Recently, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Kanye West wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt. Hundreds of people found the quote offensive, claiming it took away from the meaning of the Black Lives Matter movement. BLM was created to bring light to the racism, discrimination, and racial inequality endured by black people.
West sported it on the YZYSZN9 runway, and numerous celebrities let him have it. Diddy, a prominent entertainer in the hip-hop industry, posted a video talking about the subject. He said, "The ‘white lives matter’ t-shirt, I don’t rock with it... Don’t wear the shirt. Don’t buy the shirt. Don’t play with the shirt. It’s not a joke.”
Another artist also had something to say-- Boosie Badazz. He hopped on Twitter and wrote, "@kanyewest AFTER ALL WE BEEN THROUGH AS A RACE YOU PUT THIS DISRESPECTFUL SHIT ON!! U GIVES NO FUCKS ABOUT HOW BLACKS HAVE DIED N SUFFERED TO THE HANDS OF THE WHITE MAN N U SAY BUSH DON’T LIKE BLACK PEOPLE…"
Now, another rapper has come forward to discredit Ye's actions. However, rapper Mos Def chose a different approach instead of addressing the shirt like everyone else. He put on a shirt with the exact quote but blacked out the letter 'V' so that the shirt read, "White Lies Matter."
The front of the shirt had a picture of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German philosopher-- and blatant racist. As reported by Aeon, "He believed, for example, that Black Africans were a ‘race of children that remain immersed in a state of naiveté.’"
Check out Mos Def's shirt below.
