Killer Mike breaks down on stage over Ferguson verdict at Run The Jewels show: 'Riots are the language of the unheard'

Rapper quotes MLK at St Louis show

Rapper Killer Mike, who has been vocal over the tragic death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, opened a Run The Jewels show with an impassioned speech last night, offering his sympathy with protesters and airing his fears for his own children.

Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot dead the unarmed black teenager on 9 August, was cleared of charges last night, leading to cars and buildings being torched across the St Louis suburb.

"I would like to give all thoughts and prayers to the people who out there peacefully protesting," Mike said ahead of the duo's set.

Paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr, he added: "I also give thoughts and prayers for the people who cannot hold their anger in, because riots are only the language of the unheard."

Mike explained that RTJ usually come out to Queen's "We Are The Champions", but he didn't particularly feel like a champion today.

"Tonight I got kicked on my ass, when I listened to that prosecutor," he admitted, growing tearful.

"You motherfuckers got me today. I knew it was coming. I have a 20 year old son, I have a 12 year old son and I'm so afraid for them."

But he cautioned that "you motherfuckers will not own tomorrow. We will not live in fear."

The pair then launched into a ferocious set as the crowd howled.

As President Barack Obama made a televised address in which he appealed for calm last night, the family of Michael Brown said they were "profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child" had not been not indicted.

Earlier Mr Brown’s parents, Michael Brown Sr and Lesley McSpadden, had urged for calm and asked demonstrators to observe four-and-a-half minutes of silence between the announcement of the grand jury decision and the start of any protest, to mark the four-and-a-half hours that their son’s body spent lying on Canfield Drive following the shooting.