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Killer Mike has criticised American footballer Drew Brees’ claim that taking a knee “disrespects the flag.”
The Run The Jewels MC, who recently made a powerful speech following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, said kneeling did not show any disrespect to America.
He explained: “The American flag stands for the First Amendment and the ability to say what you feel about situations. Now, you bear the brunt of it. You may get blackballed out of the NFL, but you have the right to [protest]. So if you support and you don’t wanna see the American flag disrespected, don’t look at it on Budweiser shorts at picnics.
“Don’t look at it in bikini shots in Playboy. Don’t look at it on your favorite album covers because you think that rock band is rocking for you. Be all the way with it. You’re an intelligent football player but that was an incredibly stupid thing to say,” Killer Mike said, directly addressing Brees.
Addressing the recent eruption of protests in the US, he added: “I’m not gonna be so burdened with the religion that has become Americanism/nationalism that I forget the flag represents the United States Constitution. And the United States Constitution was written by a bunch of people who chose to protest violently in order to have a flag.
“They chose to rebel against a monarchy in order to stop being subjects of that monarchy. So what you interpret as disrespect is probably the most patriotic thing happening today.”
Addressing the ongoing protests in the US recently, Killer Mike delivered an emotive speech.
“We have to be better than burning down our own homes because if we lose Atlanta, what else we got?” the rapper said in a televised address on Saturday (May 30) which condemned those protests in Atlanta that descended into violence.
“It is your duty to not burn your own house down for anger with an enemy. It is your duty to fortify your own house, so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organisation. And now is the time to plot, plan, strategise, organise, and mobilise.”
He continued: “If you look at the ’60s and ’70s, black cities like Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit, even black parts of Los Angeles and Miami, they were prosperous, they were fruitful, hope happened there. And through things like redlining, through not developing, those places [and] a lot of those cities have fallen, and Atlanta for the last 50 years has managed to be a city that grow.”
Yesterday (June 3), Run The Jewels released their new album ‘RTJ4’, two days earlier than planned. The pair made the album available in a bid to boost morale, citing the world as being “infected with bullshit” and concluding that their music might bring fans “some joy”.
El-P wrote in an Instagram post: “Fuck it, why wait. The world is infested with bullshit so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all. We hope it brings you some joy. Stay safe and hopeful out there and thank you for giving 2 friends the chance to be heard and do what they love. With sincere love and gratitude, Jaime + Mike.”
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