Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) made headlines when he slammed Drake comparing God's 6 discography in music that played while you shopped at stores like Target.
Mos felt the backlash and clarified his comments with a 25-minute clip he posted on his Instagram on Monday (January 29) in a half-apology to Drizzy.
“First of all, I don't hate anybody,” Beys began. “My opinion is mine. It is legal in all states as far as I know. It wasn't an opportunity to try to slander or clown him. I have reached him. I have no answers yet.
“I don't want to talk about people or to through a screen, I prefer to talk directly to people. But I will say this: The young man is very talented. He's been able to be very successful with that talent, and I have no problem with his success or anything he's been able to achieve as a result of his talent.”
Mos didn't want to be lumped in with those who unfairly criticized Drake throughout his career and opened the door for a direct chat with the OVO boss if that's what he wanted.
“I feel like some of the criticism he's received in the past has been malicious or unfair. So I don't want to be a part of it,” he continued. “I've never had any problem with you personally—I don't know you well enough to have any issue with you in that regard. However, it is not sacrilegious to have a criticism or opinion about a public figure, especially of such magnitude in today's, modern culture.”
Bey reached out to Dave Chappelle in the hopes that the legendary comic would serve as an intermediary to expand the olive branch.
“Drake, if you want to talk to me directly, you can anytime,” she added. “I reached out to Chappelle, asked him to contact you. I sent you a DM. You are a very talented MC. But for me, I need more from myself and others than just talent or charm or charisma — especially in times of urgent crisis.”
Ultimately, the Black Star rapper wants more substance from today's artists in hopes of seeing them connect more with the public than the club.
“What I would like to see, in terms of creators or creative people in the world as it relates to our culture, is for people to connect with us beyond the jukebox or the dance floor,” the 50-year-old said. “A fair-weather friend can hardly be called a friend. People partying with you, that's cool, but are they going to show up if you're at the competition or in crisis mode?'
The Brooklyn rap mogul made the controversial comments to Drake during an appearance at The cutting room floor podcast earlier this month.
“Drake is pop to me,” he said when asked if he saw Drake as hip-hop. “In the sense of being in Target in Houston and listening to a Drake song… I feel like a lot of his music is compatible with shopping… You know, shopping with an edge in some cases.”
The “Nice for What” rapper has yet to directly respond to Bey's latest comments on social media, but did post a video of Method Man describing his definition of what hip-hop is after his “shopping” comments Yasin.
“What did Umi say again? Let my bright king shine don't change now,” Drake wrote in the repost on his IG Story earlier in January.
Drake has mentioned the backpack rapper on a few occasions over the last year. Bey took a stray jab from Drizzy when he described his target audience Titles ruin everything poetry book.
“You can now do an article where the baddest Instagram girls in the world review my poetry book, not the head of the Mos Def fan club… Thanks,” she wrote in a comment on Complex during the summer.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/yasiin-bey-clarifies-drake-comments-1235593284/
