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Throughout the years, political figures have maintained a love and hate relationship with hip-hop music and culture. While in past decades many rappers were heavily scrutinized for crude and profane lyrical content, artists making the same type of content are now fully embraced by both leading presidential candidates. As political tensions and visibility have risen ahead of the November presidential election, hip-hop figures remain a focal point.
In the late 80’s and 90’s, an active campaign against rap music was in full swing. This protest was largely headed by activist and former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971-1977) C. Delores Tucker. During this time, Tucker vehemently criticized the genre for the messaging deemed sexually explicit, profane, and misogynistic. Tucker organized formal picket style protests of record stores, and even bought stock in record labels such as Sony and Warner in order to express her sentiments at shareholder meetings. Tucker even protested the heralded late rapper Tupac Shakur winning an NAACP Image Award in 1994, while she was on the organization’s board of trustees. The rapper would later respond to her avid protests on his critically acclaimed album All Eyez on Me saying, “C. Delores Tucker, you’re a motherf*****. Instead of trying to help a n*****, you destroy a brother”. In that moment, Pac joined the long list of rappers who had and continue to criticize politicians directly through song.
While one of the most vocal critics of rap during her time, C. Delores Tucker surely wasn’t the only political figure to critique the genre. A slew of conservative news pundits has spoken in opposition to the genre and its subject matter for decades. Past and present conservative media personalities such as Rush Limbaugh, Candace Owen, and Ben Shapiro have all taken digs at hip-hop, many times with an anti-black undertone. One of most prominent critics of the genre has been Bill O’Reilly, who has gone as far as to blaming the genre for America’s decline in Christianity. His harsh and often “shock jock” criticisms has led to generations of rappers dissing him on record, ranging from Jay Z to Tyler the Creator.
In present times, a genre that many political figures once demonized is now being fully embraced, displayed, and some would say exploited, on every side of the political spectrum. The 2024 Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald J. Trump, hangs his hat on pardoning rappers such as Lil Wayne and Kodak Black back in 2021. This act came with a photo-op with Lil Wayne that was displayed across social media platforms. Additionally, this year his son Donald Trump Jr. sat for an interview on the podcast, “Off the Record,” with DJ Akademiks, who was recently named the number one hip-hop media personality on Complex’s 2024 Hip-Hop Media Power Rankings. Trump himself has also recently made an interesting appearanceon popular streamer Adin Ross’ YouTube platform, which currently has over four million subscribers. While the Adin Ross platform is gaming centered, his page featuring relevant hip-hop acts has helped it grow substantially.
The Democratic National Convention is also no stranger to utilizing hip-hop figures to garner the attention of potential voters. Former President Barack Obama could be seen as the catalyst for this, embracing hip-hop during his first election cycle and tenure as president. From sharing a curated summer playlist since 2015 (including songs by hip-hop artists), to frequently inviting rappers to the White House; Obama fully integrated hip-hop into his political identity. This is a tactic that U.S. Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris has decided to incorporate in her campaign. Thus far, her campaign has included public appearances with rappers such as Quavo, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion. Additionally, she attended this year BET Awards and quoted Kendrick Lamar’s latest diss trackto Drake while doing so. This year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago also featured performances from popular hip-hop acts such as Lil Jon and renowned socially conscious rapper Common.
Independent politicians have also used this tactic in the past. Former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders also has garnered and utilized a slew of support from rappers such as Chuck D, Killer Mike, T.I., and Cardi B during his presidential campaign in 2020.
While music acts and celebrities have commonly been used as a tool to garner attention during election times, it is imperative to stay focused on what is crucial: policy. Though these collaborations with political campaigns can be amusing, entertaining, and often cringeworthy, it is important to remember that it is nothing more than marketing to a target audience. No political decision should be made based on who is aligned with your favorite rapper. If you choose to support a political candidate in this year’s election, do so based on their merit and plan to support the causes that you deem vital during this present time.
Dr. Jeremy C. McCool is an assistant professor of digital and global media at West Chester University. He is the author of a forthcoming bookon the impact of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole on socially conscious rap music.