Meek Mill has not only accused record labels of incentivizing artists to create toxic music, he also claims he’s been playing the Devil’s advocate the whole time.
Per usual, there’s typically a headline to follow anytime Meek Mill is out in public, as is the case with his recent appearance at the 114th NAACP National Convention. Fresh off the stage from his cameo at Drake’s It’s All A Blur Tour, Meek Mill appeared to be clear and level-headed while speaking at the special panel. (I would probably feel empowered if I was sitting next to billionaire Robert Kraft, too.)
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Meek Mill appears to put his cape on and detail how the rap game is Gotham City and how he’s been Batman the longest.
“Before, I wasn’t on stages like this,” Meek Mill said in part. “I was on rap stages rapping about violence and guns. We get paid to rap about that stuff. They actually pay us more when we rap about more ignorant stuff so I make sure I even the line and come and talk on stages like this.
He added, “The NAACP opened doors for people like me to be able to power forward. The things that fund us don’t power me forward.”
Meek Mill says rappers are getting paid more to rap about ignorant stuff 😳pic.twitter.com/FvncqHM2ME
— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) August 1, 2023
Lowkey, it seems like a bit of a stretch that Meek Mill has been the rapper to tip the scales of morality back to baseline when things get out of hand. We are talking about the same man who willingly photographed himself with french fries on his legs fresh out of the pool.
But at the end of the day, whether we are talking about a hangover toilet pic Meek Mill or his Dreamchasers rap crusader alter ego, folks have to admit he’s right.
The only real conscious projects we got last year that topped the charts were Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers and Tyler, The Creator’s masterwork CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. Aside from that, we got a toxic Future record, a 21 Savage and Drake collab album—and NBA YoungBoy somehow signed a $60 million deal after releasing seven albums of straight spin music.
On the real, though, let’s get a few more flashy mainstream rappers on the same tip Meek Mill is on. Not only because it’s on some real deal They Cloned Tyrone-ish, but because I don’t want Meek Mill influencing the entire rap game that prison reform for inmates looks like free Audemars Peugeot watches and strip clubs at back-to-school drives in Philadelphia.