Atlanta rapper Killer Mike arrested by police at Grammys after winning 3 awards

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike was arrested and escorted out of the Grammy Awards in handcuffs on Sunday evening.

In a video posted by the trade website The Hollywood Reporter, Mike was seen in handcuffs being taken out of Crypto.com Arena by Los Angeles police.

The rapper had just swept the rap category winning best performance for “Scientists & Engineers,” marking his first Grammy win in 21 years since “The Whole World” in 2003. His song “Scientists and Engineers” won best rap performance and best rap song.

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“The only thing that limits your age is not being truthful about your age or what you’re doing,” the 48-year-old Mike said backstage.

Police spokesperson Officer Mike Lopez said Mike being detained stemmed from an altercation inside the arena around 4 p.m.

The rapper, whose real name is Michael Render, was released on his own recognizance at 8:37 p.m. and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 29 in Los Angeles.

A representative for Mike did not immediately respond to an emailed or text request for comment from The Associated Press.

When he collected third award, he shouted out “Sweep! Atlanta, it’s a sweep!” He took to social media after the arrest and wrote: “The South Said Something! Amen.”

Atlanta-based entertainment attorney, Leron Rogers, said Killer Mike’s wins are the big story, not the incident.

Rogers is a partner at Fox Rothchild and represents many well-known, award-winning artists, including Rick Ross.

“It’s unfortunate that anything would distract the audience from giving Killer Mike his accolades,” Rogers said. “I don’t know what happened, but it appears to be something minor and has been resolved, but again I don’t want to distract anything from Killer Mike. He’s recognized and been in the game a long time and I really just want to focus on the positive.”

Return to Atlanta News First for more updates.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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