Meek Mill doesn’t have a problem speaking his mind, and occasionally it lands him in hot water. Today (Jan. 25), the rapper voiced his concern on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. He seemingly compared the Palestinian city to Philadelphia, where he was raised.
“I see [the] war in [Gaza resulted in] dead babies daily… I’m from Philly, [so] my family and friends live amongst a lot of murder. I also grew up around that,” Meek wrote on Twitter. “I [have] been in and out of prison my whole 20’s [and] most my cellmates was killers… My dad was killed [when I was five]… [He was] out on probation for 16 years.”
He continued, “I tell my story so people can hear the experience, not follow the experience, and my pain will explain to you [that you] shouldn’t follow it… Yeah, I’ve grown, but I don’t know who y’all expect me to act like or rap like… Yes, I am smart and know how to clean my act up, but I am who I am!”
In December 2023, CNN reported that the bodies of babies were found decomposing inside an Al-Nasr hospital ICU ward. According to the outlet, there was little more than mere skeletons left on some beds, with flies and insects crawling on the skin of other deceased children. The healthcare facility was revealed to have been damaged by Israeli strikes the month prior.
Another incident that Meek could’ve been referring to is the death of Tala Rouqa, whose passing was revealed by NBC News last Saturday (Jan. 20). The infant was pulled from the rubble of a crushed home in Tel Aviv, which is 44 miles from Gaza.
Nonetheless, Twitter users weren’t happy with the “Going Bad” hitmaker likening the war to his upbringing. One person wrote, “I get what you tryna say, but comparing Philly to Gaza is ignorant.” On the other hand, another came to Meek’s defense. They wrote, “There are some parallels between Philly and Palestine, and I encourage everyone to learn about the 1985 MOVE bombing.”
Earlier this month, Meek went viral after asking how South Africans listen to his music. Although he was only trying to understand which DSP they use, social media couldn’t resist trolling him online.