Hip-hop artist Meek Mill may be worth an estimated $20 million but he’s being mocked on social media for giving a mere $20 to a group of children to share who were hawking bottles of water on the street in Atlanta.
Mill told them to “split it” seven ways. That’s less than $3 apiece. The children asked Meek Mill for more, but he turned them down. On social media, some called this a cheap move by the multimillionaire, who at the time was riding in his $400,000-Rolls Royce,
The New Blacks are coming to Meek Mill’s defense. New Blacks is an ideology touted by entertainer Pharrell.
“The New Black doesn’t blame other races for our issues,” Pharrell explained in a 2014 interview with Oprah Winfrey. “The New Black dreams and realizes that it’s not pigmentation. It’s a mentality and it’s either going to work for you or it’s going to work against you. And you’ve got to pick the side you’re going to be on.”
Some feel the New Blacks are elitist bourgeoisie-minded people who came of age in the Obama era. Pharrell got backlash for believing in what he called “the New Black.”
Still, Meek Mill, 33, is being dragged on Twitter after the Philadelphia artist posted footage of his encounter with the kids on his Instagram story. The video of the seven kids was captioned “Atl RUNTZ.” In response to the posting, Mill was called out for what critics called “performative activism.”
He was slammed multiple times on Twitter. One user posted, “He can afford to rap about a Rollie every verse but can’t afford to give more than $20 to poor kids during a pandemic? Y’all defending it cause it’s his pockets? All the money we as a community put in ‘his pockets’ for him to shit on us and still rap like Malcolm x reborn? Nah…”
During the social backlash, Meek Mill tweeted about his Bentley car, “I got a check and bought a bent and went on my block and did donuts.”
Some came to his defense. One user tweeted, “If @MeekMill would’ve gave $100 y’all would’ve said he should’ve gave $1000. N*ggas ain’t never happy. He could’ve rolled right past them boys and not gave em nothing like everyone else does.”
Another posted, “If were being honest I wouldn’t want a celebrity or anyone giving my children money without my consent. Put 100$ in a 10 y.o hand, you dont know what they’ll do with it. My opinion he did nothing wrong.”
Another pointed out the amount is relative: “When I was a kid, if I found a damn quarter, that was damn near gold. So splitting a $20 and getting $2.50 apiece should be good money for a 10 year old.”
One tweeter saw the $20 as an investment. “It’s 6 of them lil niggas they get 3 dollars a piece. They could buy 6 new cases of a 24 water pack . Y’all don’t see the bigger picture.”
Though he’s getting thrashed for the $20 handout, Meek has been very charitable in the past. In April, the “Dreams and Nightmares” artist donated his 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom as part of the All-In Challenge to benefit food charities in the wake of covid-19, The New York Post reported.
Meek also became an advocate for criminal justice reform after he was sentenced to two-to-four years in prison for violating probation stemming from drug and weapons charges.
Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z executive produced “Free Meek,” a docuseries for Amazon Prime, about Meek’s arrests, probation, and trials. Meek also famously had a one-on-one with Kim Kardashian West to discuss criminal justice reform, drawing the ire of her husband, Kanye West, Uproxx reported. Kardashian West has been very public in her criminal justice reform efforts and her attempts to get several people off of death row.
Mill dropped a new 4-track EP, “Quarantine Pack,” on Nov. 20 featuring rappers 42 Dugg, Vory and Lil Durk.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.
Meek defended himself on Twitter, writing, “They appreciated it, they just hustling kids.”
Meek Mill also likes to reward himself. The Things broke down what the artist likes to buy for himself. He splurges on luxury sports saloons, cars like Mercedes Maybach, Aston Martin Rapide, and Rolls-Royce Phantom, and luxury watches such as Piguet, a custom-made Rolex worth $68,000.
