It's a common trope, if you are a right-wing bigot: Racism doesn't hurt black people, hippity-hop rap music hurts black people, what with its jiving and twerking and PULL THOSE PANTS UP, and BACK IN MY DAY! In recent months, Fox News white geniuses Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Geraldo Rivera and so many others have all done their own cover versions of the same song. If rap music wasn't oppressing our innocent black children, racism would be over and "reverse racism" would DEFINITELY be over.

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Killer Mike (Christian name: Michael Render) is perhaps the best, most interesting, most honest rapper alive today, whether on his own, or with his BADASS duo Run The Jewels. He's fucking smart, and he cares about making things better for black kids in America. He raps about bad cops, but with the full understanding of what his own cop dad went through, which is why the media has called him to talk, brilliantly and thoughtfully, about Ferguson and Baltimore.

And he HATES Bill O'Reilly. Mike sat down with Tavis Smiley this week to discuss all these things and more, and it was so quotable that we thought we'd quote from it, to answer the objections of those sad Fox fuckweasels, and then this matter will be settled. (No it won't.)

The mic is to you, Bill O'Reilly:

“There is no question that people of faith are being marginalized by a secular media and pernicious entertainment. The rap industry for example often glorifies depraved behavior and that sinks into the minds of some young people.”

And what does Killer Mike think about that?

"I've never hit my wife."

MIC DROP OF THE CENTURY? Because remember that thing about how, according to court documents, Bill O'Reilly beated up his wife? But Mike didn't just drop the mic, he picked it back up and crammed it up BillO's ass:

"It's funny how Mr. O'Reilly castigates an artform, because he understands it, and he understands that what he's saying is a lie. ... When you propagate that rap causes violence, and then when we catch you doing something violent, your child catches you, and it comes out, then you at least should have the shame to say 'I'm sorry, and I understand that real violence comes from a different place.'

"And all of us men are capable of making that mistake and capable of doing something stupid, but to blame it on a culture that children created, to have peace in their community, is something that's almost evil and maniacal. And it's the real reason why I really have a problem with Mr. O'Reilly, because I don't think he believes these things, and I think he sells that fear to white America, and that fear becomes something compounded, evil, and allows people to turn their head while children are murdered in the streets."

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YA BURNT, Bill O'Reilly! We think Mike may be overly optimistic, though, to believe that O'Reilly isn't actually ignorant and pompous enough to actually believe the things he says. It's probable that he does believe them.

Let's let Mike do a verbal beatdown on the dumb Brain Thoughts of Geraldo Rivera, who is very upset about Kendrick Lamar, ANOTHER brilliant artist, performing his song "Alright" on the BET Awards, because you know Geraldo always stays up late to watch that:

Not helpful, to say the least, not helpful at all. This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years.

Another panelist on Fox's "The Five" agrees with Geraldo, that BET's airing of the Kendrick Lamar performance is an "incitement to violence." But gosh, Killer Mike, is it the hip-hop music that's really destroying the black kids?

"You can't argue that hip-hop rots away the moral character of kids, or rots their brains, and still see middle class white kids going to college, listening to hip-hop. Going onto become healthy adults, listening to hip-hop. You have to ask yourself, what are these black kids missing? What are we not giving them by way of services, by way of school? What are we not giving their parents by way of equal pay? What are we taking away from them, when we take services from them?"

Maybe hip-hop has some magic SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES in it that turns the blacks bad and violent, but just turns white kids all twerky? Or maybe Killer Mike is right, and blaming rap music for the ills of society is a cop-out to give fearful old white people an easy thing to scapegoat, instead of confronting actual problems. Huh.

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Oh just watch the video. To learn more about just how badass Killer Mike is, check out this profile in The Bitter Southerner. And while you do that, turn your speakers up and listen to a couple Killer Mike / Run The Jewels songs. JUST DON'T LET THEM INCITE YOU TO VIOLENCE!

[PBS / RawStory via Stereogum]