A$AP Rocky has been under fire lately, after a portion of a 2015 TimeOut interview resurfaced. The portion of the interview under question focused on Rocky’s thoughts on what was happening in Ferguson and other political issues that involved African Americans.
When TimeOut asked if A$AP ever felt pressured to speak up on political issues, he told the publication, “They’re not forcing me to do shit. I’m just gonna stay black and die. Why, because I’m black? So every time something happens because I’m black I gotta stand up? What the fuck am I, Al Sharpton now? I’m A$AP Rocky. I did not sign up to be no political activist.” He continued, “ 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 fucking Ferguson and shit because I don’t live over there! I live in fucking Soho and Beverly Hills. I can’t relate.”
After being slammed by several hundred people for his views, Rocky felt the need to explain himself. The rapper visited Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club this morning to clear the air and his name. Apparently, the TimeOut interview was just a misrepresentation of Rocky. He believes his words were taken out of context and misconstrued.
“I just don’t understand how they keep saying a dark skin n*gga don’t like black people. And it’s because you do these interviews with these European reporters – journalist, who want to make a name for themselves and they take it out of context. Most people who read that article, only read that section or see what they saw floating around on the blogs. For the most part, people didn’t really dissect that interview. You can see that that’s not my context.”
Rocky then went on to explain what he was trying to say last year.
“You got your modern rappers, like, your favorite rappers today. I don’t know if it’s Thug, Future, Drake, anybody like, you don’t always hear their content being about what’s politically going on. I feel like, why put me on a pedestal for that, especially when I’m not asking for that. I want to make music. I want to inspire; I want to promote peace. Cause at a time like this, I don’t have all of the answers….I want to promote prosperity, especially for black people.”
The Breakfast Club reminded Rocky of the fans that look up to Rocky and expect him to speak up and stand up for them. Rocky agreed and affirmed that, THAT was the reason he wanted to speak with the Breakfast Club.
The interview continued, they spoke on self-interest and perception. Rocky explained that the recent videos of police brutality really touched him, but he realized that people don’t really recognize an issue until it directly effects them. He drew comparisons between Alton Sterling and Siberia, explaining that some people can’t relate to what is going on here, because they have issues there as well, that doesn’t make one insensitive. Rocky touched on the fact that he lost his brother to gun violence. While, he’s been a victim of police brutality, black on black crime is a subject that tugs on his hearts strings.
“How come black lives only matter when police take them? Black lives should matter when a black lives take them.”
Charlamagne went on to ask Rocky about his quote in the interview about where he lives, “I don’t wanna talk about no f——- Ferguson and s— because I don’t live over there! I live in f—— Soho and Beverly Hills. I can’t relate.”
Rocky completely denied that he had ever said that.
“No, I did not say that…See, that’s crazy. Nah, not at all. I’m saying if I’m in LA, if I’m in London and something is going on in LA and you asking me about it, I don’t want to speak on it cause I wasn’t there. How can I contribute? How can I pay my contribution to that?…People don’t know what they talking about….What I try to promote is just unity, it sounds cliché but like love. That’s what’s really missing.”
They talked about Rocky’s contribution to the fashion world, which is an industry that has been pegged as racist. Rocky explained that being the first black man as the face of Dior, he’s here to knock down the doors for up and coming A$AP Rockys as Pharrells and Kanye Wests has done for him.
All in all, Rocky explained the interview sounded terrible. He was at a loss for words and overwhelmed. He revealed he was hurt about the current state of our country. Ultimately, he’s trying to encourage individual thinking.
“I just feel like, in this day and age, the mentality of everybody – they don’t want to think as individuals. That’s what I’m trying to encourage, cause it’s that individual thought process that can bring us together as a unit. People gotta think like individuals to come together as a group.”
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