Episode 307 "Killer Mike"

Word with me here.

You know, BT, know how it goes, shout out O C T no real color what we see?

Whole game?

Wait the boer be something.

Oh, you can't stand on their own. See I already know you can't bother with me because with the squad of me they get a little they called at me.

Hello, ball Alert, Welcome to the ball A little show podcast available everywhere you get your podcast.

Please continue to like, subscribe to share, are YouTube page Baller Alert TV. One time for revolt, I go by the name.

Of Ferrari Simmons. I go by the name you know BT from CET with that Killer.

Mike, Get the.

Killer Mike.

Fourth time, grab your water, put in.

Respect on it.

Do you feel a little different, BT, I feel a lot different. I feel like I told y'all Ni you did you did?

I remember because we were we were talking about your album on the Baller podcast. I want to say, as soon as it came out, it was a very great masterpiece of music. I want to talk to Killer Mike man. How long did it take for you to feel how you felt when you won those three for three?

You was three for three? Sweet?

Did you feel like it was a long time coming because I know the first Grammar you won that was with someone else.

Yeah without without, these are yours? Yeah yeah, I mean I'm honest either way. I know, like I'm not ours. The won like I wanted to tag along. I wrapped my ass off. I felt accomplished. But man, with these accomplishments, you just want to accomplish more. And you know, winning them on my own means something. I still got some goals, Like my rap group Run the Jewels, we deserve a Grammar. Shouts out to my rap part in LP. He produced down wrapped on this, so he gets one by this.

Okay, and you said you put up you know, half a million for this project out of your own pocket.

Yeah, your own money. You used. My wife was not not half about it.

She probably like, what's going on?

What's wrong with you? That quarter me and out?

She called me like like nigga, like, nigg you spend a quarter me and all this your hobby now, Nigga, this ain't running jewels as being.

Married, these type of decisions like you conversed with each other. So how how would that conversation go?

That went like how you catch that?

You know?

But it paid off?

Yeah, I believed she believed in me a long time. So I appreciate. You know, you got to have believers around you, and you know, my wife has believed in me. My my sisters have believed in me. My baby mothers have believed in me. You know, go back to high school. Old lovers have believed them. You and I just appreciate everybody they ever believed, even if you don't take the whole ride together, like it's important, search steps your way.

Stuff that you was able to do that too.

And I know that was a great feeling, man.

And I just loved your speech about Atlanta and all, and like you were just so you know, prideful about where you was from, and you just you know, you made the city smile, man, like we do.

Listen, man, we gotta we gotta plan the parade all. We gotta make that. I ain't playing.

We gave parade to the Adeville Bike and we gave parade to high school. Right here. We're gonna given because it's for us, man.

I said, just started on months ago at a at a Hawks game that me winning these Ramons would be ill. Was asked question. I said, man, it'd be like the Hawks again. They first one and be like the Fast, then they first be like the Brazen, and another one like the United doing again. And I meant that like this is for us, you know what I mean. I know I did the work, I got the studio all locked in, but this city has poured so much into me.

Like y'all, I just blame it on the gen Z when I when I watched the movie.

I ain't blaming it on nothing like I love y'all. You know what I mean.

If if you know, if you ever get treated bad on right there for you know what I mean, So I know how I go though, you know what I'm saying. When I liked looking the Two Line Crew, my mama was more in the Salt and Pepper.

You know what I'm saying. I get it, but I listened to both bands.

So I'm gonna just say to young people out there, it ain't nothing wrong with expanding.

It ain't nothing wrong with trying something else.

It ain't nothing wrong, you know, with just giving, you know, having You don't have to be always in the crowd, you know what I mean. Like I was a kid in the South, I listened to Biology. I listened to you GK. I listened to Luke, I listened to Poison Clan, the Dogs. I listened to everything out of textas the Ghetto Boys tell me right the third you know, coming out of Memphs.

I listened to all South music.

The only thing that made me exceptional, rhyme wise and different amongst my peer group at the time was I listened to East Coast music too, and I listened to Northern California music.

So I listened to Hooglyphics.

