Boosie Badazz Calls For Boycott Over 2017 Incident

Anna C. Jones – Lil Boosie
BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Ala.

Rapper Boosie Badazz hasn’t forgotten when he and his entourage were pepper sprayed by a security guard at a mall in Mississippi last year, and now he is calling for a boycott of the event he performed at prior to the incident.

“HOPE U DONT LOOK LIKE YOU GOT MONEY OUT THERE,” he wrote on his Instagram page in one of several posts with the image of an X over the words “No Black Beach.” “U WILL BE PROFILED. … COME ON VACATION N LEAVE ON PROBATION.”

A video was recorded last year of Boosie and an entourage talking to a guard inside a Dillard’s at the Edgewater Mall, when the guard abruptly pulls out pepper spray and uses it on the artist, who had performed at an event in Biloxi the night before.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast was crowded with tourists that weekend for the Black Beach Weekend event, and, remembering his negative experience, the Badazz is telling his followers to steer clear of the event, also cautioning visitors that there are many stingrays in the water.

At the time the incident happened Biloxi Police Lt. Christopher De Back said three men were arrested for felony assault for attacking the guard and a Biloxi police officer after the pepper spraying, though Boosie was not one of them. Boosie later claimed that police had taken more than $1 million in jewelry from him after the incident, according to the Sun Herald, though police claimed it had been returned to one of his associates.

Promoters for the Black Beach event resented Boosie’s call for a boycott and attempted to clap back on Instagram, posting: “For so many years Promoters in the Biloxi/Gulfport area have supported [Boosie Badazz] by booking and playing his records … Our event is promoted solely by black businessmen and women some of which have booked and paid Boosie to perform and host multiple times. By request of many of our followers we will NOT play Boosie at any of our official events and we ask all Coast promoters, clubs and DJs to follow suit. Black Businesses and the black community on the MS Coast are directly affected and offended.” The post also contained an image with the hashtag #NoBoosie.

The rapper was upset and responded at great length, writing: “I WAS SPRAYED WITH MASE IN FRONT MY DAUGHTER FOR NOTHING MY NEICE WAS SPRAYED WITH MASE N WAS 8 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH TWINS THAT CAME OUT PREMATURE MF MY JEWELRY WAS STOLEN N ALL OF SUDDEN FOUND 2 DAYS LATER AFTER I DID [“The Roland Martin Show]. N YOU WANT ME TO BE QUIET JUST CAUSE YOU GOT A BUIZNESS IN MISSISSIPPI[?]”

“EVERY YEAR YOU WILL HEAR MY VOICE UNTIL ME N MY FAMILY R PAID IN FULL”

The original post from Black Beach Weekend has since been deleted, but another containing the text “Well maybe set it off & f*ck da police” and a #NoBoosie hashtag remained online at press time.

The Biloxi Black Beach Weekend begins April 12 in Biloxi.