Earlier this week, Meek Mill canceled his appearance at a White House summit on prison reform after Jay-Z reportedly advised against it. According to the report, Jay believed that Meek having open dialogue with Trump could hurt his cause. Opinions have differed on whether or not Hov made the right call.
Anderson .Paak was approached by TMZ for his take on the whole situation. As someone who has had loved ones caught in the system, he expressed that perhaps Meek could have talked some sense into Trump.
"I think if Meek Mill had his mind set to go and do what he had to do. I think maybe he should have did that," he said. "My mom was in prison for seven and a half years, and I know that's a big issue, that's a major issue -- prison reform. That shit needs to be rectified ASAP. There's so much cheap labor that goes into it. It really needs to be magnified and looked at... taken care of. Meek is the man for that. He's just really the truth, and really walked that."
From .Paak's perspective, if there was a possibility of progress, it was probably worth having the conversation. "If they would have went in and did something, worked together, and came out with something that actually helped the situation, that's what you want!" he said. "Who gives a damn? We've got how many years with this dude... they come together and make something happen? How can you hate on that?"
However, the L.A. songwriter did realize how much Jay-Z's word means to Meek. "Big homie say, 'nah, we don't mess with him in any type of way.' It's Hov too, so it's like 'shit,'" he said, comparing it to his own relationship with one of rap's most powerful voices. "That's like the big homie Dre. It comes down to the artist or the person... If you've got your mind set and you know you're going to go in and make this happen, that's just up to you."
At the end of the conversation, he brought up Kanye's decision to act against the advice of those around him. "Kanye did that and got a lot of backlash from it," he said. "You're gonna get backlash whatever you do." When the TMZ cameraman suggested that we'll all buy Kanye's album at the end of the day anyway, he didn't confirm whether he'd be shelling out cash, but did suggest, "I'mma listen!"
Anderson .Paak released his new single "Bubblin'" earlier this week. He also appears on Sam Spiegel's new track "20 Below."