Nelly received major flack for his “Tip Drill” video. What many viewed as degrading and misogynistic led to the boycott of his bone marrow drive at Spelman College in 2004, where Nelly planned to register as many names for his dying sister, Jacqueline Donahue. Unfortunately, Donahue succumbed to leukemia a year later.
For the St. Louis rapper, it was a matter between life and death.
“So how can you compare that? You’re trying to tell me that I got to have a conversation about a video before we take care of bone marrow? What’s more important?” said Nelly to HuffPost Live host Marc Lamont Hill.
Nelly who has expressed his displeasure before, stated if he could have done anything differently, “he’d kick somebody’s ass.”
The “Get Like Me” musician is still open to any conversations regarding misogyny in hip hop, but wants priorities to be set.
“When it comes to health issues in our communities, the urban communities specifically, we are already timid,” he said. “There isn’t anything bigger than living. You can’t have a conversation if you’re not here.”
Watch above.
-Chika Dunu