Right after a grand jury failed to indict Michael Brown’s shooter earlier this year, Run the Jewels prepared a set list. The hip-hop duo would perform that night in Ferguson and dive further into the topic of race relations. Riots did not scare them. They only helped their cause even more.
“We had the weird, tragic, and serendipitous experience of being the only band, when the verdict was coming down in St. Louis, to be attempting to get into St. Louis. Everyone else was just driving as fast as they could out of St. Louis,” El-P said in a new interview with BBC.
This was a year ago. Today, Killer Mike and El reflected on that night and the impact of rioting, comparing the effects of Ferguson riots on the community with that of Boston Tea Party in forming the nation we know today. “Riots work,” Killer Mike said plainly. “I’m an American because of a riot.”
Peep more of what they had to say in the full video here.