A$AP Rocky is currently under fire for his comments made in an interview with Time Out about feeling forced to speak on social issues because he’s an artist with a platform.
A portion of his September 2015 conversation was shared on Instagram and Twitter with people being disgusted by A$AP’s thoughts on standing up when a major tragedy—especially when it is a police-involved death of a black man—happens in America. Read his statement below:
Rocky has made it pretty clear that he isn’t a voice for political and social commentary. During his talk at Oxford University last year, he told students that we all don’t have to talk about the same topics to stand out.
When Rocky was pushed more about his opinion on police brutality, he explained that he was recording A.L.L.A. in London, so he wasn’t around when the protests happened in the States. Rocky thinks he doesn’t have the authority to speak on it, and followed with this:
So Rocky’s response to the backlash on Twitter is somewhat valid, despite outrage for the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the officers of the Dallas shooting. Rocky recognizes his statement was insensitive, but contends people are quick to judge him without actually putting his words into context.
"I KNOW MY STATEMENT SEEMED INSENSITIVE BUT THE SAD THING IS U BASE UR THOUGHTS OF ME OFF AN INTERVIEW FROM 2015 DAT U NEVER EVEN FULLY READ," he tweeted. "MOST OF YALH R PUPPETS WHO GET UR LIFE MORALS FROM A TL."
He added, "FUK ALL THESE COPS KILLIN THE URBAN YOUTH DEM, N FUK ALL YALH NIGGAS FOR DICK RIDIN ON BASH ROCKY DAY." He has since deleted handful of his tweets, but you can read them all below.