I listened to Far Side, you know, out of La I listened to the beat Nuts. I listened to Gangstar and Gangstar Foundation. I listened to Wu Tang Clan, so it gave me just enough edge. So when people say, man, how do you do it for twenty years stylistically, I've not been so married to something I die with it. So I just want to encourage all listeners out there. As a kid, I listened to as much rock and roll as I did RAP. I listened to Metallica, I

Love y'all.

I wanted to say, I respect so how so I respect so much? How mentally sharp and articulated you are? Where did that come from?

Atlanta Public schools APS call your Heights Elementary, Frederick Doull's High School or later Moore House College. I want to thank all the teachers who meant so much to me, the ones I still talk to, like Mr Murray from Frederick Douglas High School who was my art teacher. Shannon McCullen, who's little y'all, his dad his art teacher, you know what I mean.

I want to thank people like Miss Pritchett, who's the you still remember all of these people.

I can tell you every teacher from every grade I had because they made that impression on them, you know what I mean? Even the ones I didn't like. They gave me a challenge to say, I'm gonna show you I'm gonna overcome this. So for me, yeah, absolutely, that's important. Yeah, So I want to get shouts out to Atlanta Public School and just I want to let the kids in, particularly Frederick Douglas, know that you guys are great. Y'all are worthy, and y'all keep being a prime example of

Over there now. But so who was killer Mike Michael growing up?

Man, You listen to the album and you see it's right now. It's all in the album.

The way that the record is sonically, it kind of like feels like you're there exactly.

That's yeah, Yeah, you're not, you're not. You're not.

As much as hearing the album, you're watching the movie from.

The choirs that you have in there, like you even got a gospel record.

It sounds like a Tears with Mazie.

Yeah, so the current words out they still wouldn't let us get the gospel that we tried. I gotta ask Cray, like, how I get in on the gospel. I stopped cutting. I gotta see if we gotta have like one mandatory Jesus in there somewhere. The craft shouts out of my man of Craig. Yeah, this did see is the Godfather one. And Michael two is gonna be the Godfather too, and Michael three is gonna be better than the Godfather three

To me.

You get a chance to see Vido Coleon who was orphaned, become a man and raise a family. Now he's a criminal, only criminal things happened, but your granddaddy sold moonshine a crack depending on how your granddaddy is. But your granddadd have reformed his life, changed it to a great man.

I wanted you to be able to turn up within the experience.

So whether you know most dope boy songs are telling you I sold dope the bad My Dope Boys song just felt like a barbecue in the hood because it was with Spider and two Chinese and sometimes the dope boys not the villains, they just the dudes that made it. Got a hustle going and feed everybody once a month on Saturdays, because you know they throwing they barbecue. You're gonna get to see the cool car. So it's not

The music you listen to?

I like it, But at some point, man, you know you're gonna have to come to terms with that the real life hits you to and my record to death for you, you know what I mean.

So that's that's what That's what I think ultimately.

You know, there's some days where all them listening to is rap, and the some days where all I'm gonna listen to is John Coltran's Love Supreme. You know, there's some days all I'm gonna listen to is is me and my wife ride around listening to Sinatra and were listening to Nat King Call because we just cruised and we in love and that's how we want to hear about,

And I agree with that.

But I think that's why the Grammys is great because it you know, when somebody wins, you don't know them, you know, go explore.

That, you know.

It's like it's like watching a movie.

And one of the records that I that I love is when when I feel like you were speaking the terms that's really relatable when you said, yo, you tweaking my nigga, like like like really talking like how we talked amongst our friends and I'm listening, I'm like, like it's in the twisting and click.

Yeah, but it all went together, Yes, but it all went together.

And I heard you say in one of your interviews that Ray Murray was a part of the U, the keeping it.

The thing south. Yeah, he gave it. It gave it us a challenge.

He said, it has to be southern, it has to be distinctly Southern, and it has to be as cohesive as the running and then he just walked out the room. And then because like you look at each other like shit, because that's a challenge because you got to meet the challenge when it's given as God speaking through somebody. But boy, that's a hell of a challenge to hell when you think you have made the greatest mistaped off and you're like, God, damn, we got a ways to go.

Yeah, you know, only coming. And he's from the beginning.

