Two Duke University employees, Britni Brown and Kevin Simmons, were fired from their job at the university coffee shop, Joe Van Gogh, for playing the aspirational new Negro spiritual by Young Dolph entitled, “Get Paid.”
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Following in the tradition of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and Madam C.J. Walker, Young Dolph raps:
Get paid, young nigga, get paidGet paid, young nigga, get paidGet paid, young nigga, get paidWhatever you do, just make sure you get paidGet paid, young nigga, get paidGet paid, young nigga, get paidCrib so big, that it came with a maidGet paid, young nigga, get paid
Dolph also establishes a list of rules for those seeking financial independence when he raps:
Rule No. 1, get the money firstRule No. 2, don’t forget to get the moneyPlay by these rules and everything will be OK
Everything should be OK unless, of course, you are listening to the meditative lyrics out loud when non-Negro and university Vice Principal of Student Affairs Larry Moneta walks into the coffee shop to purchase a hot tea and vegan muffin. Not knowing the historical reference or cultural relevancy of Dolph’s biblical verses, Moneta walked out of the shop “AppleCaring” and Bartholomew-ing (the male equivalent of Beckying), even though Brown turned the music down and offered Moneta a free muffin, Newsweek reports.
Moneta snitched told the director of Duke’s dining services about the crew’s song selection, and that person relayed the message to Robbie Roberts, Joe Van Gogh’s owner.
“Initially, Roberts called the coffee shop and requested for employees to pay closer attention to the music they played in the store, but they were ultimately let go. ‘They pretty much said that Duke wanted them to terminate us, and that there was nothing that they could do and that their hands were tied,” Brown told Charlotte’s News & Observer.”
Students at Duke protested the firings and even had boomboxes play Dolph’s lyrical hymnal. Something about the firing didn’t sit right with Roberts, who’s now closing his coffee shop on Duke’s campus to preserve the company’s “brand independence without conditions,” the News & Observer reports.
When Young Dolph heard that his lyrical hieroglyphics had caused two fans to lose their jobs, he couldn’t stand it. He not only flew both employees out to his Rolling Loud performance but also blessed the former employees with $20,000. Watch the awesomeness below, and never forget Dolph’s rules for success:
Rule No. 1, get the money firstRule No. 2, don’t forget to get the moneyPlay by these rules and everything will be OK
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