Killer Mike was arrested after winning three awards at the 2024 Grammys. Read on for the latest on the lack of charges levied against him, and what music Mike has made in response.
Perp walked out of the Grammys
February 5, 2024: Just after he won three Grammys, Killer Mike was arrested at Crypto.com Arena, the site of the awards. On Monday, Mike released a statement explaining that there was “confusion” on what door to enter the venue before he was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. He clarified, “We experienced an over-zealous security guard but my team and I have the upmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of all wrongdoing.” A spokesperson for him also stated, “The situation has been overblown but we are confident that the facts of the case, when laid bare, will show that Mike did not commit the alleged offense and he will be exonerated.”
Video tweeted by The Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Gardner shows the rapper, born Michael Render, being walked through the venue in handcuffs by police officers. “Mike, are you serious?” someone asks in the clip. “Yeah, I’m serious,” he replies. Mike was released later the same night, his attorney told Variety, adding that the rapper “will be celebrating his sweep tonight.” A jovial Mike called into the “Big Tigger Morning Show” on Atlanta’s V-103 the day after, where he brushed off the incident as “nothing” (other than having to remove his six-figure chain). “We hit a speed bump, and then we headed back to the party,” he said.
A source told Gardner the arrest was for a misdemeanor unrelated to the ceremony and is “a big nothing.” However, sources told TMZ that Render was arrested after an altercation outside the Crypto.com Arena. Mike had just attended the Premiere Ceremony at the nearby Peacock Theater without incident. There, he swept his nominations in Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Album, making him one of the day’s top winners. LAPD Media Relations Division posted on Twitter that Killer Mike has been booked for misdemeanor battery and would soon be released. Vulture has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department as well as representatives for Killer Mike and the Recording Academy.
Facing no charges
June 26, 2024: Killer Mike will face no charges following his Grammy Awards arrest, TMZ reports. They say Mike completed his city attorney hearing, and agreed to do community service with his choice of non-profit. He had previously been booked for misdemeanor battery following a fracas over which door he and his team were supposed to use. “There was a lot going and there was some confusion around which door my team and I should enter. We experienced an over-zealous security guard but my team and I have the upmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of all wrongdoing,” Killer Mike said in a statement at the time. He was proven right.
Using it for his art
Fresh off Michael winning Album of the Year at the 2024 BET Awards, Killer Mike dropped a video for his new song, “Humble Me.” The lyrics detail his arrest at the Grammys. “I won at the Grammys / did that for Atlanta / swept up like a janitor / got sent to the slammer / treat me like an animal or some kind of Hannibal,” he says. Mike also repeats his assertion that most of his heroes were arrested at one point or another, and also mentions that the day after his arrest, his son got a new kidney.
