An old adage warns procrastinators “Time waits for no man.” Atlanta born and raised MC Killer Mike has lived this first hand. After guest appearances on his mentors Outkast’s Stankonia LP and Grammy Nominated “Whole World,” time seemed to stand still. That was, of course, until 2003 when he, along with Bonecrusher and T.I., turned the Atlanta club anthem into a requirement for sporting events, video and radio Top 10 countdowns worldwide. Shortly after, he released the Gold-certified debut album, Monster.

For present day Killer, it would seem as though father time is still having trouble synching his watch. He’s had a lot to think about (it will be four years since Monster’s release) and finally knows what time it is – Grind Time. Less than 24 hours after hearing a subliminal diss from a member of his former crew, Purple Ribbon All-Stars, he recorded and released his retort “I Promise I Will Not Lose.” When Killer’s not in the studio putting the finishing touches on his highly anticipated sophomore album, he is either doing press or taking care of his Grind Time Records imprint. Time is money – he plans to spend it wisely. In the first part of a 2 part interview, Killer Mike spoke with AllHipHop.com about his family’s history, the present state of his career and Hip-Hop, and how he plans to use the grind to shape our future. It’s time for a new leader.

AllHipHop.com: From our understanding, you’re still dealing with the majors. Now you have the side business, and your doing so well you think “Why am I not doing this well with the majors?” You think, “Maybe I’m not a valued employee at this company.” Is there a time when you respectfully sever ties and move with your own company?

Killer Mike: That’s exactly what happened with me and Purple Ribbon. I don’t wish Purple Ribbon no ill, but we’re competitors now. If there’s a radio spot left and it’s between us, I’m pushing for me. I think what happened with me and Purple Ribbon was less about me not being appreciated as an employee. It was more about trying to treat everybody fair, but, the world ain’t fair. We all want everybody to have a chance and everyone who has been riding with us to get a chance and all that. That’s we all want, but that’s not the way it really is. In the real world, passion, desire, and tenacity gets you to the top and I left Purple Ribbon because that wasn’t being rewarded. I didn’t care about being appreciated – I cared about having my hard work rewarded. If I’m not top priority and there’s not superior urgency behind whatever I’m doing, then I don’t need to be there.

AllHipHop.com: Is that the same policy for any major deal now?

Killer Mike: I have proven I can come in number 10 on the Top 200 on the Billboard charts – undershipped. I have proven that I can sell 500,000 records. I have proven that I can leave a successful company [Sony] – at the time they still successful in rap with Lil’ Flip and other artists – and get more media coverage than I did there. I’m proven I can sever ties with one of the largest rap groups ever and not be viewed as a has-been or sidekick. I understand what the rules usually say, but I’m here to say that I’m an exception to every rule. I’m an exception to the sidekick rule. I’m an exception to the “fat guy ain’t marketable” rule. I’m an exception to every f**kin’ rule ‘cause I talk to people at their core. I speak to people’s appetites, I speak about the struggle, I speak about the grind. And that’s something far different then what any other artist is doing.

AllHipHop.com: It seems like you are embracing the role model/leader mentality. Usually rappers shy away from that with “I’m not a role model.” Here, it sounds like you are taking a stance as a voice for the people. Is this an accurate assumption?

Killer Mike: It is, Mike. See, I heard a lot of rappers, and it angered me, say “I’m not a rapper, I’m this, I’m that…” And I kept saying why wouldn’t n***as want to be a rapper? When I was young, that’s all we wanted to be; because those were the only people who told us the truth. [Ice] Cube, Spice-1, Scarface, Phife, Dre, Luke, K-Solo told me the truth. Now, we’re in an environment where it’s “just ignore the s**t, have a little fun.” Rappers have become partners in the pimping of their own people, rappers have becoming nothing more of a motherf**kin’…. all rappers are MC Hammers now. “If you put a bucket of chicken in my motherf**kin’ hand, I’d dance for you.” And that’s no personal take on Hammer the person, that’s just saying the image of Hammer in the early ‘90s. I do not want Stanley to feel like I’m coming at him, for real. I have a lot of respect for that man – he came out his trunk. What I’m saying is every rapper got a bucket of chicken and a smile on his face.

