Entertainment

Why Is Killer Mike At The WHCA Dinner?

by Jaclyn Anglis

Lovers of hip-hop and politics, heads up. You now have a whole new reason to tne in to the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, April 25. The big event has a very outspoken rapper set to attend. Killer Mike was invited to the White House Correspondents' Dinner as a guest of the Huffington Post. This is obviously exciting news for fans of the rapper, but some may be wondering why he got an invitation to the event in the first place.

The Huffington Post has reported on Killer Mike quite a bit, particularly over the course of the last year or so. And it does usually seem to be in a positive light. Killer Mike is quite outspoken on the topics of race relations and civil rights in America, both in his music and when he speaks to the press. And when he talks about these hot-button, relevant issues, the outlet is obviously listening, considering they reprint his words so that his message can be spread to a wider audience. The Huffington Post clearly sees him as someone who is worthy of being a regular and reliable source for their pieces, so it makes sense that they would see him as a worthy guest for their table.

As for Killer Mike's politically charged music, one example is the song and accompanying animated music video for "Reagan," which criticizes the changes brought about by the Reagan administration regarding the "war on drugs" and also addresses the ongoing and still current concerns about police brutality issues in minority communities. Killer Mike is certainly not shy about bringing these hard-hitting topics up onstage. He publicly broke down while performing in St. Louis after the Ferguson decision was made to not indict the police officer who shot Michael Brown. Even when he's not rapping, Mike blends hip hop and politics, speaking out about the criminalization of rap music, among other things.

Jason Kempin/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

In fact, he is so well known for speaking up about race relations that he was actually invited by MIT to do a lecture on the topic to the university students the day right before the Correspondents' Dinner. It's obviously a huge honor, so you have to wonder if he will say anything about the topic at the actual dinner as well. I can guess that he'll have a lot to talk to his fellow Huffington Post guests about at the table.

Keep your eyes peeled for him!

Image: Getty Images