S. Samuel
R&B singer Miguel had a public moment of clarity this week on Twitter and sparked an open debate on Black people being too judgmental and "programmed" for self-hate.
Miguel took to his Twitter page Monday (May 27) to unload a slew of open-ended arguments.
“Im proud of my heritage but honestly, black people are the most judgmental people in the world. Shits sad man.,” he tweeted.
“we’ve been conditioned, pre-programmed to hate ourselves”
“that’s why I appreciate those who choose to think and act for themselves regardless of ethnicity or culture”
“the problem can not be fixed until the problem is recognized. Not everyone is the same thank goodness. And obviously, I love all my fans”
“Of course EVERYONE is judgemental. I just PERSONALLY believe WE are the most critical of our own” (Miguel’s Twitter)
A few weeks ago, Odd Future’s Tyler, the Creator caught heat from a controversial Mountain Dew commercial over the perceived racial and stereotypical messages it implied toward Black people.
An online video promoting Mountain Dew that stars members of the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future is being called racist and misogynistic. The 59-second ad depicts a detective drinking a Mountain Dew while prodding a bruised and beaten white woman to pick out her attacker from a lineup of four black men – members of Odd Future – and a goat. The ad first appeared on Odd Future’s YouTube channel and has since been taken down. It’s unclear what role Mountain Dew had in producing the spot and the video does not appear on Mountain Dew’s official Facebook page or website. But Odd Future musician Tyler the Creator said in a recent interview that he met with company representatives about his idea for a goat commercial and got it budgeted. (NBC Bay Area)
Earlier this year, Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo spoke out against backlash he received for putting together a show called “All My Babies’ Mamas” on Oxygen and the presumptions it created.
“You can hate all you want to, I didn’t ask for it. It just happened. Now that it happened, I’m supposed to turn my back against it?” Shawty Lo told MTV News about his 11 children and untraditional family structure. “If I wasn’t taking care of my kids then you would really dog me out, but I’m taking care of my kids, providing for my family. I don’t know what else to say. … I take care of all my kids. … Outta all the 10 baby mamas, I just have problems outta one. That’s it. She has two kids by me, and she feel like I’m supposed to do more for her kids, and she don’t wanna work. She just want me to straight take care of them, but it’s all love. I handle it.” (MTV)
Miguel’s comments come a week after he accidentally landed on a female fan at the Billboard Music Awards.
“Well, I think it’s kind of clear what happened,” he said, looking visibly embarrassed. “But I’m very happy to bring my new friend, Khyati, we just met . Unfortunately we did not meet under the best circumstances, but I think we’re okay.” The young woman seemed to take the injury in stride, looking thrilled to be backstage with Miguel and even dropping a pun when asked what she thought of him. “I Adorn him,” she said. (Billboard)
