Busta Rhymes became a trending topic on social media this week after the Hip Hop veteran decided to share his views on COVID-19 mask mandates. Footage of the 49-year-old entertainer railing against mask wearing went viral on Tuesday.
“COVID can suck a d###. All these little weird-ass government policies and mandates, suck a d###. They’re trying to take our civil liberties away,” Busta Rhymes told a crowd at a concert in St. Louis.
The Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God album creator added, “No human being is supposed to tell you that you can’t even breathe freely. F### your mask. I’m saying. Some of y’all might feel differently, but f### your mask.”
The resurfaced rant from the Seoul Tacos 10th Anniversary Block Party in June caused a lot of commotion online. Busta Rhymes was widely criticized for what was seen as spreading misinformation about the value of using masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Political journalist Roland Martin is one of those critics taking issue with what Busta Rhymes had to say about mask-wearing. The former CNN contributor used time on his Roland Martin Unfiltered show to slam Busta Rhymes for his remarks.
“What we are witnessing are people who have significant platforms, who sound about as dumb as Donald Trump about injecting bleach and sunlight into your body and it’s going to come out of your body,” said Roland Martin.
He continued, “Busta Rhymes, you are a rapper. You are a successful rapper. You are one of the best rappers. But you don’t know s### about science or medicine. Do I respect your rap game? Yes… But on this topic, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Roland Martin went on to point out that hospitals across the country are currently treating large amounts of unvaccinated patients who contracted COVID-19. He also brought up Busta Rhymes admitting to having “breathing issues” in the past which could make him susceptible to coronavirus.
The CDC recommends anyone who is fully vaccinated should still wear a mask indoors in public if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission and individuals over the age of 2 who are not fully vaccinated should wear a mask in indoor public places.
In July, Roland Martin called out Sean “Diddy” Combs’s Revolt Network for reporting inaccurate news about the death of rapper Biz Markie. Last year, Martin challenged Lil Wayne to come on Roland Martin Unfiltered to discuss Wayne’s support for then-President Donald Trump’s Platinum Plan for Black Americans.