He's from the organized noise, you know, like you were talking about our cast Dungeon Family.

I always thought you were in the Dungeon Family.

I am oh, yeah, I am, yeah, I am. I am what it was. It's crazy. If you listen to Dungeon Family, you listen to Kendrick, you hear the beauty of influence.

Okay, then you.

Hear Kendrick give me a shout out, which is the beauty of influence. And then you turn around and a year after he bam, you look at me. I come and sweep and it just shows you the perpetual energy. It don't stop, it just keeps going because Curtis, may feel gave the Dungeon Family certain energy. And that's why the Dungeon Family could make you feel like a sample even though when the sample so what they learned from Curtis,

I just I'm appreciated to be able. Sleepy Brown call.

Me like, hey man, you represent us well. You know, like the Dungeon Family's never stopped being talked about. When you hear never to dre on a record, that's the Dungeon family, that's a Dungeon Family record. You know when when DJ Paul It is part producer James Blake, and you know you got yet on there. My man, no idea, you have that harsh part you seeing something happened that only happens in the South. People cooperate and collaborate. They're

I just love you know, just show energy and how positive you are just about just everything. And you know, seeing you in that Grammy, well those Grammys, I was like, man, like this is just amazing, you know for the city and just how hard you put on How long did it took you to record the album.

Two and a half years?

Wow did you take breaks?

And you just like now we treated like a job. Me and cous light Year. Cous light Year an amazing and off from here and he's just my friend, like shits twenty years, Like met him coming around out of our school. Just felt a great relationship. He's one of the most talented artists I've known that We had him at Master Appeal had a deal with him and Master Piel. He put out a project that paper Frank, who did the Gunner's album cover, shots out to Ghanna, Shouts out

That love, that's love.

That's love.

And he did that, and you get to hear the fruit because it was just me and him in the room. We was only month, but from the from the first week and we and we did it like a job because my God's son had just been born. We went in Monday through Friday. We go in at ten o'clock while we worked at the today shift, I mean the third shift. We worked ten to four in the morning, ten to six in the morning. And we did that

Even better and better and better. And that's that's not forming.

And we leaned into it and and that, and we understood about a month and that what we what we aiming for is Grammys.

We aiming for.

Is is public accolades by way of making some of the dopest art possible.

And we pulled the ship off and we're Yeah, were in the studio, I said, Grammys. The next night. I was in there with Mike.

We'll shout out the mic and you know, notes shouts out notes and Wilder, who are from the production team, that that.

That co producers would run the jewel. So yeah, the work don't stop.

I'm a big fan of how you love your wife.

I'm happily married.

And I just know that, you know in the industry where people don't really highlight their significant other the way that you do. One time, for shake, can you shed a little light on on your wife? Where were you in your life when you met her?

Like I was up?

How did y'all cross paths? Like we just had b T saften she was she was she was. She was I think she was freshman, like I think she had just started school. She wanted to be a nurse or son she wanted to be like she wanted to be a nurse. And she was at the table and the homegirl sought me. They who killer like no scared as you, and the whole girl got excited and she was, you know, she was fronting on me.

She I ain't know he like, she really counted.

She's introverted in the shot, you know, she looked like one of these hot girls, but she really be. She at the end of the table so and I didn't know. She don't like people playing with a plain ofough food. She want them German folks. I reached the her plate and just grabbed son and just ate this piece of shrimp. And she cussed me out. Well she went off, and thankfully, you know, I wanted you know, I was pride for the egotistical at the time. But thankfully I wasn't on

I loved her.

It's weird, though it's weird, I just remember it. This girl was beautiful, but I never forgot what she looked like.

Never forgot.

And I had I was in a party and she walked in the parties at Big Boys Old house. He was doing like a radio party remote something and I seen her walk in and I was.

Like, well, I'll be damn, it's the same girl.

And and seeing her all these other girls walking in too, and you know, the Atlanta scene is real social. It's just too many other girls. I'm like, I gotta get I gotta get by myself, Like I had to get away from all the other all the dancers gonna speak to you.

So I just got in the corner by myself.

