Last year A$AP Rocky made some pretty neglectful comments tracing back to the #BlackLivesMatter Movement in a Time Out New York interview. It was a hard pill to swallow for the people and communities affected who looked to Rocky (and many other influencers) to speak out. His initial response was admittedly a little disappointing, as he seemed to assert his life was unrelated to those affected by the police brutality incidents that occurred in Ferguson last year.

“Why, because I’m black? So every time something happens because I’m black I gotta stand up? What the fuck am I, Al Sharpton now? I’m A$AP Rocky. I did not sign up to be no political activist. I wanna talk about my motherfuckin’ lean, my best friend dying, the girls that come in and out of my life, the jiggy fashion that I wear, my new inspirations in drugs! I don’t wanna talk about no fucking Ferguson and shit because I don’t live over there!”

These comments picked up more steam recently, when it was re-circulated online, no doubt as a result of the most recent round of heartbreaking deaths in America. Under renewed pressure to speak out, Flacko visited NYC radio show, The Breakfast Club, in an attempt to clarify his feelings.

The Pretty MF says he was taken out of context at the time of the Time Out interview, blaming a combination of being misinterpreted by the journalist, as well as probably not choosing the right phrasing himself. Although he did reiterate his previous reluctance to step up and speak about something he wasn’t always personally affected by, saying he wouldn’t judge someone for not sympathising with him around the death of best mate A$AP Yams if they hadn’t also experienced a similar loss.

“Do we make him insensitive because we can’t relate one hundred thousand percent?”

The 45-minute interview didn’t quite clear Rocky of all responsibility but it at least gave us all a little more understanding into his thought-process, for whatever that’s worth. And we’re sure that there will still be quite a few people taking him to task over his #AllLivesMatter and Bill Cosby opinions. It does, however, beg the question as to whether public figures, and entertainers in particular, should automatically be required to used their platforms for the better when it comes to these larger social issues, or if that’s putting too much pressure on someone who is probably not always properly educated in addressing something so influential? We’ve definitely seen how that can go wrong in our own backyard recently, so the jury’s probably still out on that one.

Watch A$AP Rocky’s full Breakfast Club interview in the video above.