Tech N9ne is wondering why Lil Uzi Vert hasn’t experienced more outrage for embracing the upside down cross, which is a symbol people associate with Satanism.
The Strange Music co-founder, who has faced allegations of being a devil worshipper throughout his career, brought up the issue in an Instagram post on Sunday (November 4). Tech shared a photo of Uzi wearing an upside down cross chain and compared it to the criticism he’s received.
“Ok guys, excuse my ignorance but, I’ve never wore an upside down cross out of respect for my elders who follow Christianity and I’ve never worshipped a devil like people have said I did either but, THIS is an upside down cross on this superstar’s neck right?” he asked. “Right! How is he not shunned by the black folks that turned their back on me in 2001 due to my imagery being satanic in their eyes?
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Tech clarified that he wasn’t seeking to ostracize Uzi. Instead, he was trying to figure out why he received more criticism for alleged satanic imagery than Uzi.
“Not that I want this young brotha to be shunned, i just wanna understand how folks can look at my painted face and say devil and satan but not look at his painted face (L9L) with an UPSIDE DOWN CROSS and NOT say devil and satan?” he continued. “Help me out y’all! I ask with love in my heart and NEVER hate!”
The upside down cross is actually an ancient symbol for St. Peter’s crucifixion, but it has developed a reputation as an anti-Christian image despite its origins.
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Although Uzi may not have received the same level of scorn as Tech, he has faced some criticism for wearing the upside down cross. Last year, Offset chastised Uzi and other rappers for sporting inverted cross chains and tattoos.
“Stop that shit boy, you look lame,” he said. “All that worship the devil shit. Get with God, man.”
Uzi responded by posting more inverted crosses on social media and shared a video of himself wearing the chain.
While Tech has never sported the inverted cross, some of his critics claim symbols such as his Strange Music logo and barcode cross are satanic. In 2009, he spoke with HipHopDX about the controversy.
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“It’s stuff I been hearing ever since I started this, with the snake and the bat [symbol for my Strange Music label]. The Christians in Eugene [Oregon] protesting, saying I’m the devil. And the snake is supposed to be the devil. And a bat is a nocturnal creature. And I put ‘em both together and that’s supposed to be a powerhouse [for] Satan and all that kinda thing … These are ideas that are written by man in the Bible.
“[They claim] me having the bar code cross [logo is me] trying to say evil is God is just … The bar code cross is just T 9, man. And I always been [a] mechanical type of rapper. So the bar code comes into play, like just property of T to the 9th power. There’s nothing biblical, it’s nothing – it just looks like a crucifix. But, it’s nothing biblical. It’s nothing that should be considered scary. It’s just that people try to say my stuff is evil.”
Read the entire interview here.
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