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Killer Mike

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Looks like Dave Chappelle is about to hit the road again, but this time he won’t be doing so alone and interestingly enough he won’t be joined by another comedian but rather a Grammy Award-winning rap artist in Killer Mike.

On Wednesday (Oct. 23), it was announced that Dave Chappelle and Killer Mike with the Mighty Midnight Revival would be taking an impromptu show on the road this coming November dubbed Still Talking That Sh*t!. Unfortunately, for fans, it’ll only hit a handful of cities in the span of nine days. While details about the show are yet to be released, what we do know is that attendees will have to comply with the rules and regulations that include securing their mobile devices upon entering the arena.

This event will be a phone-free experience. Use of phones, smart watches, and accessories will not be permitted in the performance space. Upon arrival at the venue, all phones, smart watches, and accessories will be secured in individual Yondr pouches that will be opened at the end of the event. Guests maintain possession of their devices at all times and can access them throughout the event only in designated Phone Use Areas within the venue. All devices will be re-secured in Yondr pouches before returning to the performance space.  Anyone seen using a device (phone, smart watch, or accessories) during the performance will be escorted out of the venue by security. We appreciate your cooperation in creating a phone-free experience.
Man, if y’all can’t stay off your phone for a little while to witness the greatness of Dave Chappelle and Killer Mike then keep it moving, and let the real fans have a crack at the show. Y’all already know tickets are going to be hard to get.
Tickets for the event go on sale Friday (Oct. 25), at noon and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
Will you be trying to get some tickets for the event? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Source: Kristian Buus / Getty
It’s been four years since Killer Mike and El-P released any new work under their Run The Jewels team banner, and while Killer Mike has been enjoying a helluva run since then, he and El-P have once again connected on a new cut thanks to one of your favorite video game franchises.

This past Wednesday (Aug. 28), Killer Mike premiered his latest Run The Jewels cut, “Detonator” during his appearance on Activision’s Call of Duty NEXT livestream event. The song was created for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and of course, the joint went hard. Featuring an assist from Rock D The Legend on the hook, “Detonator” once again reminds us why Killer Mike and El-P make a formidable duo on a track as the two spit that Hip-Hop ish where bars based off of content and rhyme patterns are cleverly scripted.

While this will definitely lead to fans calling for a brand new Run The Jewels project, no one knows when or even if that’ll happen, but given the chemistry these two men have when they’re in the studio we know it’s only a matter of time before we’re blessed with some new work when they inevitably get back in the kitchen.
Check out Run The Jewels’ new cut “Detonator” below, and let us know if you’re feeling it in the comments section.

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
2024 is proving to be the year of Killer Mike as the OG from the A continues to rack up awards to take home and stuff in his display case.

Just a week after receiving the inaugural Rico Wade Game Changer Award, Killer Mike got another big win last night when he took home Album of the Year honors at last night’s BET Awards. Edging out the likes of Gunna’s a Gift & a Curse, 21 Savage’s American Dream, Drake’s For All the Dogs (Scary Hours Edition) and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2, Killer Mike’s Michael continues to keep Mike’s trophy case busy as it garnered him the biggest award of the night.

Taking to the stage to thank his day-ones and the Black community specifically saying, “Thank you for seeing me Black people. Thank you for believing in me Black people. Thank you for honoring me in this way.”
He even touched on his post-Grammy awards arrest saying, “Technically, I was not supposed to be here. I was put in handcuffs and I was marched out of this building, but I want to tell you look at God ’cause I’m back, baby, I’m back and I’m winning.”
Mike is winning indeed, and we couldn’t be happier for him.
Check out Killer Mike accept his Album of the Year Award at the 2024 BET Awards below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Just hours after triumphantly returning to the scene of his Grammys night arrest to accept the BET Album of the Year award for MICHAEL, Killer Mike dropped a powerful new single and video, “HUMBLE ME,” in which he reflects on the incident and its aftermath.

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In the striking black-and-white music video, the Run the Jewels MC is seen stripped of his jewelry and placed in handcuffs, symbolizing the events of his Grammy night arrest.

Trending on Billboard

Through his lyrics, he draws parallels between his experience and the Biblical story of Daniel in the lions’ den. The video culminates in a hopeful note, with a cameo from his son Mikael “Pony Boy” Render, who recently received a life-saving kidney transplant.

