Killer Mike Talks About His Big Grammy Night: Three Wins, One Arrest, and a Long Talk With God

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The Cinderella Man success story of Killer Mike and his years-in-the-making album Michael got a nice bow on it at the Grammys this past Sunday. The rapper swept all three rap categories he was in contention for, taking home two trophies for his Andre 3000 and Future-assisted cut “Scientists and Engineers” and beating out the likes of Drake & 21 Savage, Nas, and Travis Scott for Best Rap Album. It completes a decade-long arc of Mike betting on himself, pursuing reinvention, reclamation and validation.

But despite Michael being one of the more critically acclaimed rap releases of 2023, Mike’s victory over some of his more commercially successful peers has sparked debate, particularly among young rap listeners and their media proxies, like streaming personalities Kai Cenat and Adin Ross. Cenat and Ross then found themselves engaged in a war of words with Joe Budden, restarting the eternal youth-versus-age divide within the rap community, as well as the idea of mainstream appeal versus quality.

Mike’s Sunday night also took an unexpected turn when news broke that he had been arrested at the Grammys for a misdemeanor allegedly pertaining to an altercation with a security guard, who Mike’s team described as “overzealous” in an official statement regarding the incident: “The situation has been overblown but we are confident that the facts of the case, when laid bare, will show that Mike did not commit the alleged offense and he will be exonerated.”

Days after the Grammys broadcast, Mike hopped on the phone with GQ to talk about the wins, address rap fans who aren’t familiar with his game, react to Drake and Jay-Z’s Grammy comments, and explain how the rest of his Sunday night went.

So, three days after the wins, how are you feeling?

I'm on top of the world. I got a broom, like I'm sweeping my grandma's living room.

Walk me through that moment, when you heard them announcing you as Best Rap Album and you knew you’d achieved that full sweep.

I had forced myself to just be at a Zen-like place for the last week. I didn't want to get too excited or anticipate too much. I wanted to kind of live in the moment. I didn't want to live in the worry that I might not [win]. When I won the first one, I was happy about it. I was excited. It was beautiful. I wanted to make sure I just thanked the right folks, because a lot of people have been believers and worked hard. After that moment, my man DJ Cutmaster Swiff told me, “You getting all three.” And I allowed myself to accept the possibility, but I didn't anticipate.

But right after that second one, I didn't walk back to my seat. I just stood there. I was like, This is us. This is us. And I say us because it took a team, but I knew it was my moment and when they said it, as you can see, we looked like the Atlanta Braves right after they brought it home. So a few weeks ago, I was at the Hawks MLK day game and I had said, [my nominations are like] the Hawks and the Falcons bringing their first [trophies] home. It's like the Braves bringing it home.

And there was someone who was—not being mean about it, but [putting] a doubtful air out there. And I said to myself, They don't understand how much I love this fucking city, and they don't understand how much this city loves me as a native son. When I got to the Waffle House after getting off the plane [from LA this week], it was filled with people who were leaving the club and everyone inside literally gave me a standing ovation. It was like Dominique Wilkins in his prime, man, or Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones had walked in. And I just love my city and I appreciate it for that.

Was there a moment leading up to the show where you felt like, We might not come home with anything, but the nomination itself is the win?

I mean, it is. It's such an impossible story—but I came for the win because I've worked so hard for greatness. Not goodness. Not “good enough.” No—I'm a rapper. I wanted to be an MC and an elite MC. I never wanted to be typical. I never wanted to be average. I wanted to be a MC that didn't have to borrow and steal from other genres to trick people into liking me. I wanted to be on some Southern rap shit. I wanted to be respected on some hip-hop shit.

I wanted to represent my genre. I wanted to represent this music that I fell in love with as a 9-year-old kid. To be one of the best artists like how [Salvador] Dali represented fine art and Henry Ossawa Tanner represents fine American art. I want it to be respected and revered in the way August Wilson is as a playwright. And I feel like I'm getting there. I feel like people finally know who Killer Mike is. So now that I have your ear, let me show you. Wait the fuck until you see what I do next.

What do you feel like your sweep symbolizes in terms of the Grammys’ relationship with hip-hop and the culture?

