Videos by According2HipHop
Artist Shaboozey has issued a public statement clarifying his comments from the Grammy Awards after facing backlash for saying, “Immigrants built this country,” during his acceptance speech.
Following criticism from many in the Black American community—who felt the statement failed to acknowledge the foundational role of enslaved Black Americans whose unpaid labor helped build the United States—Shaboozey sought to add context to his remarks. “To be clear, I know and believe that we—Black people—have also built this country,” he said. “My words were never intended to dismiss that truth.” He explained that, as both a Black man and the son of Nigerian immigrants, the emotional moment of winning his first Grammy led him to focus on honoring the sacrifices his parents made in pursuit of opportunity.
The conversation expanded further after Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., shared a pointed response on social media. King questioned whether references to “immigrants” include enslaved Africans and their descendants, emphasizing that chattel slavery was designed to build an empire through forced labor. She stressed that Black Americans were not immigrants seeking opportunity, but people brought to the country in chains, whose trauma and exploitation should never be minimized.
King concluded by underscoring the need for historical truth, stating that justice for all can only be achieved when the full and honest history of Black labor, suffering, and contributions is acknowledged and spoken openly—especially during Black History Month.
A letter from me 🖤 pic.twitter.com/DgcOavMHjx
— Shaboozey (@ShaboozeysJeans) February 3, 2026
It’s #BlackHistoryMonth and I have to ask:
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) February 2, 2026
Are people including enslaved Africans, descendants of those enslaved, and Black people whose unjust, low-wage labor sustained the economy in the 1800s/1900s as immigrants when they say “immigrants built this country”?
Because…