They don’t know to do, how to fight the power or do any of that because they didn’t enter the situation as a man. And that’s what I represent – I’m a leader based on the fact I’m a man. I’m a Black man that comes from nothing that’s supposed to matter in this country and people know I’m that I’m the consummate underdog. Mike the individual and what Mike represents. And if people are willing to get to behind me, why wouldn’t I be willing to lead them? If people are will to pick up the torch of hard work and down to grind, I’m gonna tell them “Hell yeah, you’re supposed to shine!” Buy your diamonds, bling, floss out – because you work and commitment into it. I don’t want to leave a music career with a bunch of dead songs for you to listen to. When you were broke you were listening to me and 20 years later you’re still listening to me broke. That’s no good… I don’t want you to do that. I’m not gonna wait for success to find me, I’m gonna hunt it down. I’m not gonna wait for you to like me; I’m going to get in your face and ask you to make the decision.

AllHipHop.com: Then why isn’t this being promoted? Why are you one of the few who are brave enough to say these things?

Killer Mike: You know why? You can put this is all capital letters: ‘CAUSE I’M A REAL N***A, FOR REAL. A lying motherf**ker is gonna do you like a politician. A lying ass n***a is gonna tell you something slick in your ear and he’s gonna do the right thing. He’s gonna make you a hoe - every single time. Just like the government do ya, just like private institutions do ya, just like your f**kin’ jobs do ya – they’re always gonna seek to pimp you. You gotta look it at like 80-85% are dumb as a motherf**ker – they don’t know s**t. They’re just out here trying to grind, they’re purposely kept ignorant by the educational system, they’re personally lied to by their job and their politicians. Then you got 10% of motherf**kers out here who don’t give a f**k. They know the right s**t to tell people to help themselves, and s**t on them every time. Then you just got about 5% of the motherf**kers out here who are willing to do real s**t and be a real n***a about their s**t, for real… I guess I’m just one of them five. It’s just enough, man. It’s enough for letting people think crack is still selling… man they giving dope away. Hell yeah a n***a can give you a $16,000 brick now: ain’t no addicts to smoke the s**t! You find me 16 smokers – with money. Now, if you talking 16 pill heads, I can give you that times two. You are the new addict – that’s what people need to start waking up and seein’. “Hold up, maybe I need to pump the breaks a bit.” They find a build a whole other everything off your back again… just like they built their prisons off crack convictions. They destroyed our families off of crack convictions. They tore our big brothers, our uncles, and our fathers away from us with crack convictions. They took our mothers away with crack addictions… And here we go, setting it up for the motherf**kin’ second one. Everybody in the ‘80s and ‘70s was singing about cocaine and how fun it was. I’m not gonna tell you that this stuff’s not been a part of my life. What I gonna tell you is that its an other side of that motherf**kin’ horizon – and you better be looking and planning for it.

AllHipHop.com: You’re from Atlanta. I’m from New York. You killed Hip-Hop. Speak on it.

Killer Mike: [Laughs] If I killed Hip-Hop, what the f**k did the jiggy era bring to the game? [Laughs] Let me tell you something, Hip-Hop ain’t dead – it’s growing. A lot of people in Hip-Hop are getting old… there’s nothing wrong with that because at least we know we’ll have 40 and 50 year old people listening to Hip-Hop – and I’ve waited on this day. But, in regards to Hip-Hop being dead, as I remember there are four elements to Hip-Hop: you have rap, you have dance, you have graffiti, you have DJing. Mike Watts is a what? Snap music is driven by what? Me, T.I., Wayne, Jeezy do what very well? Everything in the South – even down to freestyle flows out in Texas – everything we do here is based around on one of the basic principles of Hip-Hop. So my argument is simply where is Hip-Hop dead?