And she saw me counting by myself and was like, this is not the same guy, in the same energy, and she and she had asked her guy friends to she came with her like in radio intry guys and.

They was like Mike's a nice guy. You see, he's smart.

If he you know, if he attempted to take you out, you should go out and against her better judgment. She did, and and I'll never forget she she met me at the athlete's foot I think across from because she was having to bringing me.

I think the bitch were for camouflage. God bless the dead the Savannah rapper.

And shouts out engratulations young lady. But I I neverget she brought me. She brought it to me, and I seen her and I remember those eyes and be honest, like, I remember, I remember the tits and then when she walked the leave, I said, damn, she got an ass too. So yeah, like she was in my phone, it's as

We done have some great times. But I ain't gonna I ain't even gonna probably call you.

Know, so you said this over so you broke with everybody, and kid doing can't I broke everybody?

But that I won't gonna be putting up at your apartment, like I wan't gonna be the apartment nigga, I won't gonna do that.

But but I just you know, I loved her and I still do.

And Ozzy Osborne put up something a few days ago where he was like, you know, talking about his wife shared he said, sometimes I love her, sometimes I hate her sometimes you know, she she she I'm jealous of her. Just he just had to pull out of emotion. And and that's really what it is to me, Like, that's my dog, you know, she she has I remember my mom saying to me one time.

She was like, why wouldn't you ask me? And then she's like, nah, I don't worry about it. And I was like, what, this is my mother?

She said, because you only trust your grandmother and shade like that in that particular way. You know, her and my grandmother both geminis. They can be incredibly sweet or incredibly mean, you know what I mean. But that's my girl, that's my dog, that's my that's my partner.

You know what I'm saying.

I used to tell the dance, but if you want me, I want you to just go work it out with her.

What made I don't know. If I could tell you that I could bring the spell, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know.

Just the feeling you have.

Yeah, it's just you know, and it came straight. Yeah. And I believe, you know, I don't.

I believe that that love is a complex thing.

You know.

I still love all the children and my mother's I mean all my all the the mothers of my children, love them like sincerely love them. I ain't trying to take nobody from their man, but if they need no but you know what I'm saying. But but her is just man, I can't get rid of it. I can't get rid of it. I'd have tried, she didn't tried. And here we go.

We'll be right back with more of The Baller Alert Show. You're listening to a special edition of The Baller Alert Show.

Hey, what's up? Is that boy killer? From the Vial Killer? Mike Now tuned in the ball Alert Show on Revolt.

Now.

I remember during COVID, you know, it was a lot of stuff going on in Atlanta, and uh, you know, they called you a tip to go calm the city down.

Oh you mean the what'son?

I was the Riots, and I always loved the you articulated yourself just in every situation that I've seen you in, and I definitely look up to you just as a as a man.

Yeah, I appreciate it.

You ever thought about, you know, running, I thought it was a little my way.

Run. Her shouts out to Alley.

No, I'm talking about running for mayors.

Three.

I'm trying to go on, run.

I try going to tell your music run.

Yeah, so you never you never thought about it at all.

Your daddy did call you a leader?

Yeah? He did.

My father did You are a leader? And I recognize that. I just I think that this is I'm called to do what I'm called to do. And my grandmother told me, you do what you're called to do while your community, because that's what you're supposed to do. And right now in my life, I'm much more comfortable supporting the dynamic

Now.

Some of the innovative ideas he had, like giving out those free gun bags and safe so when you leave your firearm you go into the White House, you might leave your fire mean and little boys break your window. Next thing you know, they got a Dangier's farm. Lewis was passing, was pushing the mayor a measure that would use a gun bag the same way in my car, you can't steal it. He gonna have to take the whole car, the whole seat with him. That's a genius idea.

He knows that because he grew up in in that cord.

So my thing is I rather than right now in my life, be supporting those type of candidates, supporting the mayors we have, supporting the city council. The Chamber of Comments is doing right by us because I would only be a distraction right now because I still like singing and dancing and smoking weed to go into the flame. And I mean, yeah, I ain't nothing wrong with the mayor going to the flat.

I'm not gonna go to the flight while I'm mayor.

Yeah, I'm just gonna.

