An indefinite suspension. The X account (ex-Twitter) of the rapper Booba has been deactivated again, our colleagues from Midi Libre and 20 Minutes have noted. At issue are accusations of cyberbullying against him, due to multiple publications targeting both the head of rap at Apple Music, Mehdi Maïzi, and the rapper Serane.
These two personalities have been the target of "threats", "hate messages" and "harassment" in recent days from the Booba community, according to Mehdi Maïzi's account on X. According to Libération, "humiliating photomontages" and "rumours of adultery with photos of women who are supposed to be mistresses unceremoniously" have also been published.
It all started when Mehdi Maïzi - who hosts Le Code, notably broadcast on Youtube - announced on his social networks the arrival of Serane, a "new generation" rapper. Unknown to the general public, the 25-year-old singer is considered an "artist who divides" with his "singular musical color," his "nonchalant" rhythms and his "visual biases that go against the grain of the codified art of rap," as the specialized site Cult7ure assures.
'Scourge on our culture'
In fact, Serane's invitation to Le Code, a prime-time show about rap culture, enraged Booba last week. For the 47-year-old rapper, who is already the target of a cyberharassment complaint from Magali Berdah, Le Code wants to "erase the more profitable part of rap to replace it". "Mehdi Moizi has become a real scourge on our culture. I'm going to have to crack down," he also wrote on X, also posting photos of Serane. Booba even went so far as to announce, on Thursday 11 January, the creation of a "new media", intended to "give visibility to new talents as well as established talents".
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I cannot tolerate that my work leads anyone to spread rumours about my personal life and those around me," said Mehdi Maïzi. According to our colleagues at 20 Minutes and Midi Libre, this wave of "cyberharassment" sounds like "revenge": Mehdi Maïzi was an employee of Booba, as a host in its former media outlet OKLM, created in 2014, and which ceased in 2020. It remains to be seen if this umpteenth settling of scores involving the historic French rapper will be the last, or if X will allow him to return to the platform again: in January 2022, he was suspended for a profile picture deemed too violent.