Look at everybody who f**ked with the South out of New York: 50 came out said his s**t sounds southern, did 50 do well? Fat Joe is known for f**king with the South, did he do well? The Dipset has been f**king with the South since… s**t… I was in their first video, did they do well? You see, we f**k with whoever f**ks with us because we “too dumb and country to know any better.” We wouldn’t even know anybody hated us if they wouldn’t have said they hated us. But guess what? We don’t give a f**k! Because for 15 years, nobody gave a f**k about what we were doing. Nobody gave a fuck about Kilo, Luke and 2 Live Crew, Outkast when they boo-ed them, 8Ball and MJG, UGK until “Big Pimpin’,” Juvenile when he was originally on DJ Jimmy’s tapes, Triple 6 [Mafia] before the Oscars… they didn’t give a f**k about a lot of shit, so we were forced to give a f**k about ourselves.

When I first heard Hip-Hop it didn’t give a damn where I was from because it spoke to me in a way that no music has ever spoken to me before. It’s whatever though. I dare a n***a to come f**k with us lyrically now, I’ll tell you that. And I did “Rap is Dead” three years ago so I’m a little taken aback. I’m not mad about it, because any conversation in Hip-Hop besides “who sold the most records” is a f**king great conversation. I thank Nas for being a conduit for that conversation. Please print that. We started to sound like old White men arguing about motherfuckin baseball. I didn’t give a f**k what ‘Pac sold; ‘Pac moved me.

AllHipHop.com: What other conversations should start having in Hip-Hop? Where do you think Hip-Hop is gonna go?

Killer Mike: We just celebrated 30 years, first off. Beyond Hip-Hop is the only Black music, besides Gospel, to say, “Nah, we ain’t gonna get pimped.” If you look at a Gospel artists and Country artists, they walk amongst there people. They go shopping with them, in the mall, selling CDs and what not… Hip-Hop does that too. But Hip-Hop said, “Nah, dog. You’re not about to motherf**kin’ pimp me. You’re not gonna cut the deal and I’m not gonna be a part of the deal.” What I see next for Hip-Hop is growth economically and being a fundamental resource. I listen to NPR a lot, I heard that the diamond companies had done a great job of getting people to buy stones that were bigger than three carats. De Beers ain’t did a good job at that by themselves. They were assistant by a hood dude out of New Orleans named Bryan “Baby” Williams. He and a group of little skinny boys from New Orleans created a term called “Bling Bling.” They created a fad of wearing ridiculously huge diamonds. So what happens when a bunch of White women see these country-ass n***as wearing these huge stones? What do you think they turn to their white rich-ass husbands and say? You get where I’m going now? They aren’t saying “I saw the new diamond commercial I want to get a four carat stone.” No, what do they say? “I want to get some bling bling.” Therefore Jay-Z is a prophet in that he did this. He stopped predicting the future and started dictating the future. A lot of us pre-dictate the future – Ice Cube pre-dictated that the Watts Riots were gonna happen. Jay-Z dictated Roc-A-Fella clothing line and wield it to be. Rap is the only American music to put forth action through words. It expects its participants to be business people, to be astute, and expects you to become a man. The audience expects every rapper to own a business, am I lying? I don’t expect Aretha Franklin to own a business. I don’t expect Little Richard to own a business. The expectation on us is to be leaders.

AllHipHop.com: Being that Hip-Hop started as a social movement in the Black community, how do you feel what’s happening in the community as an artist with Rap not taking an active role. Meaning, you won’t hear a song promoted about Katrina, Sean Bell, or the elderly woman in Atlanta as quickly as you’d hear the latest beef record.

Killer Mike: You don’t own rap no more. It’s not owned by us no more. That’s why there’s a William Wallace in check now. You got cooning, but f**k who killed rap…

AllHipHop.com: What if the argument is who sold rap?