I'm on the Doday ship right now to give.

But that was my question, what brought you back to, you know, making this this project because you know, you were, like you said, like the Dungeon family and all that. You know, you had a career prior and then it seemed like you became like a super entrepreneur.

You had the barbershop.

You yeah, isn't it one?

It's one?

Yeah, But you can't forget this little thing called Run the Jewels. Run the Jewels is a rap group. For the eleven last eleven years has been one of the most successful touring rap groups in the world. Run the Jewels one, two and three and four one t J four. We've been compared to groups as vast as outcasts, groups that has a longevity eight Bolling m JG. We've been said to be a rap group operating in the rock and roll world. We play one hundred thousand people at

So I was good.

Okay, so you last Ben you never stopped.

Never stopped, a big rich I'm good.

Don't nobody cry for me, don't ye like I suffered the first nine years of my career figuring out who I was. I met LP. We produced and put out rap music twelve years ago from William Street's Records here, which reinvented who I Was. That led to a group called Run the Jews. If for the last eleven years been dominant on the touring, on tour, and you know rap charts, We've had a number ten record come in terms of bill Board, We've been number one rap. So

You understand. I said, I know you love me running the Jewels, but these my nigga flows.

I said that because I had been an accent from y'all, But nigga, I'm back and I brought a broom. So what kept me going was the fact I never stopped. My greatest talent has just been consistency. Just keeps showing up, Get up and show up. If I had this attitude toward the gym, I'll be honest for us and nap you know what I mean. Lord knows I'm trying to develop.

It, but you just keep getting up and keep rapping.

So what happened is run the Jews has We've had a successful four album run again.

We just did. We just did.

We did sixteen shows in four different cities. We did in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and LA. We did all four of our albums every night. We did a different album every night. Every show was sold out, including the Eastern in Atlanta, So don't again.

I'm good y'all. You know what I'm saying when I say enrich a nigga nigga rich for real? Right?

But I understood right when I was raking rap music. If you I don't want to have to do what others want you to do, You're gonna have to learn to become an entrepreneur. I bought my first barbershop over the internet. My wife told me I was crazy and then talked to me for two weeks because she said, you should have let them go out of business and just when they got space. She's always been a business

I like getting.

Everything on one stop shop. So we found a formula that helps us so that real estate development. I knew that I was on the west side. I knew that that was four mile driving to downtown or walking in downtown. I knew that made since my grandparents had I owned a house. They never saw my grandpa's house. They always had something to go. I said, how can I maximize and do that? I got a sixty thousand dollars check out.

Of nowhere one time?

When about our first property? That door's grown into multiple doors now with.

Somebody teach you about the real estate game, or you just I was a dope.

Wasn't named fast to you when I was a kid and I had seen him and there was a there was a man named big Unk who's brilliant here big record company y'all might have heard of, and he did it. And you know my art teacher, Mster Murray, who now teaches his kids to grow food. What would tell us you need to buy around? So black folks ain't crazy? And I didn't have to find no internet crew. Y'all, y'all stop giving these niggas y'all money to give y'all advice.

You know what I mean, just stuff, I go investigate on my awmbles. Stop giving people money trying to do it the fast away. Sometimes you just gotta you.

Gotta do it, you know, you know you you know what a house rent for depending on this condition, get something, get a duplex, live on one side, rent the other side. So just common sense brought me to it. And then I just start and then and then as your money grow, you know, you take advice from people you' seen do it well.

You ask them.

So whether that's big boy who's been amazingly smart with money, Shaquille O'Neil, people like that, they start talking about investing.

You know, you start, what was some of the advice they gave you?

Man invest, invest and find a find a sound financial person, not somebody who's trying to give you a return in ninety days, and make the long term twenty year investments about stocks you by bunch, you don't look.

At them for twenty thirty years.

You're you're planning a seed for a tree that's gonna grow you might not never get to see. But you gotta y'all live. I'm gonna tell you the first thing all of us can do. Live at a below your means. Get a monthly budget for yourself. What's my budget? My budget? I average about twenty thousand dollars a month at one point, so I know I gotta make quarter million dollars.

