It gets awkward when someone who seemingly spoke up and spoke out for his melanated people is going through an identity crisis. In news that surprised us all, Waka Flocka Flame recently made a PSA that he is not black after all.
In a sit-down with Sway in the Morning, the Flockaveli rapper made the distinction to skeptical faces in the room. “When talking on African Americans, I have no education on that, period,” he said, coming out of a conversation surrounding Dove’s controversial new ad. “I’m not even connected to that no more, because that’s a system… I’m not African American at all. My folks are not from Africa.”
He then references an eye-opening conversation he had with this grandmother about their heritage. When he asked what her background, she told him Redfoot and Black Tail Indian. “Yeah my mother and father are 100 percent Indians,” Waka said. “I asked my other grandma and she said we got Cherokee and European, Italian and a little bit of Dominican.”
When Mike Muse asked what he prefers to be called when it comes to Census identity, he simply said “other.” “I’m uneducated, so for me to sit here like a college professor, I’m wrong,” Waka said. “I’m uneducated, I’m confused, but I’m damn sure not black. You’re not gonna call me black. My grandmother’s not Crayola. I’m connected to a tribe, not a country. There’s a big difference.”
He later clarified that in no way is he saying f**k black people or anything of the sort. His “eyelids are up” and he’s just been reading more about distinctions and technicalities not always illuminated in history books.
Elsewhere in the interview, he philosophizes about the “genius” of embattled rapper/singer XXXTentacion and why unlike Colin Kaepernick, his knee won’t be touching the ground in protest.
Watch the interview and take his words apart for yourself below:
Hopping on Instagram earlier today, he addressed the issue, again. “Man, I be seeing y’all going crazy over the shit I was saying on Sway,” he started. “Niggas be like, ‘Yo, Waka said he not Black.’ You right. I’m not the Black America call me. It’s just hard for a nigga to be from the slums, the ghetto, the hood whatever niggas want to say we from. And you become this celebrity, you get to walk around the world. You get to travel around the world. You get to touch the people and you get to find out the truth.”
He expounded on his thoughts in the caption. “Instead of judging me ask yourselves why…Why Waka ghetto ass talking like this. Why Waka saying all this woke shit. Why Trump not…Why the media ignore real issues. Why we support xyz. We all have to fix ourselves to see the real problems #HaveABlessedOne,” Waka typed.
The Flockaveli 2 rapper added, “I’m living in the spirit. I wish Dick Gregory was alive. All I want is for US to do is THINK. tradition is truth!!!! As a human we could never like this thing we don’t understand ? I talk from experience. I been around the ? and my community ain’t the only ones struggling we just the focus. I stand on my words IM NOT BLACK.”
