Apparently our politically savvy friend Curtis Jackson has had a change of heart and now endorses Obama. I'm sure the Senator is eternally grateful, although 50 probably won't end up voting anyway.
Hillary Clinton appears to have lost a high-profile backer to rival Barack Obama.Uhhhm, so you're "Obama to the end", but "don't look for [your] vote"?
Rapper 50 Cent, who told Time magazine last September he was supporting the New York senator's White House bid, now says he has decided to shift his allegiance to Obama. The multi-platinum star, born Curtis Jackson, told MTV News Friday that Obama's recent speech on race was the deciding factor for his decision.
"I heard Obama speak," he said. "He hit me with that he-just-got-done-watching-'Malcolm X,' and I swear to God, I'm like, 'Yo, Obama!'
"I'm Obama to the end now, baby!"
But the musician also admitted he's lost interest in the protracted Democratic race, and may not support either candidate.
"To be honest, I haven't been following that anymore. I lost my interest," he said. "I listened to some of the debates and things that they were saying, and I just got lost in everything that was going on…Don't look for my vote, for me to determine nothing on that. Just say, '50 Cent, he don't know, so don't ask Fiddy.'
Why, MSM, why!?!? I already know the answer of course, but I'd rather hear you say it instead.
Question: Why do you think the Mainstream Media just loves putting mics in front of ignorant Negroes like 50 Cent? Couldn't they ask someone well-informed like Taalib Kweli or Common for his opinion?
50 Cent no longer supports Clinton [CNN]
More of AB.com's "Why You Should Never Ask A Rapper About Politricks" Series
Average Email
Average FAQ
Average Bio
AB @ AOL BlackVoices
AB @ NPR
AB @ WashingtonPost
Posts
11 AverageComments™:
They love to do it because its like the person they seek out in the crowd at the murder scene that has on the wife beater and the gold teeth and looks like he is one step away from a joint. Or the pregnant woman with rollers in her hair and a bra strap or two showing. The media will always try to get at the one in the crowd that looks the worst and they figure will exhibit the most ignorance. Case in point with Curtis. NO ONE is interested in what he has to say and I am sure that Obama will sleep easier tonight knowing that Team Fiddy is on board. My word for 2008 - RIDICUFOOLISHNESS - and this ignorant brother is the poster child for today. Don't worry, new candidates shall be forthcoming.
The media love to give ignorant people a platform to display their ignorance. Rappers (the authentic voice of black political thought *snerk*) talking about politics, one-tooth Cletis on global warming after the latest tornado hit his trailer park, rightwing nuts who've never touched the Koran on the dangers of Islam.
Side question: does rap still express the political in the way Public Enemy did back in the day? I haven't been listening avidly since Dre released Chronic, so I have no idea what the state of the music is. My last purchase of a rap CD (or a metal one, or anything harder than Miles Davis) roughly coincides with the birth of my first child. :)
Blues is king anyhow.
50's a felon that cannot vote anyway. Who really cares what he thinks? All he's good for is beefing with everybody and they momma.
Like Anon and Spool said, it's always the most foolish and/or undereducated out of the bunch that gets mic time. All that does is solidify bad stereotypes. I guess it's mission accomplished.
@ Spool
There are a number of "conscious" rappers but they don't get the marketing that they need due to supply and demand.
Conscious rappers that come to mind are Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Immortal Technique, dead prez (doubt that you'll like their language), Paris, The Coup, Kam, & KRS-1. Sometimy conscious rappers are Nas, Jay Z, and Ice Cube.
Info on Conscious/Political Rap
If 50's felonies are in New York, he can still vote. Don't even ask how I know this but I'm sure. Even if ignance were a felony he'd still have his rights.
On the other hand, Talib Kweli doesnt rap about guns and hoez, yet he doesnt vote nor does he advocate doing so. In that case, who should the media have asked?
Talib Kweli chose not to vote as a conscious political act. However, this year he has publicly endorsed Barack Obama. His explanation is on the following link at www.daveyd.com.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=15116190&blogID=356710837
Ice Cube is still making records? I haven't heard any music from him since that one with the track about fairy tales... that must have been very early 90s, I think.
If you had to pick one record with good beats, good rhymes, and a message,what would it be? Language is no object, though it gets no play around the kids if it's PG rated.
True story: 11 years ago, while attending NC A&T State, I had stayed up all night with my dorm-mate and decided to go to breakfast. I looked like hell. I didn't shave, my eyes were red from and lack of sleep.
I get to the caf, eat breakfast...and hear that three members of the historic "Greensboro Four" sit-in were going to speak. I stayed and enjoyed the lecture, and even got an autograph.
Local TV news media was there..and the reporter came STRAIGHT TO ME and asked me for an interview. I should have said no...but I had to be a dumbass and agreed. I stammered my way through it..and somewhere in the vaults of the MSM there is footage of me looking like the stereotype I talk trash about daily with the wifey.
So yeah, I admit it...I helped perpetrate this madness...
AB, feel free to light me up. :)
And damn you FIDDY, you got the money to look decent and yet you STILL acted a fool.
"WHY MUST I CRY?!?!"
EG
@ spool,
I'd have to go with dead prez' RBG album. I've been out of the Rap loop for a little bit, so for all I know, they may have made a new album since then. I think the album's pretty solid. On a few of the joints, the beat's eh, but overall, good lyrics are consistent with good beats.
Yeah, Cube's still rapping. He's got a song getting some 'Net buzz called "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It." And he talks about making the song here.
I'd pay $5 to see a showdown between Nelson George and Cube :-D
Why assume that Talib Kweli or Common are informed? How informed are they, if they are?
And note, Talib Kweli and Common on many occasions made an effort to not be differentiated from the likes of many popular rappers, INCLUDING 50 Cents.
Why do you think the Mainstream Media just loves putting mics in front of ignorant Negroes like 50 Cent? For the same reason Flavor of Love has high ratings.
@ EG,
I had the exact same thing happen while in college and questioned about the Gulf War. Mine ended up in the local paper though, which made me look like an uninformed moron for the whole Triad area to pick at.
It was a nice photo, though.
@ spool32
I'm not too crazy about "conscious rappers". Kweli is yawn inducing. Common is too generic nowadays. The Roots are making indy college music now. It's all a big cluster.
If you just wanna hear some good/real "hip hop", complete with the occasional curse and socially irresponsible subject matter, I would recommend groups like Little Brother, Blu and Exile, and Dirty Water. I'm more of an underground guy, but if you hunt around, you call probably find something free on the web from each group I mentioned if you just wanna sample.
According to www.OkayPlayer.com's April 1 post, Kidz in the Hall (from Chicago) remixed their Obama support song "Work to Do - Change Remix" to include Talib Kweli and Bun B. This remix will be on DJ Green Lantern's and Russell Simmons' "Yes We Can" Obama mixtape. It will be interesting to hear what the participating hip hop artists have to say about politricks.
@spool32
Over the years www.daveyd.com has covered hip hop artists who rapped about their opposition to the US's invasion of Iraq in addition to other political issues.
Post a Comment