A year just to meet bills and budget. So you start to say to yourself.

Shit, boy, I might not need the goddamn do this, goddamn nobu tonight.

What that's a doll I don't want to go over and for you.

What you'll be saying is, man, I don't think Sponge Divis is gonna do it for me tonight.

I need to say this. Three hundred bucks shout ain't gonna fuck anyway to the niggas. Aint gonna get on that meat.

Advice for Valentine's Day coming up?

Oh do something man. I remember me and Shane was we was on our.

Ass and well, I again I was, you know, we're still kind of danged.

So it was like, you know, it was a few thousand dollars show here, but.

Man, she she laid out a blanket and she had made a picnic for us, and we did.

A It was so sweet, kind of like this poor girl. I could have took her to the.

Steakhouse and she just did a picnic right there in the middle of like an extra bedroom o place. And I've never forgotten that it was out one. So I'm just tell people out there, you know, it's cool to buy stuff and to have expectations and stuff, but you know, just do something nice for each other. Write each other letter, prepare food for each other. You know, you can bottle

What I mean?

And and that way you not out of her fifty cent talk about his grandfather and his grandmother that my grandparents were similar.

He says.

His grandfather is brought to check home his grandmother. He said, how the hell he's got your grandfather? You're crazy, man, what you're doing you're just giving all your money. But if a woman is like Proverbs, you know, was a Proverbs thirty one ten to thirty one, talk about a virtuous woman, the type of woman you want. She gonna a woman see the money, she know the budget in

On a lot of people don't. A lot of people don't want to hear that.

Yeah you don't.

You don't think it matter till you need some and and and if y'all not locked in like that together, what y'all can say, Man, we're gonna budget this, so we still gonna have a good time. It's gonna you're gonna have to get creative like that. That don't don't don't waste, don't waste each other's time.

So I just wanted to keep on track. We were at the Entrepreneur. You had the barbershops.

Then you said seafood opening.

Okay, yep, Me and Tilp talk the old restaurant, bake here seafood, Miss Hell and Harden and Crystal Peters and Shane and rendered my wife have done an amazing job at bringing that fruition. The old building is now a brand new building. If you drive down down Lee Highway, I think sixteen sixty five.

I was gonna say that needs to be like a grandfather.

In Yeah, location were down there and we serving alcohol. You'll be able to get to run the Jewels Beer there. A lot of you guys don't know running Jewels has the Spirits company. You can buy and have our stuff shift to you, but our beer is gonna be served there. It's an excellent menu. We even got some of y'all vegans. Do know why y'all don't eat no fish, But we got you. I got you, my nigga, I promise, and I want you all to enjoy it. And I'm not

And then where did Greenwood come in?

Greenwood? So Greenwood is a is A is a fintech farm. It's a banking platform and what it does is partners with banks that are regional, smaller and willing to have trust in the working class folks, folks who may not have had the best credit, Folks who are first timers, and they just resourced them to get them together. And they're opening having some other opportunities now in terms of opening things to help people understand financial literacy. They partner

We would love that.

Yeah, you set that up.

I get a bear, shoot whoever, I'll get.

Okay, I'm I'm always gonna be here making music in some capacity, and I understand life get to be, but I try to make music that's reflective for that. So I would encourage people. You know, if you never heard some records, you know, you said, man, well what was he doing before running? Do that?

Man? Go listen to God in the building.

Wanted two when I was rapping to convince myself not to stop rapping.

You know, the passion was still there.

The mixes are just better now and I understand how to make even better record. But yeah, just don't stop. Whatever your dream is, don't stop. You know what I'm saying, Like, you know, I want people to understand it. Man, I make music out of a place of truth and reality at that time. That truth and reality might be different ten years later, but I want to see where I was at that time.

So I had that musical record.

So you know, everybody, get a journal, write down how you feel now, push forward. If nothing else, I just want to know I help inspire somebody, whether that was through talking to an interview, whether it was through music, or whether it's to my show Love and Respect, How to Talk Show myself. We got twenty three others sols up on PBS. You go to PBS type and killing Mike was right there. You know, look for more of those. We coming out this year. We want an Emmy for that.

