Moneybagg Yo has given his perspective on the ongoing drama surrounding his hometown basketball hero Ja Morant in a new interview.
The Memphis artist appeared on the Complex show 360 With Speedy Morman and spoke about the NBA superstar and how he believes his current trials and tribulations are only a temporary situation.
“Unfortunately the situation going on with him right now, he 23, I feel like it’s just a phase,” Moneybagg Yo said. “He prolly don’t even understand. When I was 23 — let me just quit talking like I’m an old head but you get what I mean. When I was exactly 23, 24, I was just doing stuff and I had to bump my head and God had to boom, boom. I’m grateful to make it out those situations, some people don’t even shake back from certain situations.”
He added: “But Ja prolly don’t even know what it is right now. He prolly don’t even believe this his life right now. This just one of them phases. Ja gonna snap out of it. Of course, I gave him encouraging words and he was like, ”Preciate that big bro, I got you, I’ma get it right.’”
Check out the full interview below:
Ja Morant was suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies again earlier this month after another video surfaced of him flashing a firearm on social media, this time in a vehicle with friends while blasting NBA YoungBoy’s music.
Since then, many critics have come out and accused Hip Hop of influencing Morant’s behavior, with Ja Rule, Paul Pierce and other Hip Hop and hoop figures agreeing that rap music has played a role.
In a quick catch-up with TMZ, Maino said he doesn’t believe that Hip Hop should be blamed for Morant’s poor choices.
“It don’t have nothing to do with NBA YoungBoy, it don’t have nothing to do with rap music,” he said. “All of us — as men, as adults — we have responsibilities and decisions to make. That’s like when keeping it real goes all the way wrong. How real do you need to keep it?
“We know you like the music, you come from a culture. But homie, truth be told, you got way more opportunity than the average person. Don’t throw the opportunity away trying to keep up with what’s going on.”
Meanwhile, Fat Joe also took to Instagram recently and claimed that Ja is deliberately trying to sabotage his career and warned him that he’s surrounding himself with the wrong people.
“That man is trying hard to go play [in] Turkey or China or Serbia-Montenegro,” Joe said. “He’s trying hard to get kicked out the NBA. And those guys that’s with you? They not your peoples, Ja. They don’t care!
“This is a problem we have with our community becoming famous because the people around you, they like the girls that’s watching, they love the lifestyle — but they’re not you! They didn’t dribble the basketball in the snow on Christmas trying to figure out the Kobe moves or the Jordan moves. They didn’t put in the work like you!”
He continued: “And guess what? If you get thrown out of the NBA, these are the same guys who are gonna say, ‘Yo, you wasn’t shit anyway. It is what it is.’ Ja, these are not your people! Anybody telling you or pointing you in the direction of ignorance is not with you!”
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