Reflecting on his Grammy night ordeal, Mike raps, “I won at the Grammys / did that for Atlanta / swept up like a janitor / got sent to the slammer / treat me like an animal or some kind of Hannibal.” He then reveals, “I went to sleep as free as could be / and the next day my son got a kidney.”

“I believe that humility and worship granted me God’s grace in the face of that test,” the rapper says.

During his album of the year acceptance speech at the BET Awards, Killer Mike addressed his arrest and the subsequent journey, saying, “Technically, I was not supposed to be here. I was put in handcuffs and I was marched out of this building, but I want to tell you, look at God because I’m back baby. I’m back and I’m winning.”

“I want to tell Black people that because of BET I’m back. Not ’cause of no white person calling nobody. A Black man runs this business, a Black company put this show on, and they got my Black ass back in here. Thank y’all.”

Mike also took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of civic engagement, urging viewers to vote in the upcoming elections.

“Who we vote for on the big stage is important, but it’s more important you know who your city council person is, who your prosecutor is,” he said “And if you don’t like the people running, run your Black a** to the polls and run yourself.”

Killer Mike’s arrest on Feb. 4, 2024, after winning three Grammys, including best rap album for Michael, stemmed from an altercation with a security guard outside the Grammy pre-telecast in February.

Although he was initially charged with misdemeanor battery, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office later declined to pursue criminal charges. Instead, Mike completed a community service requirement, leading to the case’s resolution.

Killer Mike is currently on a North American tour supporting his latest album, with upcoming performances at major festivals including Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival, and Montreal International Jazz Festival.

“HUMBLE ME” is slated to appear on the follow-up to MICHAEL – Mike’s first solo album in over a decade – which is expected to drop later this summer via Loma Vista Records.

The rapper, backed by the Mighty Midnight Revival choir, will be on tour through early fall with stops at major festivals and a Blue Note Jazz Club residency.

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HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
The adulations for Killer Mike just keep on coming as the Grammy Award winning rapper continues to add new hardware to his trophy case with the latest honors coming straight out The A.

This past Saturday (June 22) the Michael rapper became the very first recipient of the inaugural Rico Wade Game Changer Award and was bestowed with the honor during Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash concert in his hometown of Atlanta, GA. After taking the stage along with a few members of his Dungeon Family, Killer Mike was presented with the award for his contributions to the Hip-Hop community in Atlanta and needless to say, the man was blown away by the surprise decoration.

Killer Mike was blessed with the award by Rico Wade’s mother, Beatrice Wade, and his sons Rico Jr. and Ryder. Also on hand to present the award were the surviving members of Organized Noize Productions, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown.
“I just wanna tell Atlanta this: y’all ain’t gotta wish to be nobody else. Who y’all are is the absolute shit,” said Killer Mike. “I don’t give a damn where in the world you at, there’s no place for Black people like Atlanta. There’s no place with this much opportunity, this much love, this many chances to do it. And I wanna thank the woman who raised Rico Wade, his mama.”
In an effort to keep Rico Wade’s legacy alive (Wade passed away this past April), Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced the launch of the Rico Wade Music Executive Training Program during Wade’s funeral service this past April.
Check out video of the presentation of the award below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Straight off of a Grammy sweep (and unnecessary arrest just moments later), Killer Mike has announced he will be hitting the road as he plans on going on tour this summer for the first time in quite some time.

According to HipHopNMore, the OG ATLien has announced that he and his choir, The Midnight Revival, will be traveling throughout North America in the Down By Law tour beginning next month. Kicking off his highly-anticipated tour in Memphis, Ten-A-Key, on May 4, the show will continue throughout every major city in the United States straight through the summer of 2024 before concluding in Los Angeles Oct. 15. To celebrate the announcement, Killer Mike dropped off a new visual for his cut, “EXIT 9,” taken off his Grammy Award-winning album, Michael.

