NBA star Tony Parker has dropped the hammer on a New York City night club for injuries he received during the notorious beef between Chris Brown and the rapper Drake. Parker sustained an injury to his retina, which will likely end up requiring surgery. The suit was filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan this week.
Defendants named in the suit were the W.i.P. club in Soho and its operators, claiming they were negligent in their security and supervision.
The interesting battle that took place between two men who are arguably the biggest wannabes in all of hip-hop is one for the ages. Any black man who is trying to take a class on how to go broke and destroy your life should watch all the things that will likely transpire in the lives of both Drake and Chris Brown. They might be powerful celebrities, but when you’ve got a whole bunch of folks lining up waiting to sue you, your money eventually runs out.
Sure, Tony didn’t sue Drake or Brown, likely because Brown is his homie. But all the other folks who were injured, who’ve been waiting for their big financial break or looking for 15 minutes of fame are licking their chops. The lawsuits will come flowing like bottles of Hennessy at the next ‘ignorant ass rapper fight’ coming to a town near you.
Yesterday, I spoke with Dr. Christopher Emdin, a Columbia University professor and student of hip hop. Dr. Emdin made accurate reference to the “inauthentic authenticity” being sought out by rappers like Drake (who is “Canada Dry” – read lame – according to his nemesis, the rapper “Common”). By popping bottles at the club and looking for a fight, Drake is trying to be the person that he thinks rappers are supposed to be, rather than simply being himself. Even Lil Wayne, the notorious gang member who one might expect to go looking for beef, has told Drake to kill the drama before it becomes too costly.
Maybe we can one day get to the point where I am not hearing about yet another rapper who was shot, arrested or beat down at the club. Spending all your time hopping from one club to the next, too high to remember what you did last night and looking for the next party is empty, depressing and counter productive. It’s sad that we live in a world where millions of black men have been taught to waste their lives doing nothing instead of grinding to make your dreams come true. #KillTheIgnorance.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
