“Nobody wins when the family feuds.” I have been on this tip since Jay-Z released the amazing video for his “Family Feud” track on December 29, 2017. What a way to end a most strange year with the message that working together and knowing your history is the way to true wealth and legacy building.
The images, the significance, and the buildup in the video all speak to the need for unity amongst those fighting for the same things. Watching it, I thought to myself, “This is black magic” in a good way. There is representation in the video. There is diversity, and there is the universal law that internal feuding never profits anyone in the long run. That’s why the hotep war between self-proclaimed “mac” Tariq Nasheed and “is he or isn’t he a doctor” Umar Johnson is such a very bad look for the fight to lift the black community in the age in which we live.
These two have been bashing each other for days now with memes, videos, and posts. It’s ugly, it’s immature, and honestly, it’s confusing. They are apart of the same movement. How can two men who claim to be for the advancement of black people and who both supposedly believe in black excellence as a means to elevation be so petty? Johnson wrote on Instagram,
“I don’t speak publicly on anyone, I mind my business, If you don’t have anything supportive to say, then you shouldn’t say anything at all. I’ve held my tongue on these two [Nasheed and another prominent hotep male] for a while; now the gloves are off….”
Nasheed, NEVER one to mince his words, took it to the ‘hood by posting to his Instagram page,
“This fat fraudulent ass walrus looking nigga Umar Johnson keeps trying to start beefs to deflect away from the fact that he conned everyone outta their money for his non existent school THAT HE NEVER WAS GETTING BUILT IN THE FIRST PLACE. There is no school, folks. And there is not going to be a school. I peeped this out a while back, so I wasn’t surprised over his bullshit excuses.”
Nasheed and Johnson consider themselves staples in the “woke” community. They refer to themselves as pillars and leaders of the black resistance to white supremacy in America and around the world. They travel the globe speaking about the need for black people to do this and to do that in order to combat the wiles of the dominant society – the segment of the white population who believe in and adhere to white power. They are social media stars that have carved out a niche that speaks to, and some argue preys on, the desire that black folks have to be united, to advance in society, and to build a fulfilling life.
Nasheed and Johnson, along with a handful of other outspoken black men, have the influence, the resources and the time to really affect change, but right now at the start of a brand new year, they are engaged in a frivolous beef that only serves to hurt both of their efforts. It also makes them look stupid, and it begs the question – were they ever really serious about helping black people or has it all just been about the money?
I am not really sure what the issue is between these two. Apparently, it stems back a few years when they worked on Nasheed’s first Hidden Figures movie. There is also something about a school Jonson was raising money for that ended up, supposedly, being a farce that has Nasheed on the man’s ass. At this point, I don’t care what the bad blood is between them because the way they are going at it on the Internet is childish and reckless. These grown ass men, who are well in their 40’s and one of them (Nasheed) with a wife and kids, have posted numerous videos telling the other to “come find me.” Both men want it to be very clear that they are ready to do whatever whenever in the streets because neither of them are punks. If you ask me, they are both charlatans.
Black men have this habit of making sure other men, of any racial background, know that they are ’bout that life. They take what they hear and learn and experience in the streets and apply it to the way they do business. For the most part, I am not even mad at them because with the current social climate, I get it. But in this case where, essentially, there is a family feud going on that threatens the important progress that has been made, it brings to light for me, and I am sure many others, the validity of their platforms.
The way that they both have committed their time, energy, and social media presence to go in on the other is male ego at it’s finest, but it also sheds a bright light on why they do what they do in the first place. Most of their followers are black men and women and have voiced their disappointment in their bitter rivalry reaching the point it has, however, for Nasheed and Johnson, the calls from the people who support them monetarily to stop and work it out in private mean nothing. They have ignored the comments and pleas and continue using vulgarities when referring to each other. Their willingness to participate in a public verbal bloodbath that both of them are more than willing to make physical is disheartening and disgusting. Furthermore, it is a clear indication that the moves they have made and the platforms they both continue to tout are disingenuous and self-serving.
I have written about Johnson in the past. His ideas about interracial marriage, black women, and the like are problematic AF. Nasheed is a super petty man who goes out of his way to clown people who get on his bad side. All of this that they are doing is distracting and serves no purpose. They have created division and are not helping the cause they supposedly care so much about. I am astounded by their behavior, and the fact that they would act in this matter is disrespectful to the people who look to them for guidance.
This is not the way to start 2018. They are both being grossly negligent with their influence. Their purposeful inability to forgo addressing each other in public about the issues they have, at the cost of their respective messages, makes them frauds in my book. I hope both of them come out at the bottom of this family feud.