Rick Ross Explains His Trayvon Martin Lyrics on ‘Mastermind’

Rappers rarely go through their entire careers without creating some controversy with their lyrics. Some do it more than others. Last year, Florida born rapper Rick Ross collaborated with rapper Rocko...
Rick Ross Explains His Trayvon Martin Lyrics on ‘Mastermind’
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  • Rappers rarely go through their entire careers without creating some controversy with their lyrics. Some do it more than others.

    Last year, Florida born rapper Rick Ross collaborated with rapper Rocko on a song called “U.O.E.N.O.” The lyrics on the song reads, “Put Molly all in her champagne/She ain’t even know it/I took her home and I enjoyed that/She ain’t even know it.” After the song, Ross lost an endorsement deal with Reebook, and dealt with backlash for those claiming his lyrics glorify date rape. Now Ross has made another rapping blunder.

    His sixth album, Mastermind, began streaming on iTunes on Tuesday night. In a track called “Black & White,” he mentions Trayvon Martin. He raps, “Too close to a ni–a as a mother–king bomb/ Trayvon Martin, I’m never missing my target/ Bitch ni–as hating, tell me it’s what I’m parking.”

    Ross spoke exclusively to Vibe to clarify his lyrics. He told them that “it’s so important that today, on the two-year anniversary of the death of Trayvon Martin, we never forget that tragedy. I’m never going to let the world forget that name. In my song ‘Black and White’ off Mastermind I say, ‘Trayvon Martin, I’m never missing my target’. There I’m reminding people that if you’re a black person or a person of any color for that matter in this country, you have to be accurate, whatever moves you make, stay accurate. Even when you’re walking down the street, playing music from your car, you have to stay on point.”

    He went on to say that “black men are being killed and their killers [are] beating the trial. It hasn’t been this much violence against black men since the ’60s. I am Trayvon Martin, we’re all Trayvon Martin. He was from South Florida. That could have been me or one of my homies. So, stay alert and never miss your target. Whatever that target may be. Getting out the hood, providing from your family. Stay sharp. Stay alive. Trayvon, Rest in Peace.”

    Mastermind officially hit stores on March 4.

    Image via Rick Ross, Twitter

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