2022 Afrobeats Festival

A harmless moment meant by Meek Mill turned into an international social media incident for the rapper. Last month, Meek was in the Motherland for the Afrobeats festival in Ghana. The Philly star enjoyed his time in Africa and shared several takeaways from the trip—and he even filmed a music video while there. The shoot took place at the Jubilee House, a government building that acts as both a residence and office for Ghana’s president.

When Meek finally shared the visual, it was met with mixed reactions. While his fans were happy to see footage from the trip, many Ghanaians thought it was disrespectful to film at that location.

Read More: Meek Mill Deletes Music Video Filmed At Jubilee House Amid Backlash

Much of the pushback centered on the Dreams and Nightmares hitmaker’s lyrical content. As Meek Mill’s mentions were cluttered with complaints, the rapper reemerged with an explanation—and an apology.

“To the people of Ghana no video I drop is ever meant to disrespect the people of Ghana,” he tweeted. “The fastest way to make connection is thru music and I wanted to do that with displaying art … im in my 30’s from America and didn’t know much about the lifestyle here.”

“My apologies to the people if any disrespect! We still gonna push to make the connection between black people in America and Africa … what I’m trying to do is more than a video and you should see coming soon! My apologies to the the office also!”

Read More: Meek Mill’s Phone Stolen On Ghana Trip

Additionally, Meek said he didn’t believe officials were aware that he was shooting a music video. The controversy also sparked division between Africans and Black Americans as conversations about culture were mentioned. Meek said he didn’t want to create tension.

“I’m just not here for no separation of anything black,” tweeted Meek. “We already separated enough and don’t understand each others cultures.”

“Let’s used this to help fix that and not more judgement towards each other!”