Atlanta Rapper, Killer Mike, has never been afraid to wade into political waters with surprisingly nuanced opinions. During the 2016 election, he was an ardent supporter of the Democratic Socialist from Vermont, Bernie Sanders. He even refused to vote for Hillary Clinton. But, simply because he supported the progressive icon for president does not necessarily mean that he shares similar views on guns and the second amendment with other liberals. In fact, he adamantly believes that the second amendment is necessary for the survival of African-Americans.
“Ida B. Wells said every black household should have a Winchester. I believe the same today about today’s rifles,” Killer Mike told Townhall after reaching out to him after his appearance in an interview with NRA TV’s Colion Noir over the weekend.
Killer Mike’s real name is Michael Render. He has released five albums as a solo artist and had Grammy winning success with Outkast. But this weekend, some of his fans are rather upset that he dared to show a different viewpoint on gun control and refused to partake in this weekend’s March For Our Lives.
Recently, millions of elementary, middle, and high schoolers across the country walked out of their classrooms to advocate gun control and protest gun violence. But, Killer Mike’s message for his kids on that day was simple; do not follow the crowd just because everybody else is.
“I told my kids on the school walkout, “I love you. If you walk out of that school, walk out of my house.” That simple. We are a gun-owning family. We are a family where my sister farms. We’re a family where we’ll fish, we’ll hunt, but we are not a family that jumps on everything an ally does, because some stuff we just don’t agree with,” he told NRA TV.
In fact he went so far as to say that progresisves who blindly follow are simply “lackeys.”
“You’re not woke! You can’t continue to be the lackey. You’re a lackey of the progressive movement, because you’ve never disagreed with the people who tell you what to do,” Killer Mike posited.
At several points in the NRA TV interview, the rapper discussed his pure frustration with the censorship of gun owners during the gun control debate. “If there is a table to be sat at, the gun owner needs to be there,” he said.
Via Twitter Direct Message, Townhall asked him what he has to say to fellow progressives and Bernie Sanders’ supporters who do not see eye to eye with him on guns. He said, “I’m black. I cannot change my stance on guns but I remain an ally on social and other political issues."
In reference to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he said, “As African Americans, we are 54 years into freedom. I am not ready to trust government to have my best interests at heart.”
The full interview is well worth the watch and can be seen below. It is refreshing to see a political activist break the cycle of collectivist thinking and break the so-called tribalism that is hampering honest discussion in America today.