She came to America alone to give her daughter a better life. By 2011 she had built it - a steady job, an apartment in the Bronx, a daughter in school. Then one morning she walked out of a Manhattan hotel suite and refused to stay silent.
The system moved fast. Just not for her. His lawyers called her a liar in every newspaper in the world. The French press called her a gold digger. Two countries worth of lawyers and politicians came down on one hotel maid from Guinea. She didn't disappear.
She fought the civil case. Won a multimillion dollar settlement. He never became President of France. The man who was days away from the Elysée Palace never got there. Because of her. Her name was Nafissatou Diallo. She stopped one of the most powerful men in the world with nothing but her word.
Paying $7.99 for an app isn’t why fans complain.
If you’re going to blame the fans or question whether we appreciate battle rap, let’s have the full conversation.
Events starting five hours late.
An hour or more between battles.
Standing for 12+ hours with little to no seating, food, or sometimes even water.
Then the cancellations. Finding out the day of, or even the night of, after fans have already paid for flights, hotels, rental cars, and event tickets.
Rappers showing up unprepared, choking, stumbling, throwing up (I had to 🤭), and not even finishing their rounds.
Booking the same artists over and over despite them repeatedly showing up unprepared or not showing up at all.
Fans are expected to keep showing up, spending money, and staying loyal while our time and money continue to be treated like they don’t matter.
There’s little to no accountability for the leagues or the battlers.
But somehow… the fans are the problem?
BREAKING: Two people climbed atop the Empire State Building’s 1,454-foot spire and unfurled a banner reading, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” Police are working to bring them down safely.