NEWS
Keith Murray‘s mental state has been a topic of discussion as of late. However, after his surprise performance at the BET Awards, it appears things may be looking up for the rapper.
Premiering on Sunday (June 25), this year’s BET Awards were more star-studded than ever. However, one of the most memorable moments was when Def Squad – comprised of Murray, Redman, and EPMD co-founder Erick Sermon — took the stage to let fans reminisce about the “Golden Era” of the 90s in honor of Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary this year.
While the performance was amazing to watch, some fans were confused when Murray took the stage. The Long Island native was recently spotted in a video online appearing to be under the influence of drugs.
However, Murray’s recent antics haven’t affected his bravado or stage presence, as he rocked his performance of his hit track, “The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World,” which appeared on his 1994 album of the same name.
Check out the trio’s performance below.
A disturbing video of Murray surfaced online recently, causing many to wonder about his mental state. Even Lord Jamar, who’s had a long-standing beef with the rapper, put it aside to offer his long-time adversary some support.
“Our brother @keithmurrayrap obviously needs serious help,” he wrote in an Instagram post featuring the clip. “I don’t have to see this man do drugs in front of me to know he’s on drugs. Dude crossed a line with me, that I believe if he wasn’t on drugs he wouldn’t have crossed, so I forgive him. We need to get our brother clean, cause this is a horrible look.”
9th Wonder, Doodlebug from Digable Planets, and Immortal Technique all commented on the post in support of Murray, as well.
Prior to his IG post, Lord Jamar implored Murray to get help on his podcast last week. Jamar was addressing Murray’s prior appearance on another podcast, in which Murray allegedly threatened to “slap the shit out of [Lord Jamar]” when he saw him again.
But rather than feed into the taunts, Jamar addressed the larger, underlying issue. “At the end of the day, I just want to say that addiction [is] something that is serious,” he said.
NEWS
Taylor Swift is encouraging rising artists to stay away from reading social media comments too closely.
During a conversation with The New York Times about songwriting, the “Shake It Off” singer explained that although criticism can sometimes become a “creative writing prompt,” constantly checking comments online can leave artists overwhelmed by negativity.
“My favourite thing when I sit down with new artists or songwriters, I'm like, ‘Why are you reading your comments?’ Like, that's too much of it,” she said. “You're inundating yourself with too much criticism that doesn't really have a focus. But a little bit of it, you've got to just be like, this is part of (the job). Like, don't make this make you stop writing or make you edit yourself or whatever.”
Swift, 36, also shared that she often tells other musicians to channel criticism into music instead of firing back at people online or posting long responses in the Notes app.
“If it's an interesting point to you to kind of respond to, then that's a gift for you to be able to write something. Maybe you wouldn't have written something that day,” she continued. “But don't go to the Notes app and post it, like write (a song) about it. Make art about this. Don't respond to trolls in your comments. That's not what we want from you. We want your art.”
The global superstar went on to say that criticism has inspired some of the biggest songs throughout her career. She pointed to her 2014 hit “Blank Space,” saying it likely would not have happened without people constantly focusing on her dating life and creating “slideshow” style narratives about her relationships.
Speaking about her 2022 track “Anti-Hero,” Swift added, “That song doesn't exist if I don't get criticised for every aspect of my personality that people have a problem with or whatever.”
