Vladislav Lyubovny, also known as hip-hop media personality DJ Vlad, learned that he’s not as beloved in the rap community as he thought after an online back-and-forth with a Princeton professor had Black Twitter calling for his cancellation.
It began on Saturday, May 4, when Kendrick Lamar dropped “Not Like Us,” his latest contribution to his myriad of diss tracks aimed at Drake over the past week. While most listeners were impressed by the Bay Area influence of the DJ Mustard-produced beat and the catchiness of K. Dot’s lyrics, DJ Vlad drew his attention to other areas.
“Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ needed a better mix. It takes away from the song,” he tweeted.
Morgan Jerkins, whose X profile lists her as faculty at Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts creative writing program, responded to Vlad’s tweet, saying, “You are WHITE. This is a BLACK FOLK AFFAIR.”
The response from Jerkins set off the DJ-turned-journalist, who then threatened to get her fired from her job.
“Wait, so a professor at @Princeton is telling me that a white person shouldn’t be allowed to voice their opinion about Hip-Hop?” Vlad stated before asking, “Is that how you interact with your students?”
Morgan did not back down, “What I’m saying is that you put your opinion in a discussion that’s not needed. This conversation is and should center Black people, not you.”
DJ Vlad doubled down, tweeting, “Good luck being a professor at @Princeton again. I doubt the university supports their faculty telling non-black students to shut the f—k up about anything Hip-Hop related because of their skin color.”
While DJ Vlad suggests that Morgan Jerkins shut him out of the Kendrick Lamar versus Drake conversation because he is white and that she is prejudiced, Morgan, on the other hand, believes that he only singled her out because she is a Black woman and is trying to weaponized her words in an effort to get her fired from the Ivy League.
“I find it funny that you specifically chose to respond to me, belittle my academic background, and threaten my job when others responded to you in much harsher way. Very interesting. And telling,” said Morgan, after clarifying that she never told him to “shut the f—k up” about anything hip-hop related due to the color of his skin.
The former DJ warned her not to change her words up now, promising, ”I’ll be reaching out to Princeton about this on Monday” to which Morgan promptly let him know that she had completed both her semester and contract at the school.
“But thanks for trying to bully me out of a job for centering Black people because you got your feelings hurt. Very retaliatory, huh? Nice tactic,” she added.
It's called a "permanent record". Every university has one. I went to Berkeley myself. People spew ignorant & bigoted comments at you publicly and then act like they're getting bullied when they get a response. Typical victim mentality. Go ahead and take that @princeton out…
— DJ Vlad (@djvlad) May 5, 2024
It didn’t take long for other users on X to claim DJ Vlad was out of his depth for a particular reason. One X user following the conversation quickly took note of Morgan’s last name and pointed out the college professor’s relation to a prominent producer, Rodney Jerkins.
Rodney Jerkins, also known as “Darkchild” has given superstars such as Michael Jackson, Brandy, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Toni Braxton, Lady Gaga and others some of their biggest hits. DJ Vlad has also interviewed him.
“Morgan are you related to Rodney Jerkins (Darkchild),” asked the eagle-eyed X user. “I’m culturally competent to know who he is in this Culture. Vlad might not know. Vlad you know who Rodney Jerkins is? Do your research.”
“Yes, he’s my uncle,” Morgan replied.
“DJ Vlad tryna dox & intimidate a black woman professor at Princeton is funny. but what’s hilarious is that she’s Darkchild’s niece lol,” one X user joked.
Things became silent on DJ Vlad’s end once Morgan’s affiliation became public, but not before the rest of Black Twitter jumped in to defend her.
“You get accused of being a white person that needs to stay out of Black business and the first thing you do is…. *checks notes* …Threaten to call the manager,” said one X user.
You are WHITE.
— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) May 5, 2024
This is a BLACK FOLK AFFAIR. https://t.co/BC2NbQcJ0W
One person who can always speak up for hip-hop is rapper and Flipmode Squad member Rah Digga, who also rushed Morgan’s defense.
“Damn u calling the principal on her for battle rap s—t talking? Big yikes. Not reading the room man,” she tweeted.
“Rah, think about it this way,” Vlad retorted. “If a black music blogger made a comment about a Taylor Swift song not having a good mix, and then a Harvard professor responded to him and said ‘You are BLACK. This is a WHITE FOLK AFFAIR.’ You would be OK with this professor teaching kids at a top university? Not me.”
The Flip Mode femcee ping-ponged, “You just described AMERICA. That is LITERALLY what they are screaming to Beyonce RIGHT NOW. And she’s keeping it MUSIC. As so many of your white Hip Hop counterparts are at the moment.”
Digga Digga left him with words of wisdom, particularly as a white person in hip-hop. She told him, particularly regarding Morgan’s message, “If you believe you have earned your place. Sticks and stones, man…”
Journalist Bomani Jones also weighed in.
“And lemme be clear for me re: vlad… anyone hearing a record in this battle talking about, of all things, the mix? not like us. well, maybe like you. but def not like me. f ck that about,” he said, pointing out that the mix of the song is the last thing any true hip-hop lover cares about during a battle.
“I understand and respect your point. But at the end of the day, Kendrick’s audio is being heard by tens of millions of people – a rough mix is the equivalent of blurry video. Meanwhile, Drake is going all out on production and mixing level,” Vlad responded.
Bomani reminded Vlad that this is a diss track and far deeper than that.
“He called drake a slave runner and you calling kendrick out for two-tracking. nah man. nah,” he replied, proving that, once again, Vlad was deeply out of touch.
“He also went full Karen,” replied an observer of the conversation.
Even comedian Kev on Stage mocked Vlad’s critique but did not get personally attacked the way Morgan was. However, she warned him he might be next, “You better take this down before the hall monitor sends you to the principal’s office!!!”
You better take this down before the hall monitor sends you to the principal’s office!!! https://t.co/gZ6v3VOjeg
— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) May 5, 2024
Other professors stood with Morgan as well, telling Vlad he is welcome to call their schools.
My friend 😭 Thank you https://t.co/dvEbBCLeKP
— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) May 5, 2024
Vlad said the reason why he responded to Morgan’s post was because he saw that she was a real person and not a “bot” hiding behind a fabricated identity. The college English teacher said that it was much more than that, implying his remarks were rooted in a form of misogynoir.
She tweeted, “He also didn’t think that anyone would defend me because I am a Black woman. So thank you to everyone who did. I know why he responded to me and it’s not because his other critics were ‘bots.’”
If that is what Vlad believed, he was wrong.
Darkchild has not weighed in on his niece and DJ Vlad’s spat.