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Meek Mill performs at The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre on August 26, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan.
Rapper Meek Mill has deleted a music video shot inside Ghana’s presidential palace after facing swift backlash online.
The 35-year-old rapper was in the country’s capital, Accra, to perform at the Afrobeats festival when he dropped into the Jubilee House governmental building, which serves as both the official presidential residence and office.
Mill visited Jubilee House in late December 2022, where he met with Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, and other government officials.
“With the president of Ghana appreciate meeting strong black leaders it gives me motivation to be more great!” Mill wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos of his visit, including standing at the president’s official lectern.
On January 8, the rapper released a teaser from a video that appeared to be shot both inside Jubilee House and outside the unique structure. Drone footage flies overhead in one shot showing Mill and his entourage.
The clip also included footage from his performance at Afrobeats and of him chatting with Ghanaian officials at Jubilee House.
Ghanaians flocked to social media to condemn the video, especially for the drone footage over a supposedly high-security building.
Newsweek has contacted Meek Mill and the Ghanaian government for comment on the controversy.
Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, the country’s former deputy education minister, demanded the instant dismissal of those who approved the shoot.
“All those responsible for this despicable desecration of the Jubilee House by Meek Mill must be fired immediately. How do those explicit lyrics from the president’s lectern project Ghana positively? Is Ghana’s seat of government no longer a high security installation?” he tweeted.
Journalist and TV producer Jude Mensa Duncan tweeted: “This is so so embarrassing. The sad part is, the ordinary Ghanaian can’t even stand infront of the jubilee house to take a picture.So why allow someone fly a drone over the place ??”
While sports reporter Rita Mensah wrote: “Nah!! This is getting serious, why are we allowing this? Can Meek Mill shoot a music video in the white house? Eii Gh lol . What a country! We have given these guys too much liberty they don’t even have in their country.”
On Facebook, Nuong Faalong detailed her experience of being banned for filming outside the building as it was “unlawful.”
“Many years ago, a Camera Man called Francis and I grabbed some equipment and headed out looking for the perfect spot to shoot a story,” Faalong wrote.
“We stood at the Afrikiko intersection, turned around and shot a few ‘stand uppers’. It didn’t look good enough, the story was political so we inched closer to Jubilee house , I stood on the grass with Jubilee behind me in the background and we started to roll …. BOOM!!!
“Security came running out real quick, grabbed our equipment, took us inside , we went through all kinds of security processes on the compound , finally went to see the head of Security and then Director of Coms Eugene Arhin who cleared us to leave after we promised to desist. Our videos had been long deleted.”
The reporter added she did not feel angry at the time because she was “certain everyone involved was just doing their job.”
Faalong said she was sharing her story now because she didn’t think it was fair for foreigners to get special treatment over Ghanaians.
“If foreigners are quickly elevated and given all kinds of access over and above local woman like me, of course they will go and blow your Trumpet louder. Our experience of the country are different! This ‘lure’ package allows them to run riot without restrictions or repercussions. They get access and sweetheart deals. We get the rough edges,” she wrote.
“Frankly when some of them hype the country, Ghanaians cannot even relate.”
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