attends TIDAL X: 1015 on October 15, 2016 in New York City.
Earlier this week, Lil Wayne gave a controversial and confusing television interview in which he spoke dismissively of the Black Lives Matter movement. (He later apologized, and reportedly fired his publicists for failing to prevent the broadcast.) Saturday night, T.I. weighed in the situation, posting an open letter on Instagram criticizing his friend and describing Wayne’s comments as “buffoonery.”
“I don’t know what you goin thru, or what you are attempting to avoid but this shit is absolutely unacceptable!!!!,” T.I. wrote. “You’re disrespecting yourself, bringing shame on your family name & tarnishing your legacy. … If you’re not prepared for a question in an interview, say No Comment Bro. But stop embarrassing yourself & everyone out here who’s been supporting you. There is no middle ground. Oppression knows no neutral party, either you’re part of the oppressed, or you with the oppressor.”
T.I. has become a vocal proponent of Black Lives Matter, addressing the movement on his recently released Us or Else EP. He’s not the first of Wayne’s peers to object: Vic Mensa described the interview comments as “ignorant, selfish, and isolated.” Read T.I.’s full letter to Lil Wayne below.