Rapper Behind Hit Song ‘Boycott Target’ Says He’s Long Been Censored From Social Media

Pride month merchandise is displayed at the front of a Target store in Hackensack, N.J., on May 24, 2023. AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Despite conservative rapper Forgiato Blow’s song Boycott Target topping the music charts in the wake of the retail chain’s promotion of gay pride-themed children’s apparel, the artist said he’s faced longtime censorship that has cost him millions in career earnings.

Blow’s track landed number one on Apple’s iTunes charts last week above other songs from chart-topping artists like Taylor Swift and Luke Combs and also took the top spot on Billboard’s rap digital song sales. The staunch Trump supporter told The Epoch Times he’s been banned from social media sites Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube because of his outspoken support for the former president.

“It started over two years ago after Trump lost the election,” Blow told The Epoch Times, noting that since then he’s been unable to make accounts on the three aforementioned platforms. “They took down my YouTube channel overnight, saying I had made a community violation. It came out of nowhere.”

In terms of his song “Boycott Target” Blow said for the first four days of its release listeners couldn’t even find it on Apple’s iTunes platform.

“It’s shadow-banned all over the world right now,” Blow told Fox and Friends last week. “... You can’t even search the song on iTunes without having to go to the music video and click the external link so they’re trying their hardest to keep it off the radar … “

The Video

Blow has been able to post the video on his alternate YouTube channel called Mayor Of Magaville. As of two weeks ago, the clip has been viewed 984,000 times. Meanwhile, on the artist’s Twitter account, the video has amassed more than 4.4 million views.

“He’s let people get on there and express what they want,” Blow told The Epoch Times, crediting Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for not censoring content. “But Twitter’s a hard platform to build followers on.”

Conservative figures, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia, have encouraged its viewing, while political commentators like Candace Owens and Steven Crosier have supported boycotting Target over its recent launch of LGBT merchandise aimed at kids.

Released May 25, Boycott Target includes artists Jimmy Levy, Icknittoli, and Stoney Dudebro, and features the rappers in a music video filmed inside a Target store directing attention to its LGBT-friendly merchandise. Products they point out include toys, clothing, and books like “The Official Rainbow Yearbook.”

As the song’s lyrics go “They put a target on your back, but they’re targeting your kids. They don’t even need to ask, cause you all know what it is. Yeah, that’s why I keep a strap, An’ I’m always ‘bout my biz, this agenda good stop, an’ you know we gonna win.”

The video kicks off by mocking the chain with the announcement  “Attention all shoppers. Attention all shoppers. There’s a clean-up on every aisle. Target is targeting your kids.”

LGBT Products

It was in anticipation of June being LGBT Pride month that Target launched a range of clothing, including children’s attire and what was dubbed a “tuck-friendly” swimsuit designed to conceal genitalia.

Other products called out included a bag, tote, and sweatshirt for adults with messages such as “We Belong Everywhere,” “Too Queer for Here,” and “Cure Transphobia” from a UK designer named Erik Carnell. His brand Abprallen includes satanic designs.

The clothing line, which was launched along with a variety of other LGBT-friendly products at Target is pointed out in Blow’s Boycott Target video. According to a story in TIME magazine, the popular chain store has been selling pride-related merchandise for over a decade.

Since releasing its Pride collection, however, suggestions to boycott the retailer have abounded while Target’s stock value has fallen significantly. According to a May 31st story in the New York Post, the chain lost $13.8 billion over the two weeks prior to that.

Since the controversy and ensuing backlash, the retailer announced it would remove some of the Pride merchandise from its shelves. It also led Target to release the following statement:

“For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month. Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant controversial behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year.”

Target’s removal of some LGBT items unleashed a subsequent retaliation from LGBT groups upset over their withdrawal.

In a statement on GLAAD’s website, President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said, “Anti-LGBTQ violence and hate should not be winning in America, but it will continue to until corporate leaders step up as heroes for their LGBTQ employees and consumers and do not cave to fringe activists calling for censorship. The fact that a small group of extremists are threatening disgusting and harsh violence in response to Target continuing its long-standing tradition of offering products for everyone should be a wake-up call for consumers and is a reminder that LGBTQ people, venues, and events are being attacked with threats and violence like never before.”

For his part, Blow, who has nearly 40 songs on iTunes including one targeting Bud Light, said he too has been targeted and noted that it’s likely cost him upwards of $2 million in revenue.

“The problem is they let people talk about guns and drugs and pedophilia but because my rap song said something about the 2020 election they took my whole channel down,” he told The Epoch Times, noting he’s never been arrested or in trouble with the law. “How can I get banned for posting a picture with an American flag?”

“Don’t you think it would sell more if I could post a link on Facebook and IG?” he added.

He also said he thinks it’s time parents and adults take a stand against what he sees as indoctrinating innocent kids.

“I think we’re living in a culture right now where people need to speak out. I feel like, you know, we gotta stand up for the children. There’s no place for LGBTQ in fourth and fifth graders and third graders. I don’t think that needs to be here so the song’s definitely needed.”