Killer Mike Gives First Interview Since Arrest at Grammys, Where He Won Three Awards

Killer Mike is speaking out in his first interview since being arrested at the 2024 Grammys, where he won three awards.

Police charged Mike with a misdemeanor following an altercation with a security guard and he already released a statement to explain what happened.

Now, he’s speaking out again in more detail.

Keep reading to find out more…

Here’s what Killer Mike had to share with GQ:

On Sunday’s arrest: “I could have succumbed to anger or evil and talked sh–t. But I’m just grateful. 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 sh–t. 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.”

On the Drake, Jay-Z, the Grammys, and their place within the culture: “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.”

On what his Grammys sweep symbolizes for hip-hop culture: “I know when Kendrick wins, people say, ‘Oh, sh–t—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 this 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

For more from the interview, visit GQ.com.