It's clear that Janelle Monáe is no longer a Nelly fan; she called out the “Hot In Herre” rapper during a Grammys after-party in Los Angeles.
The singer unleashed an unfiltered attack on the rapper after the Grammys, accusing him of “selling out.”
The crowd erupted, reacting to the fiery takedown.
On Sunday night, (Feb. 2), In video footage obtained by TMZ, Monáe at Grammys after party, where she performed Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” with a live band—prompting her to offer her unfiltered thoughts to the crowd, since, as she admits in the video, is a “little bit tipsy.”
“I used to like Nelly,” she rapped, “but then he performed for Donald Trump. Fk that. Nelly, you sold out. I used to think he was cool. Fk you. Get a new attitude.”
Janelle Monáe, known for her outspoken activism, has long criticized Trump and his policies. Her reaction was unsurprising, given the backlash Nelly has faced since his decision to perform at the former president’s event. While many in the hip-hop community distanced themselves from Trump, Nelly defended his choice, insisting it was about patriotism, not politics.
These past weeks, Nelly has been catching flack for performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration.
“First of all, Nelly. Congratulations on that $1.5 million you got for that show. I wish they give me $1.5 million,” Trick continued. “It’s not nothing personal when it’s your business. If my worst enemy booked me to do a concert, I’m going to do that concert. If he booked me in a territory where I was beefing…I’m going to do that concert.”
He compared the situation to fans’ negative reaction to Kodak Black hopping on Tekashi 6ix9ine’s 2023 song “Shaka Laka," for which he was paid $1 million.
“Everybody was saying, ‘Oh [6ix9ine] a rat, he a rat.’ Well, he maybe y’all rat, he’s not my rat. I never listened to his music,” Trick said. “They got mad at Kodak for getting $1 million from Tekashi. Tekashi gave me $250,000, I would’ve did a verse for him.”
Before Nelly’s performance, he sat down with podcaster Willie D Live to chat about his decision to perform.
“I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this because it’s an honor,” Nelly explained. “I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office. The same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters, who protect this country, have to go to war and put their lives on the line for whoever is in office. If they can put their life on the line for whoever's in office, I can damn sure perform.”