Run the Jewels Talk Ferguson Anniversary in BBC Video: "Riots Work"

One year ago this weekend, unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed after an encounter with the police in Ferguson, Missouri. When a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson, Killer Mike delivered a powerful speech at a St. Louis concert expressing outrage at the decision. (He also discussed Michael Brown’s death in an Instagram post, op-eds for Billboard and USA Today, and on CNN, twice.) To mark the anniversary, BBC Worldwide asked Run the Jewels (aka Killer Mike and El-P) to make a video about why they think riots work. Head to the BBC for the video, or watch it below.

El-P introduces RTJ as “your fantasy utopian representation of race relations in the world.” Of Killer Mike’s speech, he says, “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.”

Mike adds, “Riots work… Post-riots, [Ferguson has] two new black city council members, they have actual advocates in the community now, and the police chief retired. So if it was argued that riots worked for Ferguson, absolutely they did.”

Read our feature on Run the Jewels, Last Rappers Standing.

Watch El-P and Killer Mike on Pitchfork.tv’s “Over/Under”:

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