Justine Skye took the brave step to delve into her experience with domestic violence in her “Build” video and a powerful personal statement. Many wondered who Skye was referring to until this weekend when she liked multiple tweets naming Harlem artist and model Sheck Wes as the person who she alleges abused her. Though she acknowledged the tweets yesterday, she still hasn’t specifically named Wes, and she explained why in a ranging interview with The Breakfast Club that released today. Though the actual interview seems to be previously recorded, as it doesn’t reference the tweets or Wes by name, Skye goes in-depth about how the then-unnamed abuser had previously hit another woman and was“controlling” toward her.
“Build” was written during the tumultuous relationship, which lasted six months and was “intense,” as she alleges he consistently vied to control her whereabouts. Skye says she realized the song was “my moment for me to share something for the world. Unfortunately, I had to go through this situation to wake up and realize I need to stand for something.”
The video for what she deemed a “therapeutic” song was conceived afterward and featured a single male antagonist to highlight that Skye knows her abuser had hit someone before. Skye says that she was naive about the nature of that previous relationship, and thought that he would never hit her. But the reality soon came to light, and was aggravated by relative apathy of those around her.
She says that she told her friends, but they turned a blind eye to her problems “because of who it was” that she was dating. She says that their mutual friends still hang out with him, which is a “heartbreaking” circumstance. There was also an incident she details where she says her abuser “attacked” her, the hotel they were in called the cops, but the cop called her out for “breaking his phone too” as she sat in the hotel lobby crying.
The situation has apparently jaded Skye to feel like “it doesn’t matter” if she were to formally finger Wes, because “in rap culture, people don’t care. It doesn’t matter what the artist did, it’s about how talented they are. And they’ll still be bumpin’ their music.” She also said that “as long as we keep turning a blind eye, keep letting these guys think everything is OK and they’ll still be successful, nothing will change.” Watch the full interview above.