I know when Kendrick wins, people say, “Oh, shit—they got it right.” I know when others have won, they say, “They didn't get it right.” This is a goddamn they got it right time. They honored the culture. In the 50th year of hip-hop, there's no more album worthy to win than this one. This has all the elements. It has braggadocio, it has knowledge, it has dope narratives and stories. It has smooth beats, it has cuts and scratches. You can groove to it, you can dance to it. It edu-tains, not simply entertains. It gives love and praise to Black women throughout. It celebrates in the most artistic way what the worker class has done in this country. There was no better record. They got it right this time. Absolutely right.

So the album was critically acclaimed when it dropped last summer, and at the end of the year it was on top of all the best-of lists. But now there's this class of like, extra casual listener, who maybe only tunes into the Grammys and listens to the radio, that, like you said, is only now aware of Killer Mike. There's been some discourse about you winning the award. Some of the youth, especially some of the kids on streaming, have been like, “Why Mike?” What do you say to those people?

Listen. Listen to the album, man. Trust me. I remember growing up in the south and it's just booty shake Miami [music] dominating. We got Luke, we got Poison Clan, out in Orlando, Magic Mike, girls are shaking it, we partying our motherfucking asses off, it's feel-good culture. But then, man, your friend turns you on to some shit that blows your mind, and it's not your usual typical shit. It's shit like Pharcyde. Hieroglyphics. A young Ice Cube, when NWA was still a group that was out on the fringes, selling a bunch of records, but the main hip-hop listeners out of New York wasn't with that shit. And then this wave of southern lyricism happened. 8Ball & MJG, UGK, Outkast, Goodie Mob happens, and the music stopped being just fun-filled booty shake music.

I like Utopia too. I like Drake and Savage together too. I like the OG, Nas. I like all this because there's room in my mind to like and love different music for different moods, for different perspectives. So I’d just invite you to fuck with me, bro. Give it a chance, because you might be young, but you may have lost your mother. Your cousin may have lost a mother. You may have lost someone dear to you. So “Motherless” going to hit you at a time you need it. You may have a parent that's fought with addiction. I like the conversation Logic and his dad are having—I have that conversation with myself. I had that conversation, God bless the dead, with my mother. “Something for Junkies” teaches you about empathy and compassion and that your [parent] might've been weak, but it was because of addiction, not because they didn't love you. You know what I'm saying?

[Listen] and you’ll get to see, man, Mike fucked around and did this with lyrics that touched people. So I just want to say, to Kai, you should have invited me to the room because I fuck with you and I'll bring you a broom. Adin, don't waste all your time arguing with old folks, man. I salute you. I love to see what y'all young brothers are doing. I invite your audience to listen to the record. And I got a warehouse if y'all want to come to the warehouse and we play that shit live. I got about 15,000 square feet. You can throw a party there, man. Or I can come bring my broom to the room. But I appreciate you guys for loving music, period. And I invite you to fuck with mine. You might find something you fuck with.

So there were two sentiments expressed on Sunday night about the Grammys and their place within the culture. One being from your fellow nominee Drake. Did you see his post?

I did not see that post.

He basically said something to the effect of, congrats to the winners and the nominees, but the Grammys don't move our culture and we shouldn’t trip over them either way.

Well that doesn't offend me at all because I want people to understand that I was a Grammy winner before I won [Sunday]. I won for Outkast’s “The Whole World,” an absolutely amazing verse, I rapped my ass off on there as a rookie. Drake is a Grammy winner, and many of the people who critique the Grammys are. And as an artist, you have every right to critique the agencies and agents that represent you. And with that critique—don't it feel good [to win]? Didn't it feel good that night, as a Canadian kid who grew up loving hip-hop and was considered to be an outsider, to break the mold and show people that kids in Toronto got their own style and to have the Recording Academy acknowledge it?

So, it felt good to me. It'll feel good if other people win in the future. But you cannot let that be the sole existence of why you do it, because your art is for you. So he's absolutely correct in that. And with that said, I absolutely want to remind him and all the winners that have ever happened that as an artist, man, it does feel good to sell your first piece. Banksy was Banksy before he was Banksy, but goddamn, being Banksy is a motherfucking task. So I'd like to thank [Drake] for the congratulations, and encourage artists to listen to him, because what he's telling you is make art from a place in your heart, not just in a place for seeking accolades. That I’m in agreeance with, and I thank him for the salute.

