Video Courtesy of The Moth
Today's relationship between bloggers and rappers is either too friendly or libel (Hi, Tasha K), but so far, not violent. However, that has not always been the case. When Brand Nubian rapped "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down," that included journalists/bloggers who sometimes can write articles that come off like diss tracks.
"I just didn't feel it was right or correct to comment to come out against Foxy and in essence come out against Hip Hop."
On this Throw Back Thursday, let's revisit the late 1990s when Foxy Brown got into a tussle with journalist and former Editor In Chief at Vibe Magazine, Danyel Smith, over an article she did not like.
IF YOU SEE A BITCH, YOU NEED TO SLAP A BITCH
Danyel Smith was enjoying a meal at the famed Mesa Grill when her assistant informed her that Foxy Brown wanted to speak to her outside about the piece she wrote on the 19-year-old MC. Not willing to interrupt her meal, Danyel tells her assistant she is not going outside and to tell Foxy that. Later, Foxy's
publicist comes into the restaurant to relay the same message about how upset Foxy is about the article.
In a failed attempt to continue enjoying her meal, Danyel lets the publicist know that she is willing to meet with Foxy back at the office after she finishes her meal and Vibe party she is scheduled to attend. But, unfortunately, that gesture did not seem to soothe anything because next thing you know, someone is "banging" on Danyel's shoulder, and guess who it is?
It's Foxy Brown with 4 other people.
Not wanting to make a scene in the middle of the restaurant, Danyel tells Foxy let's go to the bathroom to talk. As they walk into the restroom, Danyel heads straight to a stall, shuts the door, and starts two-way'n Foxy's manager, trying to get him to come save her. But, he is in the Harlem Tunnel., so Danyel is on her own with her two assistants.
"In Hip Hop it's the kind of place, the kind of scene that you just might always get your ass beat."
Danyel comes out of the stall to Foxy Brown saying, "Bitch, I don't think you know who I am," and a bunch of other "bitch, bitch, bitch."
That's when Danyel starts to get more mad than scared and tells Foxy, "You know Foxy, I'm not gonna to be too many more "bitches" up in here, so if you see a bitch you need to slap a bitch." Danyel then turned away from Foxy, and that is when Foxy reached out to grab her hair, but couldn't quite get a grip, so instead scratched her.
Danyel turned around and said, "Are you out of your fck'n mind? Did you just touch me? You felt like that was Ok to reach out and touch me? I mean, did you read the fck'n article? As long as you are Black and on this earth, no one will ever say anything as nice about you as I did in that piece. You need to read the shit and get out my fck'n face!"
It did not escalate after that, but this story was another bad look for Foxy Brown, who was set to release her second album Chyna Doll. When asked about the incident, Danyel refused to comment because, in her words, "I just didn't feel it was right or correct to comment to come out against Foxy and in essence come out against Hip Hop."
FOXY SPEAKS
Foxy did make a statement to MTV about the incident:
"It was really very small, I did an interview with her, my first in depth interview, and she spent 5 days with me in Miami -- which my publicist nor anybody would have ever agreed to -- being that I thought she was a real cool person, which she is."
"So we did the interview, but there were just certain things in the article which weren't true. And I feel like, we don't mind what you say - and I think I speak for 99 percent of artists in hip-hop and R&B when I say that we don't mind what you guys write about us, what editors write about us, just write the truth."
Hip Hop Media Fun Fact: Danyel Smith is married to Elliott Wilson and just released her book Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop
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A good read!!!
Didn't Jackie- o whoop Foxys ass...I hate a fake tough new york girl.