Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Santiago Render made an appearance at the 66th Grammy Awards. He and his collaborators won three Grammys for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance for Scientists & Engineers, and Best Rap Album for Michael. These wins marked his first Grammy victories since 2003, when he was recognized for his work on OutKast’s The Whole World.
To everyone’s surprise, rapper Killer Mike was removed from the 2024 Grammys. His arrest at Grammy 2024 was due to misdemeanor battery after an alleged physical altercation backstage. This happened shortly after he won three awards. The Los Angeles Police Department is currently releasing the 48-year-old rapper.
The police statement said:
“On Sunday, 4 February, just after 4pm, a male adult was detained and handcuffed for a physical altercation that occurred at the 700 block of Chick Hearn Court. The suspect was placed under arrest and was transported to LAPD Central Division. The suspect has been identified as 48-year-old Michael Render and booked for Misdemeanor Battery 243(A) PC, and is in the process of being released.”
Los Angeles Police Department
Hollywood Reporter first shared the news of Killer Mike’s arrest at Grammy 2024. It equally stirred the whole music industry as well as the fans. A video from the Hollywood Reporter shows rapper Killer Mike being taken away from the 2024 Grammys by the police at Crypto Arena.
Render was celebrating just before he was detained. He said backstage:
“The only thing that limits your age is not being truthful about your age or what you’re doing. At 20 years old, I thought it was cool to be a drug dealer. At 40, I started to live with the regrets and the things I’ve done. At 45, I started to rap about it. At 48, I stand here as a man full of empathy and sympathy for the things I’ve done.”
Rapper Killer Mike
During an appearance on The View on February 12, Mike spoke about the chain of events. He said:
“All of my heroes have been in handcuffs – Malcolm, Martin, Mandela, Medgar. I walked out with the same dignity and respect that I walked in with, and I would implore people to just take that from it.”
Rapper Killer Mike
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Killer Mike is known for his outspoken perspective on social justice topics, particularly race relations and the treatment of Black individuals in the US. In 2019, he hosted the Netflix documentary series Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, which discussed the issues impacting the Black community. So, he attributed his arrest at Grammy 2024 to the same beliefs.
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