EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Raqi Recalls Jen Saying She Got With A Rapper So She Could 'Have A Black Baby'

Raqi has absolutely no desire to make up with the slew of enemies she made on her first season as a reality star on Love and Hip Hop. Raqi was by no means innocent in the drama that followed her everywhere she went, but what's Raqi's side? During part one of the reunion Mona Scott Young got sassy with her after a heated exchange between Raqi and Rashidah. Raqi can't seem to catch a break. Backstage at the reunion we pressed record so she could speak her peace. And boy did she speak. Raqi shot canon balls Jen and Consequence's way. She had some nice things to say about Joe and revealed what her 10 year career was before the cameras start rolling. Raqi held no prisoners.

VH1: Your argument with Rashidah at the charity event was a big moment this season. Why didn’t you just walk away?

Raqi: I was trying to get down to what the real issue is with this girl. She has some phantom beef with me via Tahiry or whatever it is 'cause supposedly I slept with whoever, so I wanted to find out what the real point is of her beef.

VH1: Your reputation has come up a lot. How do you feel about being considered "industry p---y?"

Raqi: It's extremely annoying. It's probably one of my biggest fears. I’ve been in and around this industry for 11 years now, and I’ve worked extremely hard. My name has not appeared on a blog, on a tabloid, Media Takeout or anything. I’ve been around at the biggest events of the upper echelon for years, so for someone to belittle me and say that I’m here now because I slept my way to the top, that’s really just a reflection of their mentality because I absolutely don't even believe that you can do that. You have to have some kind of talent attached to you. It's very frustrating because I work hard as a dog. So it's bothersome, but at this point it's just like let’s just let the simpletons believe that if they choose it and let that be a reflection of themselves. We can deflect all day long – it’s not true.

VH1: Out of everybody it seemed like you'd be able to make up with Jen. Do you think you guys could have a relationship now?

Raqi: No. Throughout the process of filming this show, I had already seen her self-entitlement. I never use the word racist when I spoke about her, but I definitely think she’s a supremacist. I definitely think she has issues with colorism that goes as far back as her man Consequence with his "light skin is the right skin/you and your white friend" specifically. I’m a woman of color and that has been my goal my entire life to make sure that we're all on a united front, so as I said in that episode, I’m raising a young black man so to know that this is something that he will have to continue going through with colorism – no, I can’t.

VH1: What did you think about her response the night that it aired when she said, "I can’t possibly be racist I’m married to a black man and I have black baby?"

Raqi: Listen, the problem I have with her is – even in her rebuttals on Twitter-- she said something like, "Raqi was trying to use my race to get put on" which is basically the same thing she said, but just in different words. I would never think a white person could get a job over me in urban radio. I was trying to extend my hand, I was trying to do something different, I was trying to get two different perspectives from two totally different women, two totally different cultures. I used the statement "she can white my wrongs." What I meant by that was that white woman or just uncolored women have a luxury of saying whatever it is they wanna say, for instance, in one of the episodes she said, "Oh, you could be a hoe. I’m a hoe. We’re all hoes." Nobody batted an eyelash, but if I said it as a woman of color then I’m hit with the stigma and I’m stoned. There's Jenny McCarthy who now has a show on VH1 – she could stick her tongue in someone's ear, and no one would think anything of it. Meek Mill has a song: "white girls, we don’t judge 'em we don't judge 'em." So, what I was trying to do was present the other side of the coin by bringing her to Hot 97 and I think I went around the question.

What was the question? I spoke to the producers about not wanting to deal with her, and not wanting to do the Hot 97 thing with her because she said things like, "Oh, Raqi, are you always this brown? Because I go tanning. That’s why I got with a black rapper so I can have a black baby." Then with the Hot 97 ordeal the first thing she said to Vado when he walked in was, "I didn’t know who you were, but you look like a f----g black rugby player." I almost choked on my tongue. She had used the black card several times prior to dropping the white card. If you research her online she has a video with Young Berg who said he doesn’t deal with darks butts and her response to that was, "I can get in his pool 'cause I’m lightskin." She goes on to say, "Oh, I’m 50 Cent's favorite white girl." So, she’s very entitled. I think Consequence is breeding a rough dog.

VH1: What did you think of you and Consequence's interaction in the studio?

Raqi: I went to the studio with full intentions on apologizing sincerely for saying what I said, and I explained to him – which obviously was edited out – in the midst of that argument with Jen he was collateral damage. I really did not think of him. I went totally blind at that moment. I wasn’t even thinking about him. If her man is Billy Bob Joe I would’ve took that to the grave and said the same exact s---. But when it hit me I thought, "Oh s---, her man is Consequence." He ended up in my cross hairs, and that was that. He didn’t bat an eyelash about her saying she’ll get the job before me ‘cause she’s white 'cause that’s what he’s breeding. He’s training her that way. Uncle Tom of the show. I’m sure he's glad that his child is lightskin. He's just disgusting to me.

VH1: What's your relationship with Joe now?

Raqi: We’ve made amends. He’s come full circle with his drug issues which made him a person I didn’t really know. So, our friendship isn’t exactly what it was, and I don’t think it’d ever be, but I’m elated that he’s back to good health and hopefully sound mind.

VH1: Is there anyone you’re not looking forward to seeing today?

Raqi: About 97 percent of the cast. I’d like to not have my eyes burned by Rashidah– I don’t want to see her a--. Tahiry. I would love to just sit there with Yandy and Lore'l.

VH1: Are those the two people that you consider friends?

