‘Respectful’ Rapper T.I. Compares Trump to Slave Master
Rapper T.I. has a bone to pick with Jim Brown, Steve Harvey and Kanye West.
His real beef, though, is with the United States in general and Donald Trump more specifically.
The rap star posted an Instagram video Monday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. That was only part of the Atlanta rapper’s string of messages this week.
Let’s start with his open letter regarding the upcoming transition from President Barack Obama to President-Elect Donald Trump.
As I share my thoughts, I want to first say that it’s easy to allow one’s frustration and angst to lead to reckless and harmful rhetoric that can cause irreparable damage. With that said, I want to be responsible, honest and respectful, but in no way apologetic about the rage and resentment that many of US have been suppressing for far too long….
“Should it ever at times seem as though we are against you, I assure you it’s a result of you defining yourself as the representative for those who are and who always have been against us,” he wrote. “The deck has always been stacked against us in this country. With every generation there has been strategic steps taken to oppress, imprison and control US…”
We do so much as take a knee during the national anthem and it’s looked upon as Un-American. Yet and still, as many of US continue to live in life-threatening, unspeakable conditions with poisonous water systems, failing schools, broken criminal justice systems, lack of decent healthcare and affordable housing, all while scraping for a basic living wage many of US are still fighting to find our way.
Sounds like the rapper isn’t too keen on President Obama’s legacy.
Yet for all of T.I.’s attempts to be “respectful,” he follows up his open letter with video messages comparing Trump to a 21st century slave owner. He also blasted football legend Jim Brown, rapper Kanye West and comic Steve Harvey for meeting with Trump over the past few weeks.
The rapper also known as Tip warned celebrities of color to avoid Trump at all costs.
“There’s a strategic plan that people are trying to make you a part of, okay,” he says. “So do not accept any invitation to have any meeting, no matter how positive you think the outcome may be, without understanding that people have a really Willie Lynch agenda, okay. You being there, taking picture and smiling and being positive, it may seem positive to you, but there’s a hidden agenda, man. You might not know it. But now you have been warned. Do not go in there unless you have a strategy.”
Willie Lynch refers to a slave owner who allegedly gave a famous speech about how to control one’s slaves. The narrative appears to have been debunked, though, according to a 1998 Baltimore Sun investigation.
Later, T.I. implied that Brown, Harvey and West are Uncle Toms. How? By posting this snippet from Malcolm X on his same Instagram account.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Foter.com / CC BY-SA
This Black mans bitterness just consumes him and blinds any of his reason. What a waste of time and pathetic existence to be obsessed with your own skin color and perceived threats from Trump. I know Trump doesn’t give it a thought except to make black peoples plights better with a brighter economic outlook for them. T.I. you have a horrible self destructive world view.
Black people waste their whole life filled with anger and hate thinking nobody likes them because their black. By the time they realize it’s not true it’s too late. They’re old and wasted many years.
The Zoo is ready to welcome you with open arms. Are you ready to homestead?
Malcolm X was a gay male prostitute.