And then on the other hand, what did you think of Jay-Z's speech?

I didn't hear the speech but I heard about it, and shit, I'm a Beyoncé fan, I want to see B get that Album of the Year, too. Lemonade? Come on, man. She be working. And with that, man, I saw Susan Lucci wait 20 years to get her Daytime Emmy Award. I saw Nas wait over 20 years to get his first Grammy. Beyoncé is the most heralded Grammy winner ever. Beyoncé is not going to stop making records and it's only so long you can deny that kind of greatness.

What I took from the moment, more than the critique, was a husband standing up for his wife, at a time where all we argue about is Black men versus Black women. There've been some people saying, Well, she has this many, he has this many. I just saw a husband, deeply in love with his talented wife, not intimidated by her talent, not in competition with her talent, but celebrating her talent and challenging others to. And it makes me think about how to more deeply be a loving and appreciative person for the person that loves and supports me.

There was also a little bit of discourse about his comments to keep showing up in terms of keep doing you and then one day the recognition will come no matter what.

Well, that's proven. I got a text from him. It was a joke. I won't share it right now, but he was just giving me my acknowledgement and some encouragement. But I remember when being a Jay-Z fan put you on the outskirts. I'm in the South, and people were like, Man, you like that New York dude? Everybody that ever said that to me want to be in business with him now. So, 8 Ball and MJG or UGK, when it is their day to make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'm going to be right there voting for them. I just found out Eric B and Rakim got nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; I just saw them on tour a year ago. So don't stop being consistent. Ice Cube told me, one of [my] greatest strengths has just been consistency. Don't stop. Don't stop believing. Don't stop being a believer. Don't stop being around those that believe and don't stop showing up. Make your little hundred-person audience grow to 300 people and make those 300 people grow to 800 people. And I know it sounds like man, Unc just talking shit—but Unc did this. Unc was on his ass 11 years ago when he dropped R.A.P. Music, playing 300 person rooms.

Unc was just on his knees getting up when we made Run the Jewels. And we went from 300 to 500 to 800. And man, Unc finally stood up. Run the Jewels Two—now Unc now doing a thousand person rooms. And after Run the Jewels became one of the most dominant groups in rap, Unc didn’t say, I'm cool now, we’re just going to do this for the rest of time. Unc took a half million dollars of his own money, took a risk, and made a solo record. Ray Murray said to me, “This album has to be as southern as a Dungeon Family album should be. It has to be totally cohesive. Like The Chronic. That's your challenge.” And Unc did it.

If you’re 19, don't you give up on your motherfucking self. If you’re 21, don't you give up on your fucking self. If you’re 31, 35, 36, do not give up on yourself. That's all. That's all [Jay’s] saying. That's all Unc saying. What I did with this record, I've been attempting to do for over 15 years and I finally caught it, I finally understand. And what's the first thing I did after I got done partying and drinking champagne, hugging the label owner? I got right back in the studio the next night with Mike Will..

That was going to be my next question.

I'm working. I'm back at work. You little motherfuckers ain't going to get rid of me. Kai, I'm bringing the broom to the room, man, I'm going to meet you!

So obviously there was an incident that happened Sunday night… from an emotional standpoint, did it dampen the night for you at all?

Let me tell you something, man. I talked about this album being a return to the religious and moral principles I was raised with. And I just got to say, man, you'll find yourself in a position where it's just you and God. And I took a couple hours, man. I was just by myself, and I was just thankful I took time to thank God and to say, I appreciate the blessings you've given me. I spent time talking. I'm invoking the spirit of my grandmother and my mother and just saying, Look, I've done it. And after a few hours, man, I got out and I went partied and had fun.

And I was glad that I had used those three hours to be thankful to God and to be calm and to meditate. Because the very next morning, I got a call that my child, after being on the list for three years, finally got his kidney. And I can just truly tell you that God is real. And the same way Christ gave us an example of being by himself, of being tempted by Satan, I understand that a lot better now because I could have succumbed to anger or evil and talked shit. But I'm just grateful. I'm grateful. Not only that I won, but I'm grateful that God showed me within 24 hours that there's something more important than even the accolades you've worked for. And that's my family and my child and I'm just thankful. I thank Him.

Originally Appeared on GQ