Killer Mike has been heavily criticized on social media after participating in an interview with the National Rifle Association’s 24-hour network. The backlash turned the Run The Jewels MC into a trending topic on Twitter on Saturday (March 24) and prompted him to address his critics.
The interview became a lightning rod for controversy after the NRATV published a clip on Saturday, which coincided with the gun control-advocating March For Our Lives protests. Mike’s statement about the recent school walkouts to protest gun violence were specifically highlighted by NRATV’s Twitter account.
“I told my kids on the school walkout, I love you, if you walk out that school, walk out my house,” he said. “We are not a family that jumps on every single thing an ally of ours does because some stuff we just don’t agree with.”
Mike spent hours on Twitter defending himself, responding to critiques about being a pawn in NRA propaganda and his stances on gun ownership. According to the veteran rapper, he was willing to use the NRA platform if his message could reach just one black member.
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“I think CNN & Fox are view point propaganda machines,” he noted. “I have appeared on both. My concerns are with the Blacks in America living under domestic terror that no one seems to wanna address.”
Outside of the controversy over appearing on NRA TV, Mike made it clear he was against gun control. In his mind, the issue was a matter of black Americans being able to defend themselves.
While prominent activists and regular Twitter users alike expressed disappointment and condemnation, some Hip Hop artists spoke out as well. Vic Mensa directly challenged Mike on the issues of AR-15 rifles. JPEGMAFIA lambasted him for allowing the NRA, which has come under fire for its lack of response to the deaths of black gun owners like Philando Castile, to push “faux diversity.”
