Last week, the internet was bombarded with headlines that R&B songstress Jhene Aiko filed for divorce from her producer husband Dot Da Genius. This prompted fans and social media to suggest that she had an affair with her TWENTY88 collaborator, Big Sean. And after a week of some undesirable publicity, Aiko decided to give a little clarity to the situation, and of course, like a true artist, she released in what seems to be an rough song entitled “New Balance.”
Released Sunday, the song sounds pertinent to all the drama presently going on in her life. Jhene sings about a person whom she suddenly falls in love with and how she’s struggling with her feelings as well as other people’s opinions: “It hit me like a tidal wave … Turned all my days into brighter days, even when people say what we do is not okay.”
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Jhene confirmed Big Sean as being the “New Balance’s” source of inspiration by replying to a fan who fawned over the record. But not everybody is delighted by Jhene’s new relationship. As per usual, twitter ucovered some tweets by Dot Da Genius’ friend, rapper Kid Cudi, which was tweeted two years ago when Jhene and Dot became an item. “If you hurt him I’ll kill you.”
When reports surfaced that Jhene had filed for divorce, Cudi wasn’t short of words for Jhene and his former GOOD Music labelmate.
Although social media and Cudi have blamed the disbanding of her marriage on Jhene, the singer insists she’s not the one to blame. In a series of tweets, the songstess says she never cheated on her husband, even when he jumped ship long ago.
Since tea is being spilled, let’s sip. When Jhene and Big Sean linked up for the TWENTY88 EP, the skeptics were out. Specifically, when the tandem posted photos of them cozied up like an HBCU couple walking through the quad. While Cudi’s outlook on social issues such as hip hop’s intolerance of homosexuality is always insightful, the rapper is losing points. It’s reasonable that he wants to come to his friend’s defense, but imposing yourself in this mess is making the situation, well, messier.