S. Samuel
Former G.O.O.D. Music artist Kid Cudi recently weighed in on the controversy surrounding Rick Ross after dropping controversial lyrics on Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O" and losing his Reebok endorsement deal.
While Cudi gushed over Ross’ nice personality, he suggested the “Boss” merely overlooked his date rape reference lyric.
“I read about that and I normally don’t like to have opinions about people’s crafts — I like Rick Ross, I think his stuff is dope but that lyric, in particular, it’s like come on, man, it’s super sketch. It’s a super sketchy line. But you know, people can get caught up in the artistry sometimes and I met Rick Ross like once or twice when we were in Hawaii working with Kanye years back and he was a really nice guy first. His energy, he’s a reallly gentle person. You can tell the n*gga’s got a good heart, he means well, you know? You just kind of get caught up in the artistry, he was just writing fresh a** raps. He was thinking of some cold lines. There’s a responsibility.” (Hot 97)
Last week, Young Money’s Drake shared a similar sentiment and said Ross’ situation made him realize the power of rap lyrics.
“That situation the other day with the Rocko song was a big wake-up call for all of us. Like, rap is important. The world is listening, this is a wake-up call. If you’re going to say something that’s going to put you at risk, make sure it’s a message worth fighting for. I know Rick Ross very well, by all means I don’t mean to speak on another man’s situation, but it just, for me, it clicked. … Watching Pac, he felt like that message was worth fighting for. And in this day and age, he would have lost corporate sponsorship and he would have lost money but at the end of the day, that message was important for him. It’s just a wake-up call, man, and just realizing more to it.” (“East Village Radio”)
Rocko sided with Ross and questioned Reebok’s business decision a few days ago.
“As far as the Reebok thing, I don’t think that was fair because what he brought to Reebok. People in my neighborhood, in my city, they’re back wearing Reeboks,” Rocko said about the sneaker giant and its popularity among rap fans. “It was a cardinal sin to wear Reebok before Ross started promoting ’em. Ross stepped in and he branded ’em and he got the urban market back in to ’em.” (MTV)
Last week, Reebok issued a formal statement on parting ways with the “Boss.”
Athletic goods retailer Reebok on Thursday terminated its relationship with rapper Rick Ross, whose song featuring lyrics that seem to boast about drugging and raping a woman has caused an uproar. “While we do not believe that Rick Ross condones sexual assault, we are very disappointed he has yet to display an understanding of the seriousness of this issue or an appropriate level of remorse,” Reebok, a subsidiary of Germany company Adidas, said in a statement. “At this time, it is in everyone’s best interest for Reebok to end its partnership with Mr. Ross,” it said. Ross had an endorsement deal with the company and promoted its shoes in print and TV commercials. (Reuters)
Check out Kid Cudi’s interview:
