Killer Mike says that no one can ever question his Blackness because he wakes up every day next to a Black woman.
The recent three-time Grammy winner contends that only a Black woman understands the challenges and adversities of being Black in America, emphasizing her unique understanding that stems from shared racial experiences with Black men.
The rapper, who attended Morehouse College in the early 2000s, referenced Walter E. Williams, a conservative Black economist known for his efforts against segregation and Jim Crow, in an interview on “The Breakfast Club” with hosts Charlamagne Tha God, Jess Hilarious, and DJ Envy.
Killer Mike shared how Williams, who during the 1950s refused to classify himself as Black while in the Army serving abroad due to the systemic discrimination faced by Black people, only agreed with segregation in the context of marriage.
“When it comes to marriage, you should marry a Black woman because who’s going to understand me like a Black woman,” the rapper paraphrased. “Who [going to] understand my pain, my strife, my struggle? Who’s going to understand culturally how important it is for my Black children to be proud to be Black even when she didn’t birth these children?”
— Boyce Watkins, PhD – Wealth is Power (@drboycewatkins1) February 14, 2024
Williams, who died in 2020, once wrote that when he chose his wife he “systematically discriminated against other women” and that he mostly “discriminated against white women, Asian women, fat women and women with criminal backgrounds.”
In Killer Mike’s life, he was arrested at the Grammy Awards ceremony on Feb. 4 after winning three Grammys himself. He said while he was locked up it was thinking about the Black women in his life that made him calm and filled with gratitude.
“I thanked God for putting me in a space, believe it or not, by myself. And I got an opportunity to invoke the spirit of my mom and my grandmother and let them know what had happened and thank them,” he recalled, and said when he left the station, his wife of over 20 years was waiting for him.
The rapper said not only does he agree with Williams, but he also judges other Black men that don’t.
“Before you criticize me now, I’m gonna look at your life decisions,” the “Oooh La La” recording artist said. “If your life decisions didn’t bring you to a Black woman, then a lot of the s—t you say might not have credit with me.”
He continued by saying he has a cultural critic who has a non-Black wife who doesn’t like him. After learning this, he said he feels compelled to confront the critic about his audacity to question his Black identity while being in an interracial marriage.
“When I see him again I’m pulling him to the side. I’m pulling your card because you can’t critique me about being Black,” Killer Mike said before qualifying, “I live in a Black neighborhood. I grew up in a Black community. I didn’t move three exits from the neighborhood I grew up in. Still help the same Black high school and college and elementary schools I went to.”
He added, “You can’t get Blacker than me because when I wake up in the middle of the night, I wake up next to a Black wife.”
Social media chimed in on his comments, celebrating his commitment to nation-building and how he gathered his haters who try and come for his Blackness, while not supporting the Black community.
“Killer Mike said you can’t critique his Blackness, if you ain’t even married to a Black woman. Clocked you Beige chasers, fr,” a person on X tweeted.
Killer Mike said you can’t critique his Blackness, if you ain’t even married to a Black woman.
— Angela Simmons’ Evil Twin (@ItsDollhouseMJ) February 14, 2024
Clocked you Beige chasers, fr.
Another peeped the read, writing, “Killer Mike said don’t talk to me about blackness… I grew up black, in a black neighborhood, didn’t run to the suburbs, and he wake up in the morning next to a black woman.”
Killer Mike said don't talk to me about blackness…
— Lance (@CashflowinLP) February 14, 2024
I grew up black, in a black neighborhood, didn't run to the suburbs, and he wake up in the morning next to a black woman….
Some social media users through up digital high fives regarding his decision to marry a woman who looked like his mother.
“I watched 5 times in a row. I couldn’t detect a single lie,” one viewer said on Instagram. Another person commented, “Dr umar been saying this for years but y’all don’t listen to him.”
Another comment read, “I mean other ethnic groups are taught to marry within as well …why is it so controversial when it comes to us?”
Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, married his wife Shana Render, who also goes by Shay, in 2006. As co-founder of Greenwood Bank, he focuses on supporting Black-owned businesses and advocating for Black Americans to build generational wealth.
The two share four children and have been the proud owners of the SWAG barbershop since 2011, which now has multiple locations.
Killer Mike and his very smart beautiful wife are example of love = action. Their kids will get more than just his dna.
— Paula – Issa's young cute yet disapproving auntie (@grooveparlortv) March 14, 2019
For us working folks the mortgage on $250K property is $2K/month. Married couple can do that. Renters pay your mortgage. Shacking is hollow pic.twitter.com/mwlyKwsB1K
