Killer Mike has offered up a response to Twitch streamer Kai Cenat questioning his Best Rap Album win at the Grammys for Michael.
Speaking to Frazier Tharpe for GQ in his first post-Grammys interview, the 48-year-old Southern rap legend was asked about some of the reactions online to his three wins, specifically some of the content creators on streaming platforms disappointed that their favorite didn't win, whether it be Drake and 21 Savage's Her Loss or Travis Scott's Utopia.
"Listen. Listen to the album man. Trust me," Mike said when asked what he would tell tthose who reacted negatively to his big night.
"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," the Run the Jewels member explained. "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 N.W.A 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."
Killer Mike stressed that he's a fan of Utopia and he liked Her Loss, too. He also gave a shout-out to Nas, but said there's "room in my mind to like and love different music for different moods, for different perspectives." He added, "So I’d just invite you to fuck with me, bro." He then specifically referenced the animated reaction Cenat, 22, had to the Best Rap Album win.
"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," he said, referring to Cenat screaming on his stream and revealing he doesn't even know who Killer Mike is. As for the broom comment, Killer Mike released a now sold-out broom that the rapper said was "used exclusively for sweeping the GRAMMYS."
He also mentioned Kick streamer Adin Ross, who was disappointed his favorite didn't win, too. "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," Mike continued. "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."
Elsewhere in the interview, Mike was asked if he saw what Drake had to say about the Grammys. "All you incredible artists remember this show isn’t the facts—it’s just the opinion of a group of people whose names are kept a secret," Drake wrote on his Instagram Stories earlier this week. "Literally. You can Google it. Congrats to anybody winning anything for hip hop, but this show doesn’t dictate shit in our world."
Mike said the statement didn't "offend" him, because he has every right as an artist to "critique the agencies and agents that represent" him. However, he asked Drake, who has won Grammys in the past, too, if he felt good when he won.
"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?" he wondered. "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. ... 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."
Mike, who said he's already back in the studio with Mike Will Made-It after his Grammys wins, added that he believes the Grammys "got it right" this time because they "honored the culture" with the hip-hop wins. "There was no better record," he said. "They got it right this time. Absolutely right.”
Cenat's comments were met with backlash by some in the hip-hop community, particularly from Joe Budden who told the streamer to stay quiet. "Y'all little streaming n***as don't always run shit. Shut the fuck up. We don't care about none of that little streaming, moshpit, marked car whatever you n***as is doing over there," Budden said.
