On Feb. 4, celebrities walked down the red carpet so many legends have walked past, the Grammys began with anticipation for one single genre; rap. This year, most people were surprised to learn the Grammy nomination in the Best Rap Performance, Rap Album and Rap Song were won by a rather unknown artist Killer Mike, also known as Michael Santiago Render. He began his career through debuting on rapper Outkast’s song “Snappin’ & Trappin’” alongside J-Sweet and continued his career having 11 singles, five mixtapes and nine albums. However Killer Mike is more than just another Atlanta rapper, he’s also an activist, fighting against racism, drugs and police brutality which he brings up ;in his songs, especially from his latest album “Michael.” Despite popular belief, he truly deserves the awards he has won.
The first Grammy Killer Mike won of the night for Best Rap Song, with his song “Scientists & Engineers” featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane. The other contestants for this award was , “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice featuring Aqua, “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert, “Rich Flex” by Drake and 21 Savage and “Attention” by Doja Cat.
While songs like ”Barbie World” celebrate individuality and self confidence, the song “Just Wanna Rock” expressing the a desire for a carefree lifestyle devoid of problems. But on another note, “Rich Flex” showcases Drake’s wealth, and “Attention” bringing to light the need for attention as a celebrity. In contrast to the majority, Killer Mike’s song had a message about societal advancement and achieving success while expressing a strong disdain for violence. Its true that other songs bring up universal topics, Killer Mike stands out, bringing up serious problems within American society like racism and inequality. In my opinion, Killer Mike talked about issues that nobody else attempted to discuss, his lyrics are not only deep but relevant to today’s communities, which is why I believe he deserved to win this Grammy over the other nominees.
Next, the Grammy won by Killer Mike was for Best Melodic Rap Performance, where competed against Drake and 21 Savage for their song “Rich Flex,” Coi Leray for “Players,” Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem for “The Hillbillies” and Black Thought for “Love Letter.” “Scientists and Engineers” won him the Grammy in this category and was his repeated entry. After hearing all the songs, I understand why he won. Since I haven’t heard any of the songs except for “Rich Flex” a couple of times, I had an open mind while listening, which helped me keep a decently unbiased opinion on what song I liked the most. With that being said, Killer Mike had a catchy chorus that sounded like a church choir singing, which was an aspect I really enjoyed, and had a good flow that I enjoyed more than the others as well as keeping a consistent tone.
Killer Mike’s album “Michael” won him his final Grammy for Best Rap Album. This category as decidedly the most shocking win that Killer Mike had that day, because he was going up against Nas for King’s Disease III, Drake and 21 Savage for Her Loss, Metro Boomin for Heroes & Villains, and Travis Scott for UTOPIA, some of the biggest albums of the year. Most people expected Travis Scott or Drake to win this Grammy, but I feel different. Both of those artists just sound like generic pop stars of this generation, and though they have some really good music that I enjoy, Killer Mike had a retro vibe that I enjoyed, he brought back old artists like CeeLo Green and 2 Chainz bringing back nostalgia from the early 2000s. It was really refreshing to see that come back in 2023 and that really made me believe that he deserved this award.
In retrospect, Killer Mike really did deserve the Grammys he won that night. He just had good talent that the Grammys took notice of, while the majority of people just ignored in favor of other artists, most notably Travis Scott and Drake who the majority of society thought were going to win the Grammys. Though he wasn’t known at all to anyone who listens to rap, I strongly believe he has proven himself to be deserving of three highly prestigious awards.
by SIMON ARAGOZA
