T.I. is not one to keep his thoughts to himself, and in the case of Lil Wayne’s controversial snub of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Grand Hustle boss had to let Tunechi and the people know that black lives do matter.
Tip spoke with Sway Calloway at a panel during SXSW in Austin, Texas last month and was asked by Baller Alert if he had spoken to Lil Wayne since publicly calling him out about the statements.
“I ain’t spoke to lil bro,” he shared. “That was probably one of the most difficult responses or one of the most difficult tasks I had been faced with.”
The Atlanta star said he was directing his comments just as much toward those who follow Lil Wayne and would think that his comments make it ok for them to dismiss Black Lives Matter.
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“This ain’t cool,” he continued. “This ain’t how we rockin. And I don’t think that could have been done in private. That was something that had to be done publicly.”
In regards to how celebrities share their voices on social justice issues, T.I. says that not all stars have to be vocal and all statements should be authentic — not contrived. He has chosen to use social media and his music, including his Us or Else project, to raise awareness about socio-political issues such as police brutality.
“I think it’s important for them to do what they’re passionate about,” he explained. “Like if they have a true passion and they really sincerely care enough, then I think they should speak out on it. I don’t think they should keep themselves from speaking out on it just for their corporate sponsors’ comfort zones. But at the same time, I don’t think they should force themselves if they don’t really have an opinion. ‘No comment’ is still useful. If somebody asks you something, ‘No comment, I ain’t got a comment about that.’ I think that is the best answer when you ain’t really got an opinion.”
Watch T.I. speak about Lil Wayne and Black Lives Matter below.