So when it's a celebration in Atlanta.

We got we gonna do the celebrator I've heard were putting something together. Y'all gotta be there.

We got there.

You encourage other artists to put their own money up to see their dreams through.

No, that is the craziest ship you could do. And you're gonna have to do it at some point.

So you're gonna have to do it.

We're gonna have to at some point. You're gonna have to take a risk on yourself.

And that doesn't mean that's a thousands of dollars risks, But that means that you found a funky little venue to rent for a few hundred and you make it look like something, and you figure out a way to give people something free to drink or and you and you put a hundred to three hundred people in the room.

That absolutely means that.

It means that when you start making some money before you buy, before you buy the jewelry, you figure out how to expand whatever you need, you know, and it means you pay the people around you too once you start to grow.

So yeah, you're gonna have to spend.

We'll be right back. Stay tuned with more of the Baller Alert Show. You're listening to a special edition of The Baller Alert Show.

Hey, what's up is that boy? Killer? From the vill Killer Mike now tuned in the ball Alert Show and Revolt.

Now, how many text messages did you have after you?

Want to know your ship was going to pass them back?

Mister Tyler Perry tall cousin parent who in jail a period.

He probably in there bragging my cousin want to grab.

It's amazing how things change when trophies come into play. Yeah, a lot of people don't like it, you know, don't like the Grammys.

They say, you know, we need our own and all this stuff.

But I feel like it's still important to to some musician, like even in myself, to have a Grammy.

Yeah, it's important. I mean because there's other people who do what you do. It's like men, it's being a plot of the love by your peers. Getting nominated as an Amazing feat. I ain't gonna lie say I didn't want them to sweep. I wanted to sweep, and I'm thinking off the sweep.

But with that said, I still.

Ain't got my BT Awards, I still ain't got my Essence Awards, so I still want to pick.

Up some awards like it's coming. It's coming recognized like I want to.

You know, the greatest tragedy of Van Gould's life was he died before the world realized who he was. You know, I don't want to die and everybody be talking good about me.

I'm dead. I want you to come to the party where the Bruin's gonna be, you know, for real.

So it has remaining ambitious and hungry and a dog about it as an artist, you know, absolutely now to win these things. It's a matter of work, you know, because because you know, just because the artists dope, and even just because your audience like it doesn't mean everyone's seeing it, you know, Like I get why, uh what the what they called him?

I rock Z?

Does the Z manials disea all my niggas thats Z's out there. Let me tell you something, man, I understand what it's like to turn off have fun ball. But boy, when your mama died, yes, oh man, when your mama died and you ain't got a song to fit that, man, be it bro got you something. Because my mama died.

I couldn't even listen to that song that you made motherless. I couldn't even listen to it.

It's I made my man Harold, who was amazing writing.

Man. Harold say, you know you're not rapping. What do you mean? He said, you're a bluesman. You're talking about working class people's life. And yeah, so that's a responsibility. So that's a responsibility on the record.

I tell homis man like, I put something on here for you now. You might not be ready for it now, but when you need it, it's gonna be.

There for you.

Listen.

I was listening to the album on the way here too. When Motherless came on. I had to I just recently lost my mom, but I could not listen to it because I didn't want to room a makeup. I'm like, I can't listen to this right now. But you are preaching on there and I appreciate it, Kendrick said. Critics who want to mention when hip hop was rapping, if you did.

Killer Michael will be platinum. Do you feel like the Grammy's.

Doing it right? Man?

We helped prove the right, you know, like like and I say, you know, if I was a Kidred fan, I'm definitely gonna be like, man, let me see what shouted because he influenced. Like for me, man, when I hear, when I hear, when I hear one of the people that I look up to love and the door reference something.

I used to write it down.

I used to have to go to the library or go to the encyclopedia. Now you just put it on the phone. I want to hear that, you know what I'm saying. I want to hear that like I didn't. I didn't you know, I didn't when you when when I could tell who was really in the music. When when Kanye started working with Mike Dean and I seen the kids that pop up and said.

Mike Dean didn't he used to rap? Didn't he used to rap?

They said, used to lights up dooring that stop, they said. With Scarface, I said, oh that's.

