man seems to have a promising future in cable news. Take a look:

More Indies clips at this link.

Comments

[Citizen Nothing]

Latest cop follies: Cops shoot and kill "Cops" crew member in Omaha.

[Idle Hands]

More than 30 shots were fired, officials said. The fatal shots apparently were fired by an Omaha police officer. Officials said it appears the only shots fired came from police.
Officials said the robbery suspect apparently had an Airsoft gun, a type of gun that often looks like an actual firearm.

wow.

[Citizen Nothing]

Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do?

[Bill Dalasio]

watcha gonna do
watcha gonna do
with the doughnut crew...

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I admit I'm having trouble mustering up sympathy at the moment.

Am I a bad person?

[Citizen Nothing]

So could we say you endorse cop-on-"Cops" violence?

[Juice]

Did anyone else have an autoplay video on that page that would not stop replaying no matter what? Pressing pause did nothing.

[GILMORE]

If you're going to link things up, at least give your guest a little shout out...

Killer Mike (for the last 2 years or so) is 1/2 of an act called 'Run The Jewels' along with (ex)Company' Flow's El-P*...

(*sometimes described as 'the Other Greatest White MC of All Time')

[Sudden]

Saw El-P last year out here at the Echo and Killer Mike made a cameo (as well as Despot). It was a great show.

Seeing Killer Mike on TI is pretty dope.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"sometimes described as 'the Other Greatest White MC of All Time"

I imagine that the other one is Mix Master Mike?

[Xeones]

Aesop Rock, yo.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Mix Master Mike, do you have any comment?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XflfiylNNXY

[GILMORE]

Dude, if you don't know the difference between an MC and a DJ, you should probably stay out of the conversation.

Also, anyone other than you already knew the allusion was to Eminem.

As for other 'white rappers' (some named below)... they are usually best not even mentioned.

It is a bit of a 'tallest midget' contest. although i think we should all remember that 3rd Bass was fucking dope.

[The Late P Brooks]

Sorry, but when I hear "rapper" I am as interested in listening as when I hear "from the Center for American Progress".

I'm a bigot. Sue me.

[Citizen Nothing]

Yes. Yes you are. But you're OUR bigot.

[Almanian!]

OUR bigot

Collectivist! Fuck off, slaver!!

/kidding

[Warty]

That is definitionally bigoted, yes.

[Sudden]

I'd encourage you to listen to some of the stuff put out by Killer Mike, El-P, and Run the Jewels as a combo act. While mainstream rap tends to be an abomination of money worship and derogatory references to women, underground acts like Run The Jewels tend, while not completely devoid of such excesses, tend towards something that you may appreciate.

[GILMORE]

"While mainstream rap tends to be an abomination of money worship and derogatory references to women,"

backpacker

really , nothing is lamer than someone who attempts to defend 'rap music' by throwing 99% of it under the bus and suggesting that "the good stuff" is the underground/commerically-unviable stuff that is mostly appreciated by white suburban kids.

People who think they hate rap 'in general' would most likely hate 'pretentious underground rap' even more.

just saying. 🙂 I tend to just tell rap-haters to suck a big dick.

[Sudden]

Fair enough. I have my appreciation for some of the mainstream stuff, usually due to lyricist quality or overall production value. I can respect the hood-poet style of a guy like Tupac (whose voice is also one of the most distinct and compelling rap has ever produced). The portions of the mainstream rap world I really detested were the dirty south/Nelly acts of the early 2000s.

[GILMORE]

(Gasp!)

But but but Ludacris!?.

You may sniff at the 'big willy' stuff, but dammit if you were all drunk up in some club you wouldn't start acting like a fool if someone played 'hot in here'. Club music is what it is. I personally think people will hear this and laugh at how awful it is... then be the first to be waving their shirts around and humping the air when given the appropriate opportunity.

[C. S. P. Schofield]

Yeah, but 99"% of.poular culture is almost always crap. Sure, we remember the music of our youth fondly (or most people do), but how much of it do we really remember?

I won ths argument with my folks early; they were skocked by "drug lyrics" in rock. I pointed out that "I get a kick out of you" had reference to cocaine and "Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue" was nothing else but.

They dropped it

[GILMORE]

Would it make a difference if he were a classical cellist, or (ick) *Lawyer*?

I confess, I'm bigoted against lawyers. But when did rappers ever hurt anyone?!

[Swiss Servator, Bern baby Bern]

But when did rappers ever hurt anyone?!

At any given award show?

[GILMORE]

*KANYE PROVISO = not being an actual human, he doesn't count.

*notes = Sidney Bechet once got into a gunfight in Paris.

also, GG Allin used to throw his own poop at people.

I think we need to give rappers a break. if they shoot each other from time to time, its part of an evolutionary process.

[Almanian!]

PS I think this is cool:

a) that you had Killer Mike on the show and
b) his take on things.

Although that means you've instilled a little, teeny, tiny sliver of hope back into my cold, black heart, causing me to delay offing myself again, thus subjecting myself to the ennui and derp that is modern life for a few more days.

You bastards...

[sarcasmic]

There's a frood who really knows where his towel is!

[Loki]

Don't forget to bring a towel! ...You wanna get high?

[The Late P Brooks]

But when did rappers ever hurt anyone?!

They hurt my ears.

[Juice]

I caught that segment actually and I wanted to give a nice golf clap for the way Killer Mike was able to describe the nuances of the cop problem so succinctly. I think he put it better than most have done so far and did it in a couple of sentences.

[The Late P Brooks]

I'm sure there are plenty of people who would rather hurl themselves off a bridge into the path of an oncoming train than listen to Wayne Hancock or BR-549.

Something or other makes the world go around.

[Swiss Servator, Bern baby Bern]

Money...Money

Money makes the world go around
...the world go around
...the world go around.
Money makes the world go around
It makes the world go 'round.

A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound
...a buck or a pound
...a buck or a pound.
Is all that makes the world go around
That clinking, clanking sound...
Can make the world go 'round

[GILMORE]

Money is the sweetest hangover....

[GILMORE]

You'd be surprised.

Most people are able to maintain a strong priority of taste and have deep appreciation for one style of thing over others *completely without* denigrating any other forms of art as 'inferior' by contrast.

I mean, you dont' really hear bluegrass fans saying that chamber music is for ignorant faggots. Or that while most people agree disco was in the whole, regrettable, it isn't blamed for the concurrent social ills plaguing inner city minorities.

Whereas 'rap music'/hiphop does really get slapped around in public by cultural snobs as being uniquely-inferior in ways that no other form of music ever has.

And I think its pretty obviously cultural bigotry rather than anything to do with music.

[Capo]

Why Kennedy, I believe you were a bit smitten with him. 🙂

[Also Ran]

I had not previously been aware of Mike's work

Matt: FYI, Reason has covered Killer Mike on at least one occasion in the print mag and possibly also other times on HnR.
http://reason.com/archives/201.....-the-power