Following the most recent (and most-watched within 24 hours) episode of Red Table Talk, there’s one particular word that everyone can’t get out of their heads: entanglement. The Root even published a whole playlist dedicated to the term.
To refresh your memory, “entanglement” hit the pop culture zeitgeist when Jada Pinkett Smith referred to her previous involvement with August Alsina as an “entanglement,” which quickly prompted her husband, Will Smith, to urge her to clarify that term with “relationship” instead.
Not surprisingly, the term immediately began to trend on social media. Seizing the moment, on Saturday, the 27-year-old R&B singer dropped a link to his new song titled no other than, “Entanglements,” featuring Rick Ross.
Obviously, once you listen to the song, there is no question as to what and who he’s referencing. In fact, ELLE provided a breakdown of the lyrics:
The lyric “Girl I know we don’t call it a relationship,” seems to directly reference Alsina’s agreement that what he and Pinkett Smith had was more of an “entanglement” than it was a relationship.
This particular section seems to reference the dynamics the two might have had: “Shawty leanin’ on my shoulder, got her questionin’ my willpower/Jaded by her beauty, but her reputation real solid.”
“I don’t know why that word is such an issue,” August said in a recent interview with Vulture. I would agree [with Jada]. If you look up the definition of ‘entanglement,’ it is a complex and difficult relationship. It was exactly that. I think it’s just the language that probably stuck out to people. But I definitely have to agree with it being an entanglement. It definitely was something complicated, a complicated dynamic.”
In the interview, August also addressed the fact that people would likely accuse him of simply trying to capitalize on the moment (as he was promoting an album at the time) or that he was solely conducting the interview for attention.
“I actually don’t see this as scandalous,” he said. “It’s something manifested on its own. I’m aware of that type of chatter and noise from some people. I’m also aware that when I first dropped the interview, there were people on Black Twitter taking digs and shots at my mental stability, who made me out to be a crazy person, saying this was so unbelievable. “Oh, this just can’t be true. He’s delusional.” It was very telling for me in so many ways. It taught me a lot. It said more about them and what they were projecting onto me.”
In addition to the general memes about the term, there was clear concern about not only the age difference (as Alsina is essentially a peer of Pinkett Smith’s children, Jaden and Willow) but more importantly, the aspect of a power dynamic within the relationship (especially when you factor in August’s addiction).
“There is no right or wrong here,” he noted. “With there being no right or wrong, there is no regret. There’s nothing to regret because it’s not something I went searching for. It’s not something I went after. I don’t go after people’s girls. Nobody preyed on me or was a predator towards me. This is none of that. It just is. It just was. So I don’t feel any reason to have regrets.”