Killer Mike: Who sells the images of rappers to companies? You got an artist who does business with these companies and makes money. But does he keep his integrity in any of the business that he does? When Ice Cube did a deal with St. Ides, Ice Cube made St. Ides donate money to the community. Did any other rappers do this in their deals? You get what I’m saying? It’s not that these businessmen are demons – the magazines give them so much s**t, and it’s not right. These businessmen can only help his client do everything they name. But, he cannot give his clients integrity. I’m not trying to go at anybody, I’m trying to solve a crime: at what point did we lose control? What’s happening to rap now has happened to graffiti before. Graffiti has been exploited already, hence, they are more protective of their art. They have already went through being all the rave in the New York art scene and then being the step children. Break dancers have been exploited in the same way. Remember the ‘80s? Remember those corny ass commercials? What happened to all those kids after break-dancing wasn’t “cool” no more? What I’m saying is the exploitation of rap is not going to happen that hard, quick and fast because we have voice. If we don’t seize the control we have, it’s gonna become “Kenny G Jazz” and not “Miles Davis Jazz.” Rap is something that can be bled longer. They can bleed it slow… it’s worth more. We gotta protect that, assume some control, make sure that much more creative things get out there. If Hip-Hop is dead because Atlanta has “assumed control,” I’d love to Nas bring the original Juice Crew to give a free show and educate the kids on Hip-Hop. I love to be a part of anything. I had Afrika Bambaata’s image in my first video. I’m a member of the rap fraternity now. A member [for] three years or member 30 years – I’m a member all the same. Along with creating this dialogue, what are we all going to be responsible for? I’m going to be responsible for making sure battle rap keeps living. We’re doing this thing called Kill the Mic. It ain’t about nothing but bustin’ your ass off in a freestyle and we’ll put it on a Grind Time tape and put it out. It ain’t about money or nothing – we just want you to come and Kill the Mic.

AllHipHop.com: What do you feel that Hip-Hop listeners need to do preserve Hip-Hop?

Killer Mike: Diversify what they listen to, open their f**kin’ mind. Stop letting people tell them who the f**k they are. All y’all who listen to conscious rap, the conscious rappers f**k White girls and spend amazing amounts of money at the strip clubs too. Everybody who listens to trap rap and think these n***as are still in the street – no. These motherf**kers have White attorneys and counselors; and yup, they date White girls too. And they hiding their money in something more than a Nike box. There’s the truth of it all. We all are a lot more 2Pac-ish then we want to admit. Because we’re pulled, we’re men, we have faults. The audience needs to stop being so polarized. I bought A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop, Prince, N.W.A., Geto Boys, Luke 2 Live Crew… everything that I liked at that time at my life through any time of my life. What I did was never allow anyone to tell me what I should be. Y’all really don’t wanna know what a trap look, feel, tastes, smell like. So it’s cool if y’all like more then trap music. Y’all really don’t wanna be George Jackson – that don’t mean you don’t hold any of his ideals. Y’all really don’t wanna be Huey. Why? ‘Cause y’all wanna have a Lexus. But it’s okay for you to listen to whoever you want to listen to. I’m sick of people who are “conscious” acting as though it’s some shame in buying diamonds or gold; yet, they wear $500 sneakers and $800 blue jeans with $13,000 glasses. None of that s**t can you take to a pawn shop. You can take at least jewelry, and that’s just common sense at the end of the day. It’s just a little pretentious and snobbish that that audience chooses not to support street rap. It’s a little stupid of street rap, or the audience that listens to street rap, to act as though there aren’t dire consequences and that maybe they need to educate them-f**kin’-selves past the trap. When you get banged up, everyone you call got a better education that you: your lawyer, your uncle that knows a lawyer… you feel what I’m saying? It’s time for that dumb s**t to die. It’s okay to like a lot of different s**t. But it’s not cool to only dictate your life by only one person’s set of rules and standards, and that’s what you do when you only listen to one artist. All you’re doing is buying a campaign slogan. Rap is more libertarian than it is Democratic or Republican.

source- allhiphop