A$AP Rocky Has A Lame Excuse For That Rita Ora Diss

Carl Williott | May 28, 2015 6:48 am
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A string of explicit disses aimed at Rita Ora has overshadowed the rest of the discussion about A$AP Rocky‘s sophomore album At.Long.Last.A$AP, to the point that Rocky has had to explain himself. Speaking to BBC Radio’s Annie Mac, Rocky provided some context for the “Better Things” lyrics, in which he attacks the British singer for having a big mouth, and boasts about engaging in oral sex with her and kicking her out of his house.

The line reeks of slut-shaming, and at the very least it’s an ugly bit of macho conquest fuckery. The Harlem rapper’s explanation when Annie asks him directly, “Why call her out like that?” unfortunately doesn’t make it any more palatable. It turns out he wrote the lines because he cheated on his then-girlfriend with Rita and got caught.

“She got me into a lot of trouble, when I was dealing with her,” he told the host. “And I just want to clarify this isn’t me saying, people don’t go listen to Rita Ora, or she’s an ugly person. I’m not saying she’s a terrible person, I’m just saying that when I was in a relationship and I did things with her that I wasn’t supposed to do, she had a big mouth.”

He then tried to soften the blow, saying the song is really old and was written back when this apparent love triangle was still a fresh wound, concluding, “It would’ve been really tasteful for me to just mute that part, but it is what it is and it’s out now.”

So, in summary, Rocky is publicly berating Rita Ora because of his own indiscretions. Definitely has an icky feel to it. But is it just a personal vendetta or the result of a deeper pattern of misogyny? Not to fan the Outrage Internet flames, but it seems like an appropriate question since Rocky was once videotaped slapping a female fan and was accused of slapping a female concertgoer on another occasion.

The relevant portion of the interview starts at the 1:11:50 mark. Listen to it here.