No word on who’ll be joining Killer Mike on the tour just yet, but don’t be surprised if the likes of El-P, Cee-Lo Green, 2 Chainz or any other artist from The A makes a guest appearance here or there. Heck, maybe even André 3000 might surprise fans with a surprise cameo.
Check out the tour dates for the Down By Law tour below, and let us know if you’ll be attending when Killer Mike and company hit your city.
May 4 – Memphis, TN – Riverbeats Fest
May 21 – Washington, DC – Kennedy Center
June 22 – Atlanta, GA – Hot 107.9 Bday Bash
June 29 – Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Jazz Fest
July 3 – Montreal, QC – Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
July 5 – Quebec City, QC Festival D’Ete
July 6 – Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Blues Fest
July 7 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
July 12 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Folk Fest
July 26-28 – Nelsonville, OH – Nelson- ville Music Fest
July 27 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Fest
July 29 – New York, NY – Blue Note
July 30 – New York, NY – Blue Note
July 31 – New York, NY – Blue Note
August 2 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic Theatre
August 3 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
August 5 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
August 7 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
August 8 – Salt Lake City, UT – Ogden Amphitheatre
August 10 – Seattle, WA – Thing Festival
September 29 – St. Louis, MO – Evolution Fest
October 15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo
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HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Killer Mike won three Grammy Awards for his critically adored Michael album, which actually netted him a total of four of the prestigious trophies so far in his career. The Atlanta multihyphenate caught his first in 2002 (with a little less drama), thanks to a sharp verse on OutKast’s “The Whole World,” so he had a bit of a drought between accolades.

So the vindication of finally getting more proper recognition, including one for Best Rap Album, from his musical peers was that much sweeter. “It felt like acknowledgment of the work,” Mike tells Hip-Hop Wired of what he felt getting his awards. “Hip-Hop…people say the culture, and they say…it’s usually a means to an end when most people say that, and they’re using the culture. But as a kid who grew up in the Deep South, in this little town masquerading as a city called Atlanta, all I ever wanted to be was an MC. And to achieve the dream of becoming an MC and then to in the 50th year of Hip-Hop make the best Rap Album…just a pure Hip-Hop album, it’s one of the greatest [feelings]. It is a vindication from the bullshit 3.5 The Source gave me. It’s a vindication from the bullshit 6.5 Pitchfork gave me. It’s a vindication from bullshit ass reviews online of people who are not even from my culture, not only on Hip-Hop but a from Black southern man’s culture. It’s vindication that allows me to roll by in my ‘67,  $100,000 Firebird and shoot a bird out the window and say fuck you motherfuckers, I did it!”

But don’t mistake his tallying of receipts for sour grapes. He adds, “On a very practical level beyond vindication, what it is, is an affirmation that the dream of a nine-year-old child and the work that he put in over the course of the last about to be 40 years, was an affirmation that the imagination of a child, encouraged and untethered, anything is possible. And everything is possible.”
While the Grammy nods are great, Killer Mike also performed at Urban One Honors a few weeks prior (it taped Jan. 20 at The Roxy in Atlanta), and getting recognition from a Black-owned entity was just as poignant. When asked to speak on it began by giving props to Urban One’s founder, Cathy Hughts. “First of all I give a lot of praise to Cathy Hughes for having vision to create Radio One and be the tip of the spear in what’s become a media megaplex with the television, radio and beyond,” said Mike. “I was honored to be asked by Cee Lo to be a part of it, Cory Mo helped put it together and shouts out to Urban One.”

Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Killer Mike went on to add that TV One also has a special place in his household.

“If you want to see The Cosby Show, if you want if you want to see Black people doing well and thriving, you want to see A Different World, that’s the place you go as a family,” explained Mike. “The same way I would watch Norman Lear stuff with my grandparents—Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son—I been blessed through Urban One to be able to have and recreate similar things with my family here at the house. We’re not watching a lot of aspirational things that aren’t us, we get to watch stuff that is us. And that’s important. It was important for me to be recognized by them, and I’m deeply honored.”
Be sure to watch Urban One Honors: Best in Black when it premieres Sunday, February 25 at 8/7C on TV One.

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Source: Hulu / hulu
One year after shaking the tables in Black middle-aged households across the country, Hulu’s highly anticipated documentary, Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, will finally make its debut.

According to a video announcement made by Jermaine Dupri, via Instagram Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, will make its official debut during SXSW 2024 (March 8 – 16).

“This is something that a lot of y’all have been asking about,” he said in the video. “Freaknik — what’s up with Freaknik? So here we go.” Dupri then read off an email he received from Hulu saying the documentary would premiere at the world-renowned film and television festival.

Following Dupri’s unveiling, Hulu dropped the official announcement during Super Bowl weekend, revealing that the wider release would happen on March 21.

