Rappers' Shout-Outs Make Obama Skip A Beat

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Friday, August 1, 2008

Rappers' Shout-Outs Make Obama Skip a Beat

In the arsenal of the culture wars, rap music remains somewhat radioactive -- and Barack Obama now finds himself exposed.

Avowed Obama supporter Ludacris on Wednesday released a freewheeling song called "Politics" in which he repeatedly praised the candidate -- as well as himself, for having found a home on the senator's iPod. But the Atlanta rapper also used a derogatory term to describe Hillary Clinton; asserted that John McCain should be in a wheelchair, not the White House; and declared that President Bush "is mentally handicapped."

Gee, thanks for the endorsement, Luda!

Some of the Democrat's most vocal (literally) supporters are sticking him with a hip-hop dilemma: how to respond to an art form that has a long history as a cultural wedge issue but whose fans and wildly unpredictable practitioners are a part of his base?

Rappers tend to love him -- or at least the basic idea of a black man in the White House. Pro-Obama rap songs and references are proliferating at a staggering clip, and online video endorsements are arriving just as quickly, from "Yes We Can" splicer Will.I.Am and hip-hop impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs on down.

But Obama can't love them back -- at least not unconditionally, given the music's continuing lightning-rod status. This is a man, after all, who has worked tirelessly to make inroads among older white voters, many of whom have a deep aversion to hip-hop.

Whenever Obama is asked about rap music in interviews, he always tempers his praise.

"I love the art of hip-hop; I don't always love the message of hip-hop," he told BET earlier this year. "There are times where even . . . with the artists I love, you know, there's a message that is not only sometimes degrading to women; not only uses the n-word a little too frequently; but -- also something I'm really concerned about -- it's always talking about material things."

Likewise, the Obama campaign immediately denounced "Politics" and suggested that "while Ludacris is a talented individual, he should be ashamed of these lyrics."

So very Sister Souljah, with echoes of the 1992 presidential campaign, when Bill Clinton put that militant rapper on blast for her controversial remarks about racial violence. Clinton's public chiding was widely viewed as a successful play for centrist hearts and votes.

And yet, so very different. For Obama is the first viable presidential candidate with an acknowledged affinity for hip-hop culture, having spoken fondly of Kanye West, Jay-Z and, yes, Ludacris. He borrowed Jay-Z's dirt-off-my-shoulder gesture to brush off his "haters" during a much-analyzed April speech that was loaded with the sort of swagger that's typical of hip-hop.

Obama's candidacy is like catnip to rappers. Traditionally ambivalent about electoral politics, this time around they are drawn to the senator's rhetoric, the historic nature of his bid, or maybe just the rhyming possibilities of his name, as with a remix of Ice Cube's "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It," on which Scarface raps: "I hope that Barack could pull the troops from Iraq."

On "Black Republicans," a song from Lil Wayne's mix tape "Da Drought 3," guest Juelz Santana raps: "I'm feelin' like a black Republican/Naw, I can't call it/More like a black Democrat runnin' 'em out of office/Young Barack Obama, I'm all for it."

Three 6 Mafia's "Last 2 Walk" includes the couplet, "There's a whole lotta room in the front of the Range/Like Barack Obama said, yeah it's time for a change." (Never mind that the stanza is about sex.)

Common, a rapper from Obama's home base of Chicago, has invoked the senator's name repeatedly, as in "The People," in which he declares: "My raps ignite the people like Obama." On a remix of the Jadakiss song "Why?," Common wonders: "Why is Bush acting like he trying to get Osama?/Why don't we impeach him and elect Obama?"

In several songs, Obama's election is even treated as a fait accompli.

In "Memories/Letter to Obama," Joell Ortiz raps about a litany of societal problems, then says: "It's time for a change, and that change is Obama/Dear future president, I hope you heard this letter and do some things to make sure the next one I'm writing is better." In the eloquent "Black President," the Brooklyn rapper and Bill O'Reilly foil Nas declares: "America surprised us/And let a black man guide us."

And in a recent freestyle, Jay-Z -- who is always using analogies to cast himself as hip-hop's microphone commander in chief -- concluded: "I'm signing off as the hood's Barack."

Other artists, from Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco to Ghostface Killah and Kidz in the Hall, have mentioned Obama in song, possibly making him the third most-popular topic in rap behind drugs and sex, not necessarily in that order. (McCain, on the other hand, barely rates.)

Notably, it's not just black rappers jumping onto the bandwagon with the 24-inch rims. Obama has a rap-style rainbow coalition forming in his corner. A white artist by the name of 6th Sense recently released "Ignite the People (Like Obama)," on which he sampled Common while asking, rhetorically: "You ever think you'd see a white rapper endorse a black president?"

And last summer, the Korean American rapper Jin posted the praise-filled and relatively innocuous "Open Letter 2 Obama" on MySpace. The official Obama response? Hip-hop hooray: The campaign Web site gave away a ring-tone version of the track -- a punchy snippet in which Jin declared "Go! Go! Go! O-bama! O-bama!" -- and even used the song to introduce Obama at a speech.

By J. Freedom du Lac

Washington Post Staff Writer

[VIsqo]

this is getting problematic. Did yall see head of state? lol