‘Closest thing to Africa’: Rapper Killer Mike mentions Hilton Head on national radio
Hilton Head Island and its Gullah-Geechee culture was thrust into the national spotlight Thursday morning for being “culturally, the closest thing to Africa.”
Killer Mike — an activist, Grammy-winning rapper, and host of the new Netflix show Trigger Warning with Killer Mike — made an appearance on the popular morning radio show The Breakfast Club. The show features interviews with celebrities and hip-hop artists by hosts DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God.
In his interview, Killer Mike touched on a range of topics including how people, especially in the black community, can better support local businesses, private versus public education, and interracial marriage.
When he spoke about his own marriage and his wife, Shana Render, who he says is from “the projects of Savannah,” he made a quick mention of the Lowcountry, a place he’s vacationed according to his Twitter.
“Culturally, they the closest thing to Africa,” he said. “When you start going to Hilton Head, those people have been untouched for hundreds of years.”
“They’re Geechee,” Charlamagne tha God, a Charleston native, agreed in the background.
Although the entire South Carolina shout out lasted all of 10 seconds, Killer Mike gave Hilton Head’s Gullah community a little national attention.
The Gullah community began in the southeastern United States when the enslaved people were brought to America and is still one of the “most culturally distinctive African American populations” in the country today, according to the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Gullah website page.
“... They established a rich culture with authentic West African components including a distinctive language, history, economic system and artistic traditions,” the website says.
You can watch the full one-hour interview here.
This story was originally published February 5, 2019 at 10:17 AM with the headline "‘Closest thing to Africa’: Rapper Killer Mike mentions Hilton Head on national radio."
