Killer Mike has mocked his arrest at the 2024 Grammy Awards as he honoured the late Otis Redding who was receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The US rapper, real name Michael Render, was escorted in handcuffs by police at Crypto.com Arena in February and detained on suspicion of a misdemeanour offence after scooping three Grammy awards during a star-studded ceremony.
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office later said that the music star had “successfully completed the office’s hearing process, including a community service requirement that was imposed”.
On Friday, the 49-year-old was introduced to the Walk of Fame stage by Grammy-winning producer Jimmy Jam – who had also presented Killer Mike with the Grammy Award for best rap performance for Scientists And Engineers at the 2024 ceremony.
“I was saying I wasn’t going to do a repeat of the last time he introduced me, I got arrested right after,” Killer Mike joked.
“Shout out to the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department), keep doing good work.”
He also picked up best rap album for his sixth studio album, Michael, while his track Scientists And Engineers featuring Andre 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane won best rap song.
During his speech, Killer Mike said Redding “left behind a stalwart that would take care of his legacy for the rest of her life”, referencing his wife Zelma Redding.
“Growing up aspirationally wanted to be a musician, wanted to be a rapper. He was an example for me, because we sample songs, and sampling a song isn’t just stealing music. It’s taking an emotion.
“It’s taking in the feeling. It is chopping it up. It’s reinterpreting and it’s making sure that it lives on. When we were kids, we would be nerds.
“We would read the records. Who was Otis reading? What did he co-write? How did it make me feel? Why did my grandmother play this so much, and why did we have to clean up when she played it?
“But as I learned more about him, what I understood is, you don’t get Martin (Luther King Jr) without Coretta (Scott King). You don’t get Malcolm (X) without Betty (Shabazz)…and you don’t get Otis without Zelma.”
Redding’s daughter Karla Redding-Andrews described her late father as a “family man”, with famous faces including Earth Wind And Fire singer Verdine White in the audience.
Soul singer Redding, whose hits include (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay and Try A Little Tenderness, died on December 10 1967 when his private plane crashed while on the way to a concert.
He has been posthumously inducted into the songwriters hall of fame, received a Grammy lifetime achievement award alongside two Grammy awards in the March before he died.
The Otis Redding Foundation is run by his wife Zelma and daughter Karla to preserve his legacy and “to empower, enrich, and motivate all young people through programs involving music, writing and instrumentation”, its website says.
