Killer Mike calls for more minority-owned record labels

Run the Jewels’ Killer Mike is already a prominent activist voice when it comes to political issues, and he has recently appeared on both CNN and Fox News to weigh in on Ferguson, and racial tensions across the US. This weekend he gave a lecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of their Hip Hop Speaker Series.

According to Billboard, Killer Mike discussed cultural appropriation, race relations, the music industry, and public education during the two-and-a-half hour lecture. He also called for more minority-owned record labels to counter the dominance of major labels, saying “We have been used and abused and we know that…We need more Rocafellas, we need more Bad Boys”

“Be independent as fuck,” he advised. “If you want to pull out of that construct, you have to start your own farm. If you’re an abolitionist, you’re not going to get money from the federal government, so you have to get it on your own.”

Last night Killer Mike also attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, an annual gathering hosted by the American president Barack Obama for the journalists that cover political affairs in Washington DC. Killer Mike was there representing The Huffington Post, and he documented his time there on social media. He joked about not being able to smoke marijuana in the White House, and made a jibe at the major labels that told him that Killer Mike was an unmarketable stage name with a photograph of his name listed on the official programme. He also highlighted the progressive symbolism of his visit to the White House - “#MyGrandParentsWudbePleased” he said.