Nelly has issued a response to fans giving him the cold shoulder for being one of several artists who have agreed to perform in honor of President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration. On Monday (Jan. 20), the three-time Grammy Award winner will hit the stage at the Liberty Ball in Washington, D.C.

Amid the backlash, the Country Grammar rapper said that the gig should not be misconstrued as support for the politician. Even more, he offered any apology of sorts to those who expressed disappointment in his perceived alignment with Trump.

In an exclusive livestreamed chat with Geto Boys’ Willie D on Saturday (Jan. 18), he said, “In this type of situation, if my fans are so — if politics is above and beyond anything other than what that person stands for or what that person has done — then I apologize that I ‘let you down’ because I thought you was riding with me for the scholarships that I’ve been giving away since I’ve been in this business.” As he continued, the St. Louis native expressed that who he is as a person should be evident based on his history of good deeds.

“I thought you was riding with me for the people that I got signed up on the bone marrow-stem cell registry that was all record-breaking and helping people save lives. I thought you was riding with your boy for the children that we visit at Children’s Hospital … for the bikes, the presents and the things that we give away to [less fortunate] kids at Christmas. I thought you was riding with me ‘cause I put on for my city, and I try to bring my city up every step of the way,” he said, holding back little.

Furthermore, Nelly remarked that he did not “know you was riding with me ‘cause you thought I would ride for who you voted for. … I didn’t know that I had to agree with your political choices.” The St. Lunatics frontman even explained that his being born on a military base in Austin, Texas, his family’s military background and his past U.S.O. performances for the troops are all contributing factors as to why he views the controversial performance as an honor.

Aside from being asked to join in on the 2024 Juneteenth concert at the White House, the hitmaker said that Trump was the first president to extend an inauguration invite. He also argued that rocking the stage for the election winner is not the same as campaigning and that he has never told fans who to vote for.

“I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this ‘cause it’s an honor. I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office,” he quipped. “This has nothing to do with political views … Performing for somebody and voting for somebody is two different things.”

Similarly, several Hip Hop loyalists were outraged on Friday (Jan. 17) when Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy made appearances at Trump’s Crypto Ball. Though active on social media, the West Coast rap legend has not directly addressed critics.