While many appreciate the lyrics slash analysis website Genius, formerly known as Rap Genius, the opinion surrounding founder MahBod Moghadam is decidedly less glowing. Previous controversies ultimately found him ousted from his own company; from there, he moved on to found Everipedia, professed to be a competitor to Wikipedia. That's merely the backstory. Now, Moghadam once again finds his name making headlines under dubious circumstances, and this time, he has Sacha Baron Cohen to thank.
On Sunday, Cohen's This Is America took aim at Silicon Valley, where his character Gio sat down for a photoshoot with Maghadam. Dubbing himself "Mahboo," better known as his hip-hop alter-ego, Maghadam ultimately went along with every request Gio sent his way. Unfortunately for everyone involved, such requests included ""do something like a black guy."
Maghadam came through with the first thing that came to mind: making the "blood" sign with his fingers. He went on to fire off guns at the camera, as well as spitting a questionable freestyle for the masses. It's safe to say we won't be seeing Mahboo's bars on Genius anytime soon.
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