After a video showing Killer Mike’s powerful and impromptu speech about the grand jury decision to not indict Darren Wilson for killing 18-year-old Michael Brown went viral last week, the rap artist joined HuffPost Live to explain what prompted his passionate response.
When the decision came down, Killer Mike said he fell into his wife’s arms in tears and El-P, the other half of the rap duo Run The Jewels, encouraged Killer Mike to share his feelings during their show in St. Louis.
“I didn’t know what I was gonna say, I just got on stage and spoke my heart,” he said.
Killer Mike said that difficult discussions about race and police brutality are common in his household, but they have become even more salient following Brown’s death.
“It’s been a continual conversation with my boys,” Killer Mike said. “Their grandfather was a police officer, so their grandfather and I have both told them countless times about police interactions, about how you’re perceived as a young black man.”
He also lamented Brown’s death and expressed regret that the 18-year-old was “not given due process.”
“I had to explain to [my daughter] that justice is not always served and it has not always been served in this country,” he said.
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation about discussing Ferguson with your children here.
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