According to Deadline, Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, is telling the legendary stories about the iconic Atlanta street party that drew hundreds of thousands of people in the ’80s and ’90s, celebrating the legacy of the event that solidified Black spring break and helped put Atlanta on the cultural map. Executive Produced by Luke Campbell, Jermaine Dupri and 21 Savage, and crafted by Mass Appeal and Swirl Films, the documentary features appearances by 21 Savage, Lil Jon, Killer Mike, Jalen Rose, Too $hort, Shanti Das, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Erick Sermon, CeeLo Green, Rico Wade, Kenny Burns and more.
As previously reported, the streaming giant went viral after announcing it was dropping a documentary about the HBCU-focused annual Atlanta spring break event from the 1980s and 1990s, after concerns from former attendees–now with their college-aged children–were worried about archival footage of them in compromised positions coming to light. Freaknik, which started as a modest HBCU picnic in 1983 and spent 15 years morphing into the quintessential Black Spring Break, was a cultural touchstone that many participants would rather leave in the time capsule, opening the door for the documentary to face lawsuits from women and men worried that their college-aged shenanigans would be presented to the world. Director P. Frank Williams assured those worried it would be a celebratory reflection of the era versus salacious.

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HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Ethan Miller / Getty
Killer Mike appeared on The View and reflected on his arrest at the Grammy Awards, referring to it as “water under the bridge.”
On Monday (Feb. 12), Killer Mike appeared as a guest on The View, fresh off of his sweep of the rap category at the Grammy Awards last weekend stemming from his album, MICHAEL. Co-host Sunny Hostin chimed in and asked a question. “There was an incident at the Grammys, it led to you being handcuffed and taken out of the Grammys – that was wrong,” she began, acknowledging the ongoing legal case that prevented Killer Mike from saying much, “can you just give us some sort of description?”

“I think backstage was overcrowded, I think the winners were exuberant, and I think security got a little over zealous,” Killer Mike, also known as Michael Render, said referring to his arrest. “It’s water under the bridge for me.” He continued: “All of my heroes have been in handcuffs – Malcolm, Martin, Mandela, Medgar. I walked out with the same dignity and respect that I walked in with, and I would implore people to just take that from it.” He then went on to detail how the moment put him in a space of gratitude. “I thanked God for putting me in a space, believe it or not, by myself. And I got an opportunity to invoke the spirit of my mom and my grandmother and let them know what had happened and thank them,” he said.

The “Scientists & Engineers” rapper also opened up about the joy he felt in finding out his eldest son was getting a kidney after three years on a waitlist. “The next morning, I woke up to my son’s mother saying you have to come home because [his son] has a kidney. They have a kidney for him and we have to get him now. And I just thanked God.” He was also asked about his hesitation in endorsing President Joe Biden, to which he replied that he was going to have a “hyper-local” focus. “In terms of nationally, I’m just kinda doing what my grandfather said, ‘Stay out of white folks’ business and watch what happens’…For right now, I just don’t want to be involved in the soap opera,” he said.
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Killer Mike should be solely basking in the glow of making a perfect sweep of the categories he was nominated in at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. However, the Atlanta rapper and public figure was arrested at the venue where the Grammys were held. He has since addressed the incident while focusing on his new trophy haul.
Killer Mike, 48, notched the Best Rap Album award for his sixth studio album MICHAEL, and the Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance trophies for the track “Scientists & Engineers” with André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane.

Shortly after winning the awards, Killer Mike was seen in video footage being hauled off by officers on the scene with the LAPD stating the arrest resulted from an altercation at the Crypto.com Arena.
By way of Hip-Hop N More, the artist born Michael Render issued a statement and urged his supporters to continue running up MICHAEL despite the setback.
“I do want to note that last night, my team and I fielded a number of calls from concerned fans and colleagues wanting to know if I was OK. I greatly appreciate the concern and support, but I am better than OK. As you can imagine, there was a lot going and there was some confusion around which door my team and I should enter. We experienced an over-zealous security guard but my team and I have the upmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of all wrongdoing.

Until that time, keep listening to ‘Michael,’ and keep going after your dreams,” a portion of the statement reads.
A longer statement of gratitude for the Grammy wins by Killer Mike can be viewed below.


Photo: Getty