Obama and rapper Ludacris
I must give props to the Washington Post for its article “Rappers’ Shout-Outs Make Obama Skip a Beat,” published on August 1st (it even has a little sidebar where you can listen to a few songs that shout Obama out). The article chronicles Obama’s relationship with Hip-Hop, gives a comprehensive list of Obama shout-outs and explains that while Hip-Hop can endorse Obama, Obama cannot completely endorse Hip-Hop. As usual, here are some key quotes:
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?
Obama: “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.”
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.
This is the kind of flak you get for being a fan of a misunderstood genre. In this Fox News clip Sean Hannity identifies Ludacris as another “radical” friend of Obama’s and is convinced that it is a contradiction to appreciate Ludacris’ talent but disagree with his lyrics. Luckily one of his guests had some sense in her (fast forward through the song if you’ve heard it):
Before I continue, if there’s any doubt that Obama is a Hip-Hop president, check out this hilarious montage featuring clips of Obama breaking it down on the Ellen Degeneres show and brushing the dirt off his shoulders during a speech in April, set to Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder:”
If you check out the clip of the speech where he brushes those h8ers off, the place absolutely erupts (the black guy sitting behind Obama looks like one of the first people who understands what just happened and then his white compatriots catch on, haha). As I mentioned in the “Two Celebrities” post, people are star-struck by Obama’s normality. The applause is for Obama’s REALNESS: someone who is inches away from the most powerful office in the world just brushed the dirt off his shoulders like a P-I-M-P.
Moving on. There is no doubt in my mind that personally, Obama is down with Hip-Hop. He listens to it, he understands it, he references it, but politically (as the Washington Post article explains) he cannot endorse it. When Ludacris came out with “Politics: Obama is here,” Obama’s statement acknowledged Ludacris’ talent, not his music. Why not the music? Because of songs like this:
“Area Codes” is one of my favorite Ludacris songs. It’s hilarious, very witty and catchy. It’s a playful and hyperbolic incarnation of the misogyny that saturates Hip-Hop. Though some of you may be scandalized by the music video (the same ones that don’t think urban youth can distinguish parody from morality), at least the hos in the video are warranted because of the subject matter: how Luda’s got hos in different area codes. Other rappers will throw scantily clad women in their videos just because they can. Because of songs like Ludacris’ and countless others, Obama cannot endorse Hip-Hop, he needs to qualify his support by denouncing the materialism, misogyny and violence it often depicts.
It’s a terrible sign for Hip-Hop when someone running for president needs to be a closet Hip-Hop head in order to be accepted by mainstream America. Undoubtedly, mainstream Hip-Hop needs to clean up its act and come out with some serious music, but there’s another side to the problem: America does not know how to listen to Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop is very unique because it embodies a majority and minority at the same time. Though it has become practically synonymous with popular culture, the music itself originated in the black community and has evolved within it. Though many people’s ears are familiar to Hip-Hop, it is disconnected from many people’s lives. Here’s the key: When we realize the misogyny, materialism and violence that saturates Hip-Hop is just microcosm for America, then maybe it can be taken as seriously by America.
Hip-Hop’s problems are America’s problems. America makes other countries its hos through globalization, conducts drive-by wars and blings harder than almost any other country (besides Saudi Arabia). Because hustling is hustling whether it’s dope or commodities. A ho is a ho, whether she’s walking the streets or a high-class escort (Spitzer). Violence is violence, whether it’s in the hood or in Iraq. Materialism is materialism, whether it’s an iced-out chain or a fucking private jumbo-jet. It’s easier for America to see the problems in Hip-Hop because so many are detached from urban culture (like Hannity and O’Reilly). Get the beam out your eye, ya’ll.
