Speed Darlington just had some real talk about his time in America. The Nigerian rapper spent 23 years in the United States and left with nothing but a criminal record.
Speed Darlington made these comments in a video that recently circulated online. He compared his life in the United States to being trapped in a cage.
The controversial artist doesn’t hold back when describing how American society destroyed his spirit.
“America doesn’t like me,” Speed Darlington said in the video. “I could come into the United States, but I didn’t want to stay there. America didn’t favor me, and I’m not ashamed to say that. The only thing I had was a criminal record, arrests, arrests, arrests, arrests, that’s all I got from the United States.”
The rapper explained how living in America for more than two decades destroyed his confidence. He talked about feeling isolated and struggling with basic social interactions.
Speed Darlington said he couldn’t even talk to women because the system made him question his worth.
“My self-confidence was at rock bottom in America,” he reveals. “I couldn’t even talk to girls; I lacked confidence every time I was in America. I was always lonely. If I spent nine months or two years, I would be alone all the time, which would mean endless masturbation. It would be tiring.”
Speed Darlington points out how American society forces black people to over-prove themselves to gain basic respect. He described the psychological stress of constantly worrying about his accent and whether people would laugh at him. The rapper said the toxic environment left him feeling like he had nothing.
“There is an atmosphere in American society where a black man is nothing and has to prove himself excessively to gain respect,” Speed Darlington explains. “This is not the way I want to live my life. Here, I achieve something. Everyone is black and dark-skinned.”
The artist revealed that all his real success has come from Nigeria, not the United States. Darlington summed up his feelings about the United States and Nigeria with a powerful comparison.
“It is better to climb trees in the forest and enjoy freedom than to be locked in a cage in the center of everything,” Speed Darlington concluded. “I did not leave America with any money.”
Speed Darlington’s comments come as tensions between Donald Trump and Nigeria reach new heights.
Trump recently redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act. The designation comes after Donald Trump expressed concern over the killings of Christians by jihadist groups in northern Nigeria.
Trump’s broader foreign policy includes military action against several African countries. The president has bombed targets in Somalia, launched counterterrorism operations and expanded the U.S. military presence in the region.
Nigeria’s government disputes Trump’s characterization of religious persecution, arguing that terrorist groups kill indiscriminately.
