Jermaine Dupri is urging the black residents of Atlanta to ignore Governor Brian Kemp’s decision to reopen barbershops, hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors, bowling alleys and other businesses.
The hip hop mogul posted a video to his Instagram account urging black people to stay inside their homes to prevent contracting COVID-19.
“Y’all know the love I have for this city and what I pour into the city and how much I care about Atlanta,” he said in the almost eight-minute video.
“So this message is really for us in this city,” he continued. “The image that we have in this city, I don’t like. I don’t like the way people think our minds move and the way people are like basically shortchanging us to make us look like we just a bunch of dumb ass niggas out here running around happy to spend money [on] drugs, strip clubs and you know, just blow shit.”
“People think black people in Atlanta can’t wait to get outside so them niggas can run around and show theirs cars off,” the “Money Ain’t a Thang” rapper said. “If that is our image, let that be our image when it ain’t no Corona but not during this time period. When people think about Georgia, they think about Atlanta. When people think about Atlanta, they think about black people. This virus has its highest kill rate with black people. On top of that, Georgia ranks last in testing.”
Dupri then urged black people to keep their money and hurt these businesses through the absence of the black dollar.
“If places are open, let them be open,” he continued. “And let them feel that black dollar too. Another thing that we ignore in this city is that fact that the city moves by the black dollar. Y’all ain’t gotta spend y’all money man.”
The So So Def founder acknowledged that staying in the house may be boring for some, but he doesn’t want anyone to lose their life because of that.
“I know everybody tired of being cooped in the house, but on some real shit man don’t die cause you’re bored,” he said. “All I’m saying is people don’t fall for the okie doke.”
Check out his video below.