Bay Area rapper Lil B (all praise the Based God) got into an altercation with rising artists A Boogie With Da Hoodie, PnB Rock and their respective entourages over the weekend at the Rolling Loud music festival in Mountain View, Calif. Video footage of the incident was shared across social media. In one of the videos, Lil B, decked in an off-white suit, is on the ground as he is being jumped by several individuals who were allegedly from A Boogie’s camp. PnB Rock also comes into frame as the video ends.
The situation is said to have been sparked when Lil B made comments on Twitter some time ago. He subliminally took verbal shots at New York’s up-and-coming rap scene. Whether it was a joke or a serious thought, it seemed like A Boogie, who’s from the Bronx, took offense to those words and addressed the issue when he ran into Lil B. Upon taking the stage, Lil B told the Rolling Loud attendees that it was indeed A Boogie and his group who assaulted him backstage. He also accused them of stealing equipment he needed for his performance, which is why he claimed he was unable to perform.
‘Hey man, A Boogie and his whole crew just jumped me in the back, man and beat me up in the back, man,’ Lil’ B said. ‘That shit crazy, man. But I’mma tell y’all like this, it’s all love. I don’t promote violence, I’m never with the violence.’
We can see both sides of this debacle. First and foremost, physical violence should be the last resort for anyone attempting to resolve a beef. Black people have lost too many for that to be our default answer. But we do understand that in some cases, hands have to be thrown as a last resort of defending oneself or addressing things that were said. Let it be said that we don’t think this case was one of them.
https://twitter.com/NobodysVideo/status/921900678099996672
Lil’B made several statements that he had to answer for, whether it was in the form of a conversation or something else. And if A Boogie felt a way about Lil’B’s statements, we understand. Jumping him, however, was the worst way to handle that situation. No one gets “points” because fighting, especially when the fight is unfair, makes everyone look bad at the end of the day. If this is rap music, where issues between artists have shaped the entire scope of the genre for better or for much worse, a response on wax could’ve sufficed for the Bronx rapper.
Is the industry and the culture so “hard” now that artists who disagree can’t talk or rhyme through their disagreements? Is violence on the street a more productive use of time than hashing out beefs on social media or wax?
Lil’ B went on to “forgive” A Boogie and his crew for the incident on social media, spreading his message of peace and love. Everyone involved should be lucky that no one was seriously injured and that, as of nor, there are no legal ramifications.
This is an example of being mindful regarding what we say about other people. Simply put, stop talking sh*t and strive to keep the same (peaceful) energy at all times.
UPDATE: Lil’ B and A Boogie have gone on social media announcing they’ve squashed their problems, as associates from both artists connected them via phone call to talk things out. Great to see their issues can be easily solved with no other incident.
