Killer Mike‘s Grammy win for Best Rap Album was greeted with euphoria by the veteran MC and his fans alike, but Kai Cenat wasn’t feeling it.
The popular Twich streamer reacted to Michael‘s victory with a profane rant, seemingly shocked that it had triumphed over Drake and 21 Savage‘s Her Loss, Travis Scott‘s Utopia, and Metro Boomin‘s Heroes & Villains (King’s Disease III by Nas was also nominated, but went unmentioned by Cenat).
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“Who decided this motherfucka?” Cenat yelled after a short prologue in which he congratulated Mike on his victory but admitted, “I don’t know who this is.”
“Who the fuck decided this motherfucka?! Her Loss? Utopia? Metro Boomin? My n-gga!”
Beyond Cenat’s outsized reaction, what some observers found notable was his admission that he didn’t know who Killer Mike is. You can see the whole segment below.
One commenter called Cenat a “clown” for not being familiar with Mike, who first came to wide attention at the turn of the millennium after being discovered by Big Boi of OutKast. The Atlanta legend once told Trevor Noah that signing Mike was one of his “greatest accomplishments outside of being in OutKast.”
“The Killer Mike disrespect is so unwarranted considering everything that dude has done for rap,” another commenter said of Cenat’s reaction.”
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“Exposing himself as a casual [listener],” said one Instagram user.
“Go do y’all homework” was another typical reaction.
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Killer Mike appeared on numerous hit singles in the 2000s, including OutKast’s “The Whole World,” “Kryptonite (I’m On It)” by the Big Boi-led Purple Ribbon All-Stars collective, Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared,” and his own “A.D.I.D.A.S.”
In 2013, he formed the duo Run The Jewels with El-P, which brought both veteran artists to a new level of success.
Killer Mike’s now-Grammy-winning solo album Michael is also HipHopDX‘s top album of 2023.
Kai Cenat’s role in the Hip Hop media ecosystem has been contentious of late. After beginning his career doing prank videos, then moving to gaming, he started welcoming celebrity guests — usually rappers — onto his streams. He has also released music of his own.
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Rappers he has streamed or otherwise worked with include Drake, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, Offset and Lil Yachty.
Cenat’s access to top rappers has not gone unnoticed. Veteran Hip Hop journalist Elliott Wilson seemed to criticize the streamer late last year when he posted a photo of Nicki Minaj twerking during her appearance on Cenat’s Twitch livestream and captioned it: “Hip Hop journalism.”
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Wilson later apologized, saying: “I was out of line and let my competitive nature get the best of me.”
“Kai carved his own lane in the game, built a platform, and deserves respect. Salute the streamers and the young creatives getting to the paper and pushing our culture forward,” he continued.
