JoyConJames · @thejoyconboyz
16th Jan 2021 from TwitLonger
Final Thoughts on Etika's Brother
These are just my final thoughts on Cardinal Valery, AKA Etika's Brother, AKA "9INE."
Over the last few months, it's become apparent to me that Cardinal's Intentions were not lining up with what he is saying. When he condemned the Etikons and accused me of trying to profit from Etika's name, I believed he had simply just misunderstood the situation. However since then, Cardinal has also spoken against the Etika World Network Store (the store that Etika himself gave his permission to he ran by Blockhead Gaming, of which all proceeds go to the charity NAMI). He has also made it clear that he plans to Trademark Etika's Name and Logo, so it can only be used by him.
At the time I thought this would be a good idea to prevent Etika's name from being used for crappy redbubble shirts, but now I can see that I was VERY wrong. No one single man should OWN another person's name, or legacy. In my opinion, the JoyConBoyz should honour, remember and celebrate the legacy Etika left behind. However it seems that Cardinal would instead like to take control of Etika's Legacy and make it his own. Since he came into the Public Eye, he has been promoting his Twitch, YouTube, Cashapp, a GO FUND ME FOR HIMSELF, his own Etika Clothing (he has refused to answer any questions on where the proceeds will be going). None of this would be a huge issue if he could clarify and answer simple questions, but instead Cardinal tends to block and ignore those who have a different opinion to him.
From striking down Etika projects, to attacking both Myself and Alice when we simply said that what Cardinal was saying wasnt making any sense, and deleting and blocking people who are just asking him simple questions.
It is my personal opinion that Cardinal does not have the community's best interests in heart, but only his own. He refers to himself in the third person as "9INE", calls himself an Entrepreneur and has made claims about the Keemstar Text being fake, but has still yet to provide proof to back up these claims.
He is free to do as he pleases, and I'm sure many people will accept him as "The face of the community," which is clearly how he wants to be seen. And if that's how you feel, then that's great. But in my opinion, NO ONE aside from Etika is the face of the community, and no one else will EVER replace him. That, alongside the way Cardinal has treated myself and other members of the community, is why I cannot in good faith have anything more to do with him.
I will continue to honour and remember ETIKA'S legacy, alongise the rest of the community, and leave Cardinal to do whatever he wants to do. Unfortunately, I do believe that Cardinal's actions WILL cause a rift in the community, but I honestly don't think he really cares. It's a real shame because it looked like the community was finally on the mend, nearly 2 years after Etika's passing, but this has just gone to show me that there will always be drama in this community, in some way, shape or form. And that really sucks.
That's the last time I will publicly speak on Cardinal.