Das Racist Rapper Kool A.D. Accused of Sexual Assault by Multiple Women

Four women accused rapper Kool A.D., formerly of Das Racist, of sexual assault in interviews with Pitchfork.

Saba Moeel, the rapper’s estranged wife; his former friend Marta Martinez; former collaborator Andie Flores; and an acquaintance who asked Pitchfork to refer to her as “Senn” all accused Kool A.D., 35, of non-consensual sexual activity between 2006 and 2015. Kool A.D., whose real name is Victor Vazquez, admitted to having sexual encounters with the women, but said he thought they were consensual.

Moeel, a visual artist who uses the name Cult Days, came forward in a series of tweets in December 2017. She and Vazquez married in April 2014 and welcomed their daughter in September 2014. While beginning the divorce process, she realized that their first sexual encounter in 2010 or 2011 was non-consensual.

“Our first time was at his parents’ house, and I told him straight up, ‘We can hook up, but I don’t want to have sex tonight,’ and he said, ‘OK,’” she told Pitchfork. “He did it anyway, and I just froze, and he was like, ‘Oh it’s OK, just for a little bit.’”

She also accused Vazquez of forcing her to perform oral sex on him during a New Year’s party at a friends house in 2011 or 2012.

Vazquez said the first sexual encounter was consensual. He also believed the incident at the New Year’s party was as well and said they were both drunk.

“Despite everything, Saba is still the mother of my child so I am bound by my daughter’s blood to love her and care for her mental and physical health and safety,” Vazquez told Pitchfork. “I have been working to better myself and will continue to do so, and similarly, I hope Saba finds the help she needs.”

Martinez said Vazquez stayed at her apartment in San Francisco one night in June 2006. During the night, he continued pressuring her to have sex with him. When she finally fell asleep, she “felt him inside of me.” She later discovered she was pregnant. Vazquez and Martinez both confirmed she had an abortion, which he paid for. Vazquez claimed he was drunk that night and apologized.

“I was in complete denial,” Martinez told Pitchfork, adding that she did not think of going to the police at the time. “Like, this is my friend. I must have misunderstood what happened. I must be remembering this incorrectly. I must have done something or said something wrong. It took me a while to even use the word ‘rape’ about what happened.”

The woman identified as Senn told Pitchfork she was 20 when she met Vazquez at a December 2013 show in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They went to a party afterwards and used hallucinogenic mushrooms. On the way home, Senn invited Vazquez to her apartment, where he started “aggressively kissing” her.

“It kind of put me into shock,” she told Pitchfork. “In my head, the option of being like, ‘No no no no no’ was not there, because I was too intoxicated.”

Senn claimed Vazquez tried to perform oral sex on her and at one point put his penis in her mouth. The next day, they went to brunch together before splitting up. Senn said she did not go to police, but went to a crisis center. Her roommates and her boss at the time confirmed she told them about the sexual assault.

“My memory of events differs from hers on a number of points, but I do not wish to deny her truth. I believe her pain to be real and I am sorry to have caused it,” Vazquez said of Senn’s allegations. “In retrospect I can see that I came over to her place making the wrong assumptions, I did not make a sufficient effort to understand her wants and needs, I let drugs, alcohol, ego, and lust cloud my empathy and awareness.”

The last woman, Flores, claimed she was assaulted while they were riding in a van with Vazquez at Bonnaroo. She claimed Vazquez “tried to finger me.” In 2015, Vazquez stayed at Flores’ apartment during SXSW in Austin, Texas, and he had sex with her without her consent and without protection.

“I know I still have a lot of unlearning to do regarding sex, ego, pride, and masculinity. I’m learning to recognize the toxic ideals of masculinity that I unthinkingly bought into,” Vazquez said in his statement to Pitchfork. “I compulsively sought validation through sex, selfishly unaware of the harm I was causing. I’m trying to be vigilant about consent, have more direct conversations, check myself and really be present and attentive to the wants and needs of the women in my life and not just in sexual relationships but in my relationships with all women. I’m trying to not prioritize my wants and needs over the wants and needs of others. I’m trying to be as open as possible and listen as much as possible and not try to inject my ego into every situation I find myself in. I am learning to confront myself now so that I may transform my toxic patterns for the sake of my daughter, my family and friends, my girlfriend, my community and myself.”

Photo Credit: C Flanigan/WireImage