Jubilee House

Meek Mill Issued An Apology Amid Backlash For A Music Video Filmed Inside Of Ghana’s Presidential Home

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It was all good just a week ago, quite literally, for rapper Meek Mill. During the musician’s visit to Accra, Ghana, for Afrochella, the “Going Bad” rapper made good on his promise to deliver cinematic new visuals in the new year. Unfortunately, one of those visuals has landed the Philadelphia native in hot water. The initial overwhelming warm embrace he received from the Ghanaian people didn’t stop fans in the region from quickly checking Meek for filming a music video inside the country’s presidential home.

After posting the official visual to social media, the Ghanaian people called out Meek Mill and the Ghanaian government for being careless. The visual, which featured aerial shots of the grounds, could present a potential security risk to President Nana Akufo-Addo’s safety.

As the tweets began to flood in, Meek Mill quickly acted by removing the visuals from all of his platforms and immediately issuing an apology. “No video I drop is ever meant to disrespect the people of Ghana,” he wrote.

Meek later apologized to President Akufo-Addo’s office, ensuring that he wasn’t aware of the harm he brought to him. Meek asked for forgiveness for his ignorance from the Ghanaian that despite his hiccup, he’s “still gonna push to make the connection between Black people in America and Africa.”

Based on the responses to his apology, it seems his Ghanaian fans as willing to forgive him. But just in case, Meek may want to delete his social media accounts again, at least until it blows over.

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Meek Mill Apologizes For Filming Music Video At Jubilee House In Ghana

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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!”

Meek Mill Deletes Music Video Filmed At Jubilee House Amid Backlash

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Meek Mill is coming under fire on social media after sharing a teaser for a new music video he filmed at the Jubilee House. The location serves as the Office of the President and is considered the highest security zone in Ghana.

Just the short teaser features numerous areas in the Jubilee House, including the podium of President Akufo-Addo, which he uses to address the nation.

MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 30: Meek Mill performs onstage during the EA Sports Bowl at Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest on January 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for EA Sports Bowl at Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest )

Meek Mill filmed the music video while visiting Ghana over the holidays to perform at Afro Nation. He also had an audience with Nana Akufo-Addo.

In response to the backlash on social media, Meek Mill has since deleted the post.

“Meek Mill really shot a music video at Jubilee House? This is the lowest point we can get as a country,” one user wrote on Twitter over the weekend. “What happened to ‘Jubilee House is a security zone.’ Even American Embassy in Ghana, you can’t take pictures and Ghana 🇬🇭 allows Jubilee House to become studio. We are FINISH.”

Another user wrote: “Director of Diaspora Affairs & Minister of Interior, y’all really get questions answer for that Meek Mill video oooo.. how’s a drone being flown over the Jubilee house? As innnnnn???? You can’t even shoot a photo at the Independence Square & not get jumped at by ‘security’ Herh!”

“Nah!! This is getting serious, why are we allowing this?” one other Twitter user wrote. “Can Meek Mill shoot a music video in the white house?”

Check out the responses to Meek Mill’s music video below.

[Via]