Killer Mike killed ‘em dead in a tux

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Sorry y’all. I couldn’t let the week slip away without decorating the blog with Killer Mike in formalwear. “Hip-hop’s leading cultural critic,” as Okayplayer appropriately calls him, is coming off what may have been his best week ever. From the ivory tower of academia to the White House, he kept it A1 even while hobnobbing with the elite. 

One week ago today, he touched down on the campus of MIT to present a lecture on race relations laced with his characteristic candor. Twenty-four hours later, he suited up (or tuxed up?) to attend the White House Press Correspondents Dinner at the invitation of Huffington Post. If the politically-charged MC seems like an ill fit for such an environment, he acknowledged the irony himself with such Instagram hashtags as #ButIaintAHouseNegro and #IHopeTheCIAdontKillMyAss. 

Apparently, that didn’t keep some from questioning, “What was Obama-dissing rapper Killer Mike doing at the WH?” That’s the title of the a column by the Chris Carr of the Atlanta-based Redding News Review, who writes “the social media image of him celebrating a White House invite to dinner ... is troubling and inconsistent with authentic Hip Hop inspired activism.” I get the urge to criticize. In America, we tend to prefer our politicians and prophets remain as far apart as possible to keep the former from co-opting the other. But when a cat keeps it as transparent and unapologetic as Mike, there’s no need to question his motives. In hip-hop parlance, that’s called keepin’ it real. This ain’t the godfather of gansta rap Eazy-E secretly attending a Republican fundraiser at the White House, like he did in 1991 during Bush the I’s administration (which, in retrospect, was way ballsier than Ice Cube made it sound in his “No Vaseline” diss). In Mike’s case, he was attending the Press Correspondents Dinner just like the rest of the people who work in the profession of writing critically about the President. Lest we forget, that is the role of the media. Just because he happens to be better at making the powers-that-be Run the Jewels than those in attendance doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get to enjoy the fruits of said labor. 

He also posted a pic with Ariana Huffington, noting per her invite that he could be contributing to the site soon.
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Plus, how can you be unimpressed with a man in his position who isn’t above criticizing himself in the midst of calling out the nation. Here’s what he had to say at the MIT speech before regarding his own cultural bias, according to Esquire:
“I come to the table full of bigotry. I can’t be a racist because I don’t have the power, but I do have bigotry. I do come with my own male chauvinism. I do come with my cultural elitism because I went to a good school, too. I come with all that to the table. Because when I come before you guys, I leave all that shit outside the door. I empty my cup so I can learn.”
Jewels of wisdom.