Raqi: Yes, absolutely. Yandy’s a great adviser and mentor. She’s as sweet as pie, and her work ethic is incredible. She’s just a great support system. Lore'l and I bonded during the show and it’s really fun 'cause she and I probably thought that we wouldn’t get along. She’s tough and I’m tough and we’re kind of stand-offish, but we got to bond with each other. She’s super cool.

VH1: You showed little emotion this season. Does it bother you that you have problems with so much of the cast?

Raqi: I have problems with the whole dynamic of the show not being played out. I have a problem with there being big chunks of dialogue being cut out because it looks like I’m constantly angry. I don’t live my life drama-full, but I am very much an extremist. I either f-- with you or I don’t.

VH1: Do you think any of the beefs are legit?

Raqi: I think Tahiry has a really deep rooted jealousy and low self-esteem issue, so I’m sure she hates my f--- guts. I’m very indifferent when it comes to her. I don’t deal with s--- at all. Rashidah is very made up. The girl is begging for camera time, and I’m sure she’s begging for a check next season – she’s not getting one this season. Consequence, he don’t really want it. Jen, she don’t really want it. So no.

VH1: You have a child, right?

Raqi: I do.

VH1: And you shielded him from this.

Raqi: He doesn’t even watch the show. He just turned 16.

VH1: He could Google it.

Raqi: He definitely could. He actually watched the first episode ‘cause he was curious. I asked him not to, but I asked him to be honest if he wanted to and he did watch it and after that he said, "You know what, I don’t feel like it represents my mom."  My son and his friends know Raqi – Raquel – who picks up the whole football team and brings them back to the house and bakes cookies, goes to Wendy's, I order pizza, I DJ for them while they’re playing Madden, so what’s on TV is offensive to them because they don’t know that person. I live in an area where the tax bracket of people there actually have lives, and they play sports, and have social activities, so they’re not in front of a TV all day.

VH1: What do you think about your season in comparison to Atlanta?

Raqi: Oh my God, I love Atlanta. I can’t lie. Joseline Hernandez, baby! I’m a super fan. I love her! She’s a character. Stevie J is a character. I’m disappointed in Joe’s role ‘cause in real life Joe is a funny, funny dude, and I’m not getting that from him. He’s so monotone, but I think that has something to do with him detoxing or something. But I love Atlanta.

VH1: Do you have any regrets about how you were portrayed this season?

Raqi: (laughs) I wish I would’ve been a little more tempered. They can’t edit whatever you don’t give them. I didn’t realize the process that they can edit out the other side of the argument. What you guys see is a lot of me losing my mind, but you don’t know how I got there, you don’t know why I’m so mad. You just see someone angry, you just see someone you think is bitter or just pissed off for no reason. No, there is definitely reason.

VH1: Are you dating?

Raqi: Am I dating? Am I dating, Natasha? What does that mean? What does that mean? I only have $140,000 of diamonds [on]. Yes, I’m dating.

VH1: Super low-key?

Raqi: Super low-key! See, that’s the thing. I stopped dating rappers when I was 23, 24. I don’t date rappers now. They’re child’s play. When I did that it was for fun. You don’t f--- rappers to wife 'em, or be in a relationship. Most women who are in a relationship with rappers are doormats, and I will never be that. It doesn’t take a lot get wifed by a rapper. It's the simplest sh-- on Earth. All you have to do is be a low self-esteem doormat, have some artificial a-- and boobs and you’re in there.

VH1: Were you in love with Joe?

Raqi: Absolutely not. Not at all. I love Joe dearly. I met Joe via radio and we were very combative in our ideas. We were constantly debating on things. He’s a mental warrior and there was definitely an attraction to that. There was also a very dark side to him where it was almost immediate that he knew, I knew, we’d never be anything.

VH1: When Tahiry was with him you were in his life and all of you were cool. I get the feeling the beef is more than what you guys are telling us.

Raqi: There were a couple of reasons, but there's a major reason why we fell out. Joe is a trickster. He plays games, he manipulates situations and I overheard a conversation where she wasn’t talking about me in my best light so I was like, 'F-- you then."

VH1: What’s next for you?

Raqi: Radio has changed so much. Journalism is just done. I think I’m kind of over the whole radio thing, and I’m going head-on with my DJing. Next week I’m actually on an all-female DJ tour. We’re stopping at South Carolina, then North Carolina and back to Houston, LA, then we’re thinking about going international.

VH1: So you really are a DJ and it wasn't just for the show?

Raqi: Yeah, I really do DJ. I started playing around with DJ turntables a few years ago, but because I was on radio, and a radio personality, as a female I was told to stay in my lane. I kind of felt like I couldn’t do both. But I realized I could do whatever it is that I wanna do, and now my goals are actually changing. I don’t want to sit behind a mic and jock somebody. Actually DJing is a great job for me ‘cause I’m by myself – one man army.

VH1: You say you already had a real resume of working in this industry for 11 years.Why do the show now?

Raqi: I wanted no parts of reality TV ‘cause it was a lot of drama. I don’t live my life drama full, although it appears that I am. I had left my radio station, which was Hip Hop Nation, as a cohost of Green Lantern. Throughout all of this – for the last 10 years – I’ve been in finance. I’m a financial agent. I’m fully qualified to run a multimillion dollar hedgefund, which I was. I was a logistic manager to a CEO of a multimillion dollar hedge fund weeks before I started filming this show. I was  finance agent by day, DJ/radio personality/host by night. I knew it was getting shaky at my finance job and I didn’t want to do it anymore. I didn’t want to wear stockings and suits to work anymore. I reached out to Mona because I’m not getting any younger. I said, 'Let me dive in head first,' and I went for it. And here I am.

[Photos: Jennine Cusimano and Instagram]