Omarion Talks Criticism & Public Having “Lack Of Respect” For Real Artistry.
The B2K legacy may be riddled with allegations and in-fighting, but overall, the R&B-Pop group was responsible for delivering hits that helped define an era of music. In recent years, news of B2K has included Omarion and Fizz battling over the latter dating Apryl Jones, the mother of the former’s children; Raz B’s antics and legal troubles due to allegations of domestic abuse, and Omarion receiving backlash over his Verzuz performance against Mario.
Throughout it all, Omarion has maintained a reputation of being “unbothered” as he regularly dismisses any stressors—at least publicly. He caught up with Hello Beautiful for their August 2022 cover feature and discussed his Verzuz controversy, using the opportunity to remind people about the legacy he has created after decades in entertainment.
“I always tell people that the difference from when I started and now is that people feel like because it’s so easy to be famous on social media,” said Omarion. “They don’t actually have respect for people that have been cultivating their art and skills like in basketball or any other sports where there’s actual ranks.”
“One day people love you, and then the next people, people hate you. One day, ‘he’s the greatest performer!’ And the next day it’s like, ‘Oh he can’t sing!’ like 22 years of work just goes away. So to be able to continue to focus on the purpose and the intent of why I’m even here and the legacy I’m creating has kept my joy intact.
He also explained his definition of “unbothered” and how he has interpreted that in his life.
“I think a lot of people get the concept and idea of unbothered misconstrued because sometimes people think that being unbothered is not acknowledging certain things. Being unbothered is, is maintaining your emotional intelligence and power and realizing that this person might be doing this intentionally, so do I react or do I respond? And I’m very much so a thoughtful person.”
“I will protect myself but at the end of the day, how we respond to things really puts us in the victory position or it puts us in a losing position and you know, me; I’m a winner. I’m a winner in life and I have a winner attitude.”
Check out a few stills and images from his Hello Beautiful cover feature.
