Music
Former Drake collaborator Mo-G assaulted after claiming missing payments
by Richard Howard
April 5, 2016
In a music video response, Mo-G burns a pile of clothing from Drake's label OVO.
Several weeks after calling out Drake, his manager Oliver El-Khatib, and their OVO label on allegedly failing to compensate him for contributions to Drake’s music, Toronto rapper Mo-G has ended up in the hospital following a brutal assault.
Last month, in a slew of now-deleted Instagram posts, Mo-G claimed he helped “make Billboard hits” for the OVO team but was yet to be “paid one dollar.” In addition to posting text conversations between himself and Drake which he says proves he’s done work for the star, he further accused the Champagne Papi of jacking his swagger and dance moves. Mo-G also took some direct shots at El-Khatib, calling Drake’s manager a “shady-ass white boy” and a “culture vulture.”
Things took a darker turn at the beginning of this month, however, when Mo-G posted a picture of his bruised and bloodied face and what appears to be stiches in his forehead. While he refrained from directly accusing OVO of being behind the assault, his caption “when you speak from your heart this is what happens…” along with the hashtags “#dirtysociety” and “#dirtyindustry” have been interpreted by most to suggest exactly that.
There’s been no comment by Drake or his camp confirming or denying knowledge of the assault – the only thing that’s been interpreted as a response to the Mo-G’s comments came in the form of an Instagram post over two weeks ago in which Drake lifted a quote from fellow OVO member Gilla the Don: “The bright lights are supposed to inspire you not fry your brain.”
It seems Mo-G has no plans to be silenced, however. Two days ago, he released a video for his track “Wiggins.” While his unscathed face makes it clear this was shot before the assault, the ending of the clip in which he burns a pile of OVO clothing has now no doubt taken on even greater meaning for the Halal Gang rapper.
Meanwhile, Drake seems to have moved on to some new collaborations with the release of his new songs “One Dance” featuring Wizkid & Kyla and “Pop Style” featuring The Throne (a.k.a. Jay-Z and Kanye West).
