Raphael Saadiq had nothing but praise for Justin Timberlake. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Redferns/Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
R&B singer-producer Raphael Saadiq found himself in hot water Saturday, Feb. 17 when he shared an Instagram post in praise of Justin Timberlake.
“He knows his music, crafty Timberlake. Dude sings more Black music than most, sad but true. At least he’s dope and super talented,” he wrote before crediting producers of JT’s new album, Pharrell and Timbaland.
As Timberlake has been accused of capitalizing off Black music with his hip-hop-driven beats, Saadique’s take on the “Man of the Woods” album maker wasn’t well received.
“You gotta be s—ting me with this!” someone exclaimed. “Dude, what happened to you?”
“Did we forget his ‘All [Lives] Matter‘ comments?!” another said. “I don’t care what music he sings, he doesn’t respect the culture and [people] his stolen music comes from. You can’t have it both ways. Remember that.”
“He’s a watered-down Usher,” said another. “Bye.”
Still, Saadiq managed to wrangle a few supporters.
“Agreed!!!!” someone said. “Justin respects Black music and pays homage to it. And I can respect that.”
“Love his music very talented,” someone else said.
Yet several more slammed the Solange producer’s praise of Timberlake.
“This was the dumbest thing I heard today,” someone said. “And during Black History Month!? Wtf.”
“The Promotion of WHITE Appropriation and the theft of OUR Culture?” another commented. “You support this….Bruno Should’ve been the Super Bowl halftime.”
