Tone Loc says he has no regrets for confronting a minor about his confederate hat at a Texas airport, insisting he would’ve ‘knocked his block off’ had the altercation occurred anywhere else.
The ‘Wild Thing’ rapper was briefly detained Midland International Air & Space Port in Texas, on Saturday, following a heated interaction with boy’s parents which was captured on video by a bystander.
Tone, real name Anthony Terrell Smith, says he spotted the child wearing the flag-emblazoned hat with the word ‘Rebel’ written across it in baggage claim, and told him on two occasion that his ‘hat is whack.’
‘How are you going to wear that in front of a black man?’ the 53-year-old producer, who is African-American, reportedly told the teen, who is white.
Wild thing: Rapper Tone Loc, 53, got into a heated exchange with a family (left and right) at a Texas airport Saturday after spotting a teen wearing a hat with the Confederate flag
‘It’s f***ing America’: The boy’s mother (pictured) said told the rapper, whose real name is Anthony Terrell Smith, that his son can wear whatever he wants because ‘it’s f***ing America’
Hitmaker: Tone Loc performs onstage during KEarth’s Totally 80’s Show at Honda Center on January 26, 2018 in Anaheim, California
The boy’s parents came to their son’s defense and told Smith that he had no right to speak to their son like that, pointing out that he is a minor.
‘This lady, who was his mother, said “my son is a minor, you can get your f***ing ass out of here, you can’t talk to him like that”,’ Smith revealed to TMZ.
‘If it was anywhere else, I would’ve knocked [the boy’s] block off, but I took it easy.’
The dispute quickly turned into an expletive-filled shouting match, which was recording by a bystander.
‘You ain’t nobody!’ the mother could be heard angrily shouting at Smith in the cellphone recording.
The argument later spilled out onto the sidewalk outside the airport, where the boy’s father was heard telling the rapper that his son can wear ‘whatever the f*** he wants.’
The mother chimed in, telling Smith, ‘You know why he can wear it? Because it’s f***ing America! Freedom of speech! Freedom of religion!’
Unimpressed by the woman’s argument, Smith declared, ‘F*** all that Confederate s***.’
Smith had some choice words to say about the Confederacy
Smith is best known for his 1989 hits ‘Wild Thing’ and ‘Funky Cold Medina’ (pictured right with Paula Abdul)
At that point a pair of uniformed Midland police officers approached the feuding parties and handcuffed Smith, drawing a strong-worded response from him.
The Grammy Award-nominated artist was let go a short time later after both he and the teenager’s family decided to part ways without filing any charges.
‘I don’t care if people want to wear a confederate flag or whatever. But if I wear a blue or red rag from where I’m from I have to suffer the consequences, because someone I run into might not be in to that,’ Smith told TMZ.
‘So that child’s mother or child should’ve checked him. He may run into someone who might not be into that and he may have to suffer the consequences. They might not be around to wipe his butt or clean his nose for him – he needs to be careful.
‘I have seen thousands of confederate flags, but when you see a kid like this…it just adds to the prejudice in this country. He’s going to be like that, and pass it down to the next generation, and the next and so be it.’
Saturday was not Smith’s first run-in with the law: the ‘80s’ musician was arrested on a domestic violence charge in Southern California back in 2011.
He later pleaded no contest and was sentenced to one day in county jail, three years of probation, community service and anger management counselling.