In case you missed it, hip-hop’s very own Killer Mike made an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” over the weekend. Killer Mike shared the panel alongside Ayaan Hirsi Ali, public policy expert Heather C. McGhee, political scientist Charles Murray, and John Waters. The group of five discussed the on-going issue of Blacks, systematic injustice, Baltimore, and more meaningful topics. Of course, the Atlanta rapper shared his opinion and FACTS on the hip-hop culture and its correlation to violence. One thing Killer Mike spoke on that expanded our thoughts on the Baltimore situation, was how we should stop wondering why our own communities are being burned down. When people say why do you burn down a CVS? And why are you burning down your own community? Well, because of Black people being denied loans. Black people being snookered out of their homes. Gentrifiers coming in or not coming in. Because that’s happened, you live in a community you don’t own. You’re a renter. You’re just occupying a space. The police are there. They are occupying you. So, when you say “burn down my community”…what did I burn? Most CVS’s did not hire people who live within 10 miles of there. Because they are afraid of theft and them letting their friends take something. So, what did I destroy besides a economic eyesore that won’t hire me anyway, that overcharge me for drugs, and I got to wait until the next morning for my pain killers.” DID KILLER MIKE MAKE A VALID POINT?
