Amid criticism of Trump’s inauguration performances, Stephen A. Smith defends Snoop and Soulja Boy

Black people who “turned on” Ice Cube for meeting with Trump in 2020 were also criticized by him. 

This week, Steven A. Smith defended the rappers who have come under fire for their performances at President Donald Trump’s inauguration on his own podcast. 

Before the formal hearings began, Nelly, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, and Soulja Boy performed at the Crypto Ball. Smith criticized the men for accepting the Republican administration’s invitation. In his tirade, he listed reasons why people could have voted for Trump, something he previously said he wished he had done, before justifying Soulja Boy’s receipt of a sizable lump sum payment for his performance. After that, he gave Snoop Dogg credit for his efforts through the Snoop Youth Football League. 

“Are we simply going to overlook the fact that this brother is sending cats to college and the NFL? because he gave a performance during the inauguration? Following Ice Cube’s 2020 meeting with President Trump to discuss his “Contract with Black America” initiative, Smith asked questions before criticizing those who “turned against” him.

“Now that the brothers come along and make a name for themselves, and they have opportunities that they are willing to take advantage of, and they choose to be apolitical, do you want to get in their ass?” Smith went on to say. Take a look at the video below.

Following the criticism, Soulja Boy also resorted to social media to defend himself, claiming that Trump’s actions of putting money in his pockets were sufficient for him. 

The rapper from Atlanta said, “They paid me a bag.” “Ni**a, Obama has never placed any money in my f**king pockets. Ni**a, Kamala has never placed any money into my f**king pockets. Ni**a, Trump placed money in my pockets.Ni**a, you guys suck my di*k. Do you guys want me to ignore the f**king president’s phone call? The motherf**king president of the United States is this ni**a. Not even Trump was present. The event wasn’t even about Trump. For cryptocurrency, it was the Crypto Ball.

Regardless of the party in power, Nelly justified his choice to perform at the inauguration by stating that he “respects the office” of the president. 

In a Saturday YouTube video, Nelly said Willie D, “I respect the office.” “Politics is not at play here. For me, the politics are done. He prevailed. He is the head of state. He is the head of state of what I consider to be the greatest nation on earth. No matter who is in office, I consider it an honor to perform for the president of the United States. I would have given a performance if President Biden had asked me to. I would have performed if Vice President Kamala Harris had been elected and asked me to.

But given Trump’s past interactions with African Americans, many are not amused. Political analyst Keith Boykin has referred to the performances as a “dishonor to the Black community.” 

“If you look at Donald Trump, the man who refused to rent to Black people in the 1970s, who attempted to lead a lynch mob against five Black and Brown children in the 1980s for the Central Park case, who denied Black casino employees a prominent position in his casinos in Atlantic City in the 1990s, who spent five and a half years lying about Barack Obama’s birth certificate in the 2000s, who came into office and then attacked Black people like Colin Kaepernick, Ruby Freeman, and her daughter Shay Moss. 

When you go and play for a man who has done nothing to honor Black people, including calling Haitian immigrants names and accusing them of eating cats and dogs last year, you insult those people. Black folks shouldn’t attempt to normalize and mingle with this person. It is disrespectful to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday we commemorate on Monday, to praise this man, and we need to be questioning him. Watch the video below.