As other industry leaders have sent letters supporting Tory Lanez after his recent sentencing, Houston rapper-turned-entrepreneur Bun B hopes to learn from this.
The UGK member called Lanez’s 10-year prison sentence a “wake-up” call for domestic violence, TMZ reports. Bun hopes that prison will make Lanez’ a better man. When asked if the “wake up” call was for hip-hop, the Trill Burgers owner said it’s more so for victims of domestic violence. “I think it’s a wake-up call for violence against women,” Bun said. “I don’t think this has anything to do with hip-hop. If there were nobody in hip-hop involved in this, this would still not be a good thing for us to see in this world right now.”
Following the 2020 incident involving fellow Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion, Bun B was very vocal in his defense of Megan. “I tried to be impartial and cool about this—man, f*** that! F*** Tory Lanez, okay,” Bun said, according to Hip-Hop DX. “And I don’t care if this go viral. I’m from Houston and if somebody woulda done something to Meg in this city, we woulda rode.”
Once the Toronto-born artist caught wind of where Bun’s loyalty was, he attacked him in a track titled “Sorry I Had To,” which was used against Lanez in court.
Despite the petty beef between the rappers, Bun still offers advice for Tory, telling him to keep his head up and admits he doesn’t wish prison on anyone. “Look man, just keep your head up, you know,” he said. “Obviously, Tory might not be the biggest fan of mine, but I don’t wish prison on anybody and I hope he comes home safe.”
While his past comments may have caused some rift with Lanez, Bun isn’t backtracking. He says he will always stand with Megan because Black women need to be protected. “I feel like if I hadn’t said anything, I’m not sure how much people would have even spoken on this issue,” Bun said. “And if my relationship with Tory Lanez is damaged, then so be it. We have to protect our Black women and any Black man that doesn’t feel the same way is not my brother.”