A he like me. That's a little music nerd. He reading credits. He want to know where to pun.

And then it was like you look at Scarface's tiny desk that over everybody's going crazy about.

Right there next to them, it's Mike. Mike.

They've been partners and they made they you know, for thirty forty years. That's what's amazing, Like they're such a richer tapestry if you're just willing to dig deeper, if you're just willing to get curious, that's all I want people to do.

Get curious about art.

Don't just say well, this is the art that I'm being told is it for now? And we're part of this artistic mama. But what drives it?

What?

What has inspired the artists that I admire? Because I guarantee if you do that, you become a richer artist.

Yourself.

Question before we get up out of here, when Killer Mike's having a bad day, because we all have bad day yesterday, Actually, what what do you do?

Who do you talk to? Somebody? Do you have Do you have a therapist? They talk to Lloyd I like wife. So when you're having a bad day like my wife.

Maybe gonna start seeing it there. It's pretty cool. I give it Tona to Prano marijuana therapy, you know what I mean? I watched Toni and Prano because I can't identify the character you're trying to keep it all together, you know, marijuana. I think it helps with my anxieties. And ultimately, my grandmother told me, which is essentially just a former of of self meditation sources.

You meditate to quiet my mind. You know, he's amens to just be.

Quiet and I talk to God, because God's in you. God's not separate from you. God's all around you and covered you and in you. And sometimes you just have to get quiet and just and just talk to to the God that hits in you. I encourage you as an old guy back in the seventies and eighties called Reverend Ike. My grandmother loved her. My grandmother just my grandmother adored them, and my grandfather thought it was because

Reverend Night We're giving you for free. You just go on YouTube when he talks about the reality of God, is that God is in you and prayer is. It's not.

Prayer is an active thing. You pray, you work, you move, you strive. And he talked about that, and he talks about how innately you have to manifest things.

Out of your mind. So I talk to God all the time.

I get prayers answer on more days not I could have a bad day and the next day, Man, here the Lord is, and it was meant for me to suffer that bad day that I may appreciate the good day. You know, if you read the story of Job in the Bible, you know Joe was a man who spotless, who was seamless, you know, in terms that he was tight for God. And the devil told God, you know, he only liked that because you ain't never let me put my hands on them. You ain't never let me

What I mean.

And Joe stayed faithful through all the suffering, through loss of his family, has lost his fortune, he says, and God restore him, you know, and God gave him peace. So for me, I just figured, you know, bad days are gonna come, and I should appreciate them like I appreciate the good days because God is always with me. Amen.

Now you had you run all the Grammys and you're on a run right now. What's next for killing Mike?

I guess they'll send me to the next interview. Hopefully we get lunch. But I'm back in the studio working, Okayed two, Michael three.

Michael two and Michael three. This needs to be a movie, like are you gonna turn this into a movie? That could be the Oscar? Because you're on your way to Egy.

I want to do I want to do a movie one day.

It will happen one day, but you know what I really want to do in the immediate I want to do a play.

Okay, I think this this is I think this built for Broadway.

Yeah, well you know the right Tony Okay, all right, I would love that. But we appreciate you for soccer dig so much. He's so proud of the city's proud of you. And I just love listening to you because you teach. Every time you say everything you are preaching, well.

I'm always learning too, and I just want to I just want to say, man, I just man. I want to thank Reverend Senator, Reverend Rafael or not. He called and prayed with me out of know what the other morning, and I just want to just give you some of that positive prayper because I know how hard it is to lose a mother, and just know that you will be in my thoughts and prayers. And although physically we go the manifestation her energy never will because you are

So thank you, we appreciate it. Before we get out of here, we gotta do a pep talk real quick with Killer Mike. Here's a pep talk.

Hey, what's up? It's killing Mike, Killer Kill from the field. Ak.

I missed a sweepier room like your grandmama's new broom man. Three time Grammy winning here, and I'm just here to say, even when the days was dark, I kept pushing. And it's really, really, really a very very very short statement. I can, I must, I will, I can do this, I must do this, I will do this whatever your this is. I can do this, I must do this, and I will do this. I can, I must, I will love and respect.

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