In a 2015 interview with Time Out, rapper A$AP Rocky was asked to speak on Ferguson.
He spoke at length, saying in part: “So every time something happens because I’m black I gotta stand up? What the f*ck am I, Al Sharpton now? I’m A$AP Rocky. I did not sign up to be no political activist. I wanna talk about my motherf*ckin’ lean, my best friend dying, the girls that come in and out of my life, the jiggy fashion that I wear, my new inspirations in drugs! I don’t wanna talk about no Ferguson and sh*t because I don’t live over there! I live in f*cking Soho and Beverly Hills. I can’t relate. I’m in the studio; I’m in the fashion studios; I’m in these bitches’ drawers. I’m not doing anything outside of that. That’s my life.”
Nearly one year later, the rapper clarified his comments during an interview with The Breakfast Club last week. Suggesting that he misspoke and was misquoted, Rocky asserts that he did not want to speak on the issue because he was not there. Again, he put his foot in his mouth, as suggested “Black Lives Matter” was a bandwagon movement, asserted “All Lives Matter,” noted the problem of “black on black crime” and said Bill Cosby is innocent.
Needless to say, his interview did not go over well with folks on the internet…
asap rocky is the type of person fox news purposely interviews to paint a very specific picture of our community
— pad ty 07 (@holyscum) July 21, 2016
Bruh in ASAP Rocky breakfast club interview he said “people wanna be political but don’t know the 3 branches of law”. 3 branches. of LAW.
— Billy Shakespeare (@jawnbrown) July 20, 2016
I tried to give ASAP Rocky the benefit of the doubt but he dug a deeper hole on the Breakfast Club. I’ll go back to not knowing his music.
— Bassey Ikpi (@Basseyworld) July 20, 2016
No matter where A$AP goes, he is still black.
In his interview, A$AP says he has no shame in being a black man and calls for unity and peace. Yet, he refuses to speak on an issue that directly affect him. Celebrities have a huge platform for advocacy. Millions follow them and are influenced by their words and actions. Though his interviews are not aggressively anti-Black Lives Matter, his lax language regarding police brutality is a bit combative. His refusal to take a strong stance against police brutality adds him to the long list of black people I do not claim.
Kevin Gates, Charles Barkley, Stephen A. Smith and Jesse Lee Peterson regularly earn chagrin from many black people on social media. These men are unafraid to ally themselves with those against BLM. Instead of taking a stance against state-sanctioned violence, they rant about the necessity to address internal issues within the black community. Smith, Barkley and Peterson are not paying attention. Black communities are addressing concerns within their community. Like A$AP, their quickness to silence BLM with the problem of “black on black crime” is problematic.
Okay so ASAP rocky said : ” how come black lives only matter when a police takes them “.
Listen we are talking about STATE violence— Cornbread Katie (@KatHeartwell) July 20, 2016
The quickness of some black celebrities to denounce Black Lives Matter cannot solely be attributed to their wealth and prominence. Many black folks in the industry like Beyoncé and and Ice Cube ardently support Black Lives Matter. Perhaps some lose their way or perhaps some engage in self-hatred. But as of right now, A$AP Rocky, Smith and Gates are on my list of black people I no longer claim.
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