*Eddie Levert is an African American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is most commonly known as the lead vocalist of the band, the O’Jays.
The R&B legend known for his raspy voice recently bagged an award at the Black Men XCEL awards Gala, a platform that acknowledges men of color. With the event set to pay tribute to “the best of who we are,” Levert was one of the award honorees of the night.
During the proud moment, it wasn’t the humble acceptance speech you were probably expecting. The 77-year-old singer took the stage to address Black folks, and not at all in the manner you’d expect! Amidst a massive crowd in Miami, Levert launched a harsh critique of young black men clamoring over Popeye’s chicken sandwich.
Yes, you heard that right.
The soul singer was appalled at the hideously long lines of black folks looking to get their hands on the wildly popular sandwich. He took the stage to scold black folks with some choice words.
“It’s not just about me and the popularity and the records and all of that. This is about my people and that’s what I want to convey to the younger people — that this is not just about you and the bling and the cars. This is about our culture and about what we need to represent our people and how we need to represent our people,” he rebuked the younger generation for debasing the image of the African American community and its heritage.
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Levert was the only honoree to address the concern out of the four who received the award. In an attempt to reprimand the younger crowd, he probably ended up further titillating the taste buds of the audience, though.
For those of you who somehow missed it, last Summer, Popeyes’ fried chicken sandwich came on the market and caused total pandemonium. Because of the demand, they ran out sandwiches just two weeks after launch, causing a shortage and incredibly long queues for a bite of the notorious sandwich.
In light of the string of crazy instances that included a man pulling a gun at the restaurant’s employee because they ran out of sandwiches, Levert is not too off track in addressing this mayhem.
He went on to talk about the image of the African American community being portrayed by Black folks.
“I really wish they would show it by not trying to buy that Popeye’s chicken sandwich,” amidst laughter from the audience, “It would be a different thing if they owned the franchise. I could understand it if we were going to make money from that and it was going to benefit our culture. But you’re making a mockery of who we are and it shames me.”
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