Gather around citizens: Ja Rule has some thoughts on the cultural phenomenon known as the Popeyes Chicken sandwich—because we certainly wondered and asked!
On Tuesday, the rapper and businessman decided to add his thoughts on the deliciously crispy piece of chicken having relations with a couple of pickles between a brioche bun, which made its triumphant return after taking a break from our eager mouths. After breaking our collective hearts and selling out of the popular sandwiches towards the end of Hot Girl Summer, Popeyes announced the sandwiches were back on sale this past Sunday (in a masterful snipe at Chick-fil-A, which is closed on Sundays).
Much like its predecessor, Popeyes Chicken-pocalypse 2.0 came with the same hyperbolic reaction and a few altercations, including a fatal stabbing in Maryland that police have stated stemmed from the sandwich craze.
Ja, who had a bunch of people wait in line for their suitcases and shelter after the failed Fyre Fest, proceeded to go on a rant about just how much people were willing to do for a delectable piece of chicken.
“Y’all really out here acting like niggas over a fucking chicken sandwich... smh... now I’m never gonna eat one on principles alone!!!” Ja exclaimed in a tweet. “Fucking idiots y’all are what’s wrong with our people... I’m so disappointed in my ppl we better than this.”
And, just over 10 minutes after showing such concern over how “embarrassing” this whole ordeal looks for “our people,” Ja proceeded to subject us to outdated stereotypical tropes about watermelon and Kool-Aid. How innovative!
Of course, when it comes to food opinions, we shouldn’t look any further than the face behind the culinary delights of Fyre Fest, right? Yeah.
Then, things went way left. All the way left, toward “tweet-and-delete” territory.
But, Ja Rule certainly isn’t alone in his ideology, he’s just hopping on the Respectability Politics Express train, which, unfortunately, is never late when black people are simply fucking enjoying things.
Case in point:
Oh yes, the extremely productive assumption that standing in line at a fast-food restaurant has a direct correlation to voting rates in the black community. Not voter suppression. Not gerrymandering. A fucking boneless poultry titty sandwiched between some bread. Eureka!
And, as the pièce de résistance, Ja then implied that white people aren’t as thirsty for the Popeyes sandwiches, despite you know, every mainstream media outlet contributing to the pop-cultural conversation and mass consumption, as well. Oh, and this happened.
I also couldn’t help but notice that he said his son went to get a sandwich. Mmhmm, I bet he got an order for his dad, too. I’m onto you, Mr. Rule!
So yeah, how about we kill this trite narrative that Popeyes sandwiches are the enemy of black progressiveness? Kill it dead. It’s murdaaaaaa…