Ari-Lennox

The Soul Train Award certainly had some standout moments from performances and acceptance speeches, but one speech we didn't get was from our "Shea Butter Baby" Ari Lennox.Artists Lizzo, Chris Brown, Ella Mai, H.E.R., Khalid and Lennox were all nominated for Best Album/Mixtape of the Year. Lizzo's Cuz I Love You took home the award, leaving some in dismay, including Lennox.In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the 28-year-old shared her disappointment about being snubbed of the award.It’s not just an award. It wasn’t any award show. It was the soul train awards. As you can see I’m big fan of soul music and huge fan of soul trains history.— Ari Lennox (@AriLennox) November 19, 2019Being snubbed was something I always expected and was definitely prepared for just not by them.— Ari Lennox (@AriLennox) November 19, 2019It’s not just the awards. SBB was slept on in so many ways. Im too emotional to pretend like I can play this game.— Ari Lennox (@AriLennox) November 19, 2019Shea Butter Baby, Lennox's debut studio album which was released in May, encompassed songs about the singer's life with warm and soulful tunes, according to Complex."I'm singing about my first apartment, about liking broke n***as—if your soul is beautiful then who cares? I have this joint called 'Static' [where] I talk about my anxiety in a metaphorical way. Just a lot of sex, soul, romance and hip-hop," the singer said in an interview with XXL.As a self-proclaimed fan of Soul Train, a Black show celebrating various artists dating back to the 1970s, Lennox said her soulful album Shea Butter Baby deserved more respect. The Washington D.C. native took the loss hard, even tweeting that she's quitting music and would rather "join the damn army."I’m not selling out. So I quit.— Ari Lennox (@AriLennox) November 19, 2019I’ll join the damn army.— Ari Lennox (@AriLennox) November 19, 2019This isn't the first time in her career where she's felt slept on."I always wanted to solo at the church and they didn't ever give it to me. But eventually they did and I froze. But then I killed it. I just feel like that kind of just followed me all throughout my life. I've always kind of been slept on a bit," she said during an interview with NPR in August. On the other hand, categorizing Lizzo's music has previously come into question with critics claiming she didn't belong to the rap community, Blavity reported.In a since-deleted tweet, the 31-year-old bashed fans who considered artists like Future and Swae Lee rappers but refused to recognize her in the dialogue. “Sometimes I get pissed that there are people who call Future & Swae Lee rappers and still question whether or not I belong in the rap conversation…,” she wrote. “But then I remember I have the #4 song in the country, laugh, go back to my dream job and log off.”Summer Walker also had some thoughts following the award show. Despite being known for having extreme social anxiety, critics slammed Walker for putting on an "act" throughout the occasion. A very nervous Walker received an award for Best New Artist and took the stage to give a brief acceptance speech.After receiving backlash from people who weren't too keen on her mental disorder, she clapped back on Instagram. "You know, the scariest s**t I’ve been witnessing is that most of the women leaving negative comments like 'it’s an act,' 'I don’t have the right to act like this b/c I’m famous, b***h you slow' or just flat out making fun of me for being vulnerable," she wrote. "It makes me feel soo bad cause it’s clear that if the children are developing or struggling with any type of mental disorder such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, it’ll be brushed to the side and will never receive any treatment because it’ll just be 'an act.'" View this post on Instagram 1. bareface & beautiful 2.you know the scariest shit I’ve been witnessing is that most of the women leaving negative comments like “it’s an act” , “I don’t have the right to act like this b/c I’m famous, “bitch you slow” or just flat out making fun of me for being vulnerable. HAVE CHILDREN, these women have children. It makes me feel soo bad cause it’s clear that if the children are developing or struggling with any type of mental disorder such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, it’ll be brushed to the side and will never receive any treatment because it’ll just be “an act”. These parents are probably so ignorant that instead of reading up on symptoms they just whoop the child 🤦🏽‍♀️ sad, my shit started at 6 so yes kids have it to.A post shared by Summer Walker (@summerwalker) on Nov 18, 2019 at 11:36am PST As a result of her social anxiety, the singer even decided to shorten her...

Jermaine Dupri was the subject of considerable backlash after the producer made sexist comments about how female hip-hop artists all sound like "strippers rapping.""Brat was the first female artist to go platinum, so we together broke the mold," he said to People. "Since then female rappers have been able to sustain and sell a lot of records, more records than guys, but before Brat that wasn’t happening."When pressed about his thoughts on the likes of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, Dupri's comments didn't appear to show appreciation for their hustle."I can't really say," Dupri answered. "The only reason why I can't say is because I feel they're all rapping about the same things. I don't think they're showing us who’s the best rapper ... for me, it's like strippers rapping."Those remarks were met with a flurry of criticism, causing the father of two to unveil the SoSoDef Female Cypher, with the intention being to "invest in a female who is out here hustling and making a name for herself."After all the calls,DMs, angry tweets and other messages saying “I am a major gatekeeper in the hip hop world,why don’t I invest in a female who is out here hustling and making a name for herself?” I decided to create the #SoSoDefFemalecypher, details coming soon pic.twitter.com/Nyxl5KpPXZ— Jermaine Dupri (@jermainedupri) July 12, 2019Even with that commitment, accomplished female hip-hop musicians weren't exactly letting Dupri off the hook so easily. In fact, Ari Lennox hit back at the 46-year-old with a freestyle diss of her own.ari lennox made a diss song for JD 🤣 i’m crying this shit had me rolling 😂😂😂 #JermaineDupri #arilennox pic.twitter.com/hfqQtH5csf— Hot Girl Britt 🔥 (@B_r_i_t_t_96) July 12, 2019 The Washington, D.C. native hopped on Instagram live to post her rebuttal, calling Dupri a "sexist prick" and laughing in between bars. She concluded her improvised smear with a stern warning: "I don't got time for your trifling ass, I'll show you how the real players play in D.C., motherf**ker." Lennox isn't the only artist to hit back at Dupri. Doja Cat, who achieved viral success for her 2018 single "Mooo!" listed off a slew of female rappers who have created a name for themselves in what's arguably a male-dominated industry. She even caught the attention of Jada Pinkett Smith, who reposted the video to her Twitter account.Say it again @DojaCat❣️and don't forget @Official_Tink 😉 pic.twitter.com/hlWU9uQY5a— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) July 12, 2019 Cardi, a former stripper herself, also had choice words for Dupri. The "Money" artist unloaded on the Atlanta-based record exec in a series of unapologetic Instagram posts. View this post on Instagram SUPPORT SUPPORT SUPPORTA post shared by MOSTHATEDCARDI (@iamcardib) on Jul 11, 2019 at 1:48pm PDT"First of all, I rap about my pu**y because she's my best friend," the Bronx-born performer said. "Second of all, it seems like that's what people want to hear. When I did 'Be Careful' people was talking mad sh*t in the beginning like, 'WTF is this?,' this is not what I expected."The Grammy-winning rapper then pointed out some of her favorite artists like Rapsody, Tierra Whack, Oranicuhh and Kamaiyah, encouraging followers and the public, including radio, blogs and magazines, to pay attention to their content as well, which is certainly not about stripping and "vajayjays." View this post on Instagram That’s it . @rapsody @tierrawhack @oranicuhh @kamaiyahA post shared by MOSTHATEDCARDI (@iamcardib) on Jul 11, 2019 at 2:05pm PDTDupri has yet to respond to Lennox's diss track, but something tells us he should just quit while he's...