Pouya, the hip hop project of Miami rapper and former YouTuber Kevin Pouya, will visit Australia in October 2022 for headline shows in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The tour coincides with the one-year anniversary of Pouya’s latest album, Blood Was Never Thick as Water, which includes the Denzel Curry collaboration, ‘Wig Split’, and loads of on-brand lyrical vulgarity from Pouya.
This article discusses allegations of sexual assault. If you need assistance, the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service can be reached on 1800 737 732.
Pouya on the Jeff Gross Podcast
On the record’s fourth song, ‘I’ll Always Be Around’, Pouya defends himself against the “cancel culture vultures.” There are several reasons for Pouya to fear cancellation, but in this particular instance, he’s feeling victimised by those who object to his use of the homophobic slur beginning with “F” and words such as “c*nt”, “sl*t” and “r*tard”.
Pouya’s catalogue is loaded with offensive lyricism, including lines like “She seventeen but I fuck her like she twenty-five,” from the Robb Bank$ song ‘Half Bae’ and “Passed her to my homie, took advantage of her body cause she nothing but a slut,” from the 2013 song ‘IndigoB’, another Denzel Curry collaboration.
The rapper’s alleged off-stage behaviour is a matter of graver concern. In 2017, a tattoo artist known as Ellie made a police report accusing Pouya and two friends of sexual assault. The Daily Beast detailed the allegations in 2018, speaking to Ellie and her friend, Josh Howell. In the article, Ellie alleges that Pouya and two members of his crew forced her to have oral and vaginal sex against her will after a show in Virginia Beach.
The article cites a spokesperson for Pouya, who said the rapper denies “engaging in non-consensual sexual conduct with anyone.”
A 2018 Medium article, titled ‘Pouya’s (Alleged) History of Sexual Assault’, runs through a number of other allegations against Pouya, many of which also relate to his long-time associate, rapper Fat Nick. Music Feeds tried to make contact with Pouya ahead of the Australian tour, but our attempts were unsuccessful.
Further Reading
Feist Leaves Arcade Fire Tour Following Allegations Against Win Butler
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler Accused of Repeated Sexual Misconduct