US rapper Killer Mike, known offstage as Michael Render, shrugged off his arrest at the Grammy Awards as a “speed bump” on a night of triumph. The Los Angeles police detained him over a reported physical altercation at the event venue on Sunday, reports BBC.
The 48-year-old artist dominated three major rap categories, undeterred by the hiccup. After his win, Killer Mike was seen being escorted out of the Crypto.com Arena in handcuffs by a group of police officers, as captured in a video shared on X, formerly Twitter.
His detention was a result of an altercation inside the arena. Police booked him on a misdemeanour battery charge but released him later. Mr Mike is set to appear in court later this month.
The rapper phoned a radio company in Atlanta to discuss his Grammy victories. While sidestepping questions about the arrest, Killer Mike shared a perspective, saying, “We hit a speed bump, and then we head back to the party. We’re going to get back to the real question. ‘How did he do it? Three Grammys – 20 years in the game!'” “We partied all night. Ain’t nothing had happened, man. But we are winners. That’s it,” he added.
Killer Mike bagged the Grammys for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “Scientists & Engineers,” a collaboration with André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane from his MICHAEL project, which itself scored Best Rap Album.
During his acceptance speech, he said, “I’m a Black man in America, and as a kid, I had a dream to become a part of music. And that nine-year-old is excitedly dancing inside of me right now.”
“You cannot tell me that you get too old, you can’t tell me it’s too late, you can’t tell me dreams [don’t] come true! It’s a sweep, it’s a sweep, it’s a sweep!” he added.