Court Kim
“Everybody wanna be a nigga but nobody wanna be a nigga.” Paul Mooney, Comedian
Good morning and good day to my fellow readers! This read has been brought to you by a young, Black Journalist who is substantially tired of the mess. Julienna Goddard, better known as @YesJulz (Queen of “vibes” or whatever), has always been questionable when it comes to her influence in the Rap community. We know that she has lent a “helping hand” to a number of indie-artists in obtaining success. We know that she’s able to throw a good party or two in the name of “vibes” and so forth. We know that she recently hosted the launch of the “We Are New Africa” organization this past December. I’m here to let you guys know something: I don’t care about none of that. I care about “gatekeepers” who are Hell bent on utilizing Black Culture to their benefit without giving a damn about us. Julienna has expressed her anti-blackness (via Twitter) against our community over the past eight years. However, on January 24, 2019, YesJulz finally stood in the Sun and confirmed the accusations in one of the most lackluster, horrendous pre-written “freestyles” of all-time:
So we finna ignore this too?
Y’all kill me …. pic.twitter.com/REMFYEukT1
— Toniesha Renee (@Toniesha_Renee) January 25, 2019
Let’s unpack this, shall we?
“…. Because my ass is fat and my skin ain’t Black, I’m the vulture that you’re huntin. Yet, THEY never do nothing and THEY never give back. THEY keep killing Blacks not realizing that it’s a mean an end.” – Julienna Goddard (@YesJulz)
Julienna boasted her truth in a room filled with those whom she seeks validation from the most and whom her abominable behavior is always warranted by—Black people. I’m going to keep it short and to the point: I am appalled and I am disgusted at the entire display. There have been several displays of said behavior all of which were unacceptable. The picture it paints is as follows:
- YesJulz is the epitome of a culture vulture, okay? She wears it as a badge of pride and honor. She genuinely believes that she’s “untouchable” in this industry because she’s white passing with Black features and is repeatedly acquitted of her wrongs by the jury of black men who remain at her feet. She blatantly admitted that her philanthropic efforts are nothing more than a form of virtue merchandising. She genuinely believes that Black on Black crime is the main killer of the Black community. The MAGA energy jumped out! There’s true power and utter destruction in this level of narcissism. This is where I post the question that we’re all dying to know: Is YesJulz’s deliberate anti-black freestyle enough to get her out of here? There have been many instances of her harmful rhetoric that has been displayed on Twitter. The YesJulz agenda. Beginning in 2011, YesJulz has expressed themes of color blindness and anti-blackness against Black women. She has also posted a “Niggas lie a lot” crop top to her following and asked, “So…. am I allowed to wear this shirt at the festival or nah?” It seems to me that Julienna has made her bed and is way too comfortable in it.
With that being said, who do we hold accountable? This brings me to my next point.
- The Black people that YesJulz keeps in her circle are complicit to her anti-black nature. Yes, I am aware that YesJulz has Black women on her 1AMVibes team. No, I don’t believe that is remotely enough to validate her troublesome behavior. I’m simply trying to fathom the “common sense” in all of this, but there doesn’t seem to be any of that. When YesJulz slandered the Black community in her freestyle, her Black posse laughed with her and laughed at the rest of us. This sparked a different type of disappointment for me as a Black creative. I know that these people are probably brilliant and insanely talented. Goddard wouldn’t be around them if they weren’t. I genuinely can’t wrap my mind around how calculated the assimilation must be. Why are my brothers and sisters enabling hate speech against their own people? It’s apparent that proximity to YesJulz and clout is so important that those with the voice and rank to make a change turn a blind eye.
You’re probably wondering if YesJulz has any sort of remorse in doing that freestyle on 1AMRadio. As of right now, Julienna doesn’t regret creating that freestyle. Singer-songwriter Kari Faux expressed her immense disdain of Goddard’s freestyle on her social media platforms. Ironically enough, Goddard reached out to Faux in order to breakdown the freestyle lyrics and expressed why she wasn’t wrong in any capacity. When I asked her if Goddard seriously said that, Faux clarified that Goddard’s best friend (a Black woman) was present during their conversation and she was supportive of the freestyle. Let me repeat myself: YesJulz’s foundation is not only aware but they allow it. What a goddamned shame.
Where do we go from here? First and foremost, we have to acknowledge that the Hip-Hop industry is a male-dominated arena and black men are the gatekeepers. Those who hold the keys are hypnotized by YesJulz’s fair skin, fat ass, and feistiness. Fellas- Please do better in maintaining solidarity with your community, specifically, Black women. There are so many Black women that live and breathe this lifestyle just as you do. It would behoove you to extend praise and lucrative opportunities their way. Fraternizing with an openly bigoted individual whose “urban” appeal she steals from your sisters is not only harmful to our community but is disrespectful to Hip-hop as a whole. As for YesJulz, I don’t know you and I don’t ever want to know you. There’s no amount of crying videos that could ever change my mind. An apology (at bare minimum) would be the only decent gesture and nothing else. The words that you spewed were not only repulsive but it was a blatant attack on the Black community. You spat right in our faces. I don’t care about how many Black folks “ride or die” for you. Keep Tupac, Prince, and Michael Jackson’s name out of your mouth, too. You’re not fooling anyone.
Written by Court Kim & Edited by Imani Shanté
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