Slain ‘homophobic’ rapper divides social media

The death of Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle has sparked a social media battle between those mourning his death and those who have expressed the view that he shouldn’t be honoured due to his alleged homophobia.

The US rapper, real name Ermias Asghedom, was shot dead in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The rapper was accused of homophobia in 2018 after an Instagram caption, which can be read in the screenshot below. He later defended the comment.

South African entertainment commentator Phil Mphela was among those caught up in the debate that has followed Asghedom’s death. He tweeted that in his view, while family and friends should mourn the rapper’s passing, those who believed he was “no hero” have a right to not mourn.

He later added: “I never said people should never mourn Nipsey or say good things about him, that’s YOUR narrative.

READ MORE: Grammy-nominated US rapper Nipsey Hussle shot dead

“I clearly tweeted that people should be allowed to be just as non-politically correct as Nipsey proudly said he was when he was called out for his homophobia.”

Local rapper Cassper Nyovest voiced political commentary in reaction to the US rapper’s death, his comment earning a RT by EFF leader Julius Malema.

“All these things that white people have done to us as black people yet we hate the black man the most. So much that we kill him every day for shining and chasing his dreams,” he tweeted, along with the hashtag #RIPNipseyHussle.

The rapper’s death has divided Twitter.

Some feel he should be honoured, particularly since he was known to be active in his community and often invested in projects to help create positive change.

Others say they have a right to not mourn his passing due to his alleged homophobia. Still, others have expressed the view that the slain rapper’s controversial comments cannot be all that he is remembered for, with some feeling that it is insensitive to bring them up so soon after his death.

All these things that white people have done to us as black people yet we hate the black man the most. So much that we kill him everyday for shining and chasing his dreams. #RIPNipseyHussle

— Don Billiato (@casspernyovest) April 1, 2019

When this Nipsey person was called out for his homophobia he wrote;

"I ain’t gotta be politically correct because I ain’t standing on nobody else’s platform,"

His fam & fans should mourn him.

Mirror his own words, in kind, don’t expect others to be PC who blv he was no hero!

— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) April 1, 2019

I'm annoyed by all of the cishet people who, every other day, claim to be "allies" to queer folks, but are silencing queer folk today who are not mourning Nipsey's murder.

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— 🏞️ – 🌊| they/them (@DaShaunLH) April 1, 2019

I am *also* annoyed (albeit a lot less so) by the queer folk who think Nipsey was *only* his homophobia.

— 🏞️ – 🌊| they/them (@DaShaunLH) April 1, 2019

Because twitter people work the way they work: I know Nipsey Hussle engaged in homophobia. That doesn’t mean he deserved to die or that he had no positive impact on the community. What happened means that now he won’t have time to be better and model that for others.

— Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (@IBJIYONGI) April 1, 2019

Cis people are the ones to dictate how one should feel about everything. https://t.co/zgX4wiumsl

— Bono (@BonoTshivhidzo) April 1, 2019

https://twitter.com/TheTohruAdachi/status/1112501980646113280

you’ve literally just used Nipsey Hussles death as an excuse to voice your homophobia…the focus should be him resting in peace and wishing well upon his family, not you descriminating a whole group of people, grow tf up

— Liz (@laurenn_l) April 1, 2019

I never said people should never mourn Nipsey or say good things about him, that’s YOUR narrative.

I clearly tweeted that people should be allowed to be just as non Politically Correct as Nipsey proudly said he was when he was called out for his homophobia.

Period. pic.twitter.com/Q0lTvld1Ef

— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) April 1, 2019

https://twitter.com/MixedRaceScum/status/1112538884917743616

https://twitter.com/startnowstop/status/1112618621581344768

https://twitter.com/startnowstop/status/1112619138676129798

If the LGBT community don’t want to mourn Nipsey then that’s fine. He was homophobic, so I can understand their reasoning. Let’s not lie to ourselves the day K@tie H0pkins dies a lot of people including myself won’t shed a tear.

— 🇰🇪 (@MrLewisVuitton) April 1, 2019

https://twitter.com/Donjidz/status/1112594849948147713

I’m tired of these people undermining Nipsey because they aren’t well versed enough to read and comprehend,but instead took two instances that they thought were homophobia and blew them out of proportion. Cancelled culture Twitter is a plague.

— YEEE and im so deadass HAW (@papavons_) April 1, 2019

People are complex. People are flawed. My heart still automatically breaks when another Black person senselessly has their life stolen.

— Raquel Willis (she/her) (@RaquelWillis_) April 1, 2019

Despite the controversy that has followed the rapper’s passing, his death has been mourned by fans as well as fellow artists such as Snoop Dogg and Rihanna.

According to local media reports, Hussle was shot in front of his own clothing store Sunday afternoon at close range, by a man who fled in a getaway car.

LA mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted: “Our hearts are with the loved ones of Nipsey Hussle and everyone touched by this awful tragedy.”

A police spokesperson told AFP the suspected shooter remained at large.

“LA is hurt deeply each time a young life is lost to senseless gun violence,” Garcetti said.

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