Killer Mike wanted the audience of his Wednesday night talk to know him beyond his rapper persona.
“My name is Mike and I rap,” he said. “I own a couple of barber shops. My wife runs my house, and I have four children to whom I am very dedicated to. I am basically your average middle-class dad.”
Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, spoke at Leverone Auditorium as part of the Contemporary Thought Speaker Series. The rapper and activist urged more than 200 students in attendance Wednesday to take action against social, political and economic issues.
He rose to fame through his work as part of Run the Jewels, a rap duo that he formed with rapper El-P. During this election cycle, he has campaigned for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Killer Mike was selected as a speaker because of the fame he gained through his socially conscious music and political outspokenness, said Ben Zimmermann, a Weinberg sophomore and CTSS co-chair. Although Killer Mike is an advocate for many social issues, his music and activism primarily focuses on topics pertaining to race, Zimmermann said.
Killer Mike encouraged audience members to foster relationships with people from different demographics. The interaction and mentorship among people of different races, classes, sexualities and religions will create unity and equality, he said.
“Why aren’t we out fighting for the rights of all, like we should be?” Killer Mike said. “We are better as a species when we work together.
In his presentation, Killer Mike also stressed the importance of change. Education, politics, economics and community interactions all act as areas for widespread societal change to occur, he said.
Killer Mike discussed a variety of topics relating to his personal life and society including socioeconomic differences, interracial relations and homophobia. He said his knowledge of these issues stems from his own life experiences.
“I learned about homophobia because I said something homophobic to (my friend) and he told me how much it hurt him,” Killer Mike said. “I learned about sexism because I have two daughters that don’t let me forget that sexism exists. What I have found is that often times the personal thoughts that I thought I had, aren’t even my f—— thoughts, they’re just some dumb s— I heard an adult say.”
Killer Mike’s musical career gave him the foundation to begin his career as an activist, Zimmermann said. Since becoming famous, Killer Mike has used his status as a major hip-hop artist to speak about current issues, he added.
“There is an extra importance and intrigue when you have someone like Killer Mike talking about these issues,” said Communication sophomore Jonas Weitzman, who attended Killer Mike’s talk. “The issues are inherently important, but getting someone like this to talk about them makes it easy to listen to.”
Email: darialenderman2019@u.northwestern.edu
Twitter: @lend_er_man