Hip-Hop and the Democratic Race for 2016
How minority stars will determine the future of the party
“Thanks to Reaganomics, prisons turned to profits / Cause free labor is the cornerstone of US economics,” raps self described Pan-Africanist, civic leader and activist Michael Render aka Killer Mike in his song “Reagan” released in 2012. The gangster rapper who is ½ of the group known as Run The Jewels has been in the news a lot lately, beyond the critical acclaim of the group’s newest album: Killer Mike has been one of the most vocal proponents of democratic Presidential hopeful, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Killer Mike first endorsed Sen. Sanders back in June after “smoking some weed and seeing his tweet” about his efforts to restore the Voting Rights Act, which had added protections for minority voters since 1965. Key components of it were struck down in 2013. Since seeing that Tweet in June, he has continued to be vocal in his support of Sanders, leading up to the Senator’s campaign swing through the South in November. In Atlanta, they met for the first time in advance of a Sanders’ political rally.
The two recorded a self-described “barbershop” conversation between them, broken into six-parts, that addressed topics such as economic disparity, the right of health care, the prison-industrial complex, and voting as an act of political protest. That same night, Killer Mike gave a rousing speech at the rally to introduce Sen. Sanders, saying, “In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that Sen. Bernie Sanders is the right man to lead this country.”
“I have said in many a rap, I don’t trust the church or the government, a Democrat, Republican, a pope, a bishop or those other men,” Killer Mike said. “But after spending five hours tonight, after spending five hours with someone who has spent the last 50 years radically fighting for your rights and mine, I can tell you that am very proud tonight to announce the next president of the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders.”
Political activism is nothing new for Killer Mike, having previously appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, Fox, and CNN to talk about racial discrimination, the role of the criminal justice system, the Black Lives Matter movement, and to act as a voice for the hip hop community.
On Real Time, when addressing what his response would be to those who link violence with hip hop, he explained that the culture of hip hop was born out of a peaceful movement to give minorities and underprivileged peoples something to organize under. “Hip hop is not rap,” said Killer Mike. “Hip hop is the thing that houses rap, graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, and entrepreneurship. What it did was give poor kids the opportunity to organize as an alternative to violence.”
A QUICK LESSON IN HISTORY AND HIP HOP
That hip hop lineage that Killer Mike says started in 1972 had evolved by 1979 to a more marketable commodity. The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” is cited as the first rap song.
According to Shea Serrano, NYTimes best-selling author of The Rap Year Book, 1982’s “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is the song that planted the roots for more mainstream hip hop activism. “‘The Message’ is not the first rap song to be politically slanted,” writes Serrano. However, he wrote later that the song, “ was poppy and slowed down just enough that that it was nearly impossible to hear the song without really listening to it…”
“He talked about being frustrated by all the noise. He talked about homeless people eating out of the garbage. He talked about receiving a subpar public education. He talked about always being surrounded by either rats or roaches or junkies… Mele Mel emoted out this beautifully colored picture of an austere and bleak New York that nobody had presented before.”
Later songs like 1985’s “6 in the Mornin” by Ice-T, sometimes credited as “ground zero” for gangster rap, further solidified this style of music as the mouthpiece for an underprivileged and underrepresented part of the population that felt at war with the world. Groups like Public Enemy (“Fight The Power” 1989) and N.W.A. (“Straight Outta Compton,” “Fuck tha Police” 1988) brought social commentary and subversive content to the mainstream without compromising the message.
In 1992, the Rodney King case and the L.A. riots that followed the not guilty verdict, brought human rights, police brutality, and racial discrimination to the center stage. The 90’s of course brought 2Pac (“They got money for wars, but can’t feed the poor.” -Keep Ya Head Up, 1993), arguably the most esteemed rapper of all time.
THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
Now, in 2016, that space of mainstream activism and social commentary has been occupied by Killer Mike and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Following the shooting death of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and the decision of the court to not indict this officer, Killer Mike, whose father was a police officer, wrote an op-ed for Billboard. In it, he wrote: “The police are paid by the public and carry a public trust, and they take an oath to protect us as citizens. The police have lost sight of that and must be reminded that we pay them to protect us, not to simply engage and cage us.”
In August of 2015, a speech in downtown Seattle by candidate Bernie Sanders was interrupted by Black Lives Matter activists. One of the women called for silence in remembrance of Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson — a death that still acts as a rallying point for the movement and their protests against police brutality and institutional racism. The speech by Sanders was eventually called off. He later commented that he was, “disappointed because on criminal justice reform and the need to fight racism there is no other candidate for president who will fight harder than me.”
Other Black Lives Matter organized protests have taken place across the country, at political rallies, areas of transportation, and have continually refused to be ignored in the wake of even more controversial instances of violent and deadly interactions between police and African-American citizens.
“BlackLivesMatter is an online forum intended to build connections between Black people and our allies to fight anti-Black racism, to spark dialogue among Black people, and to facilitate the types of connections necessary to encourage social action and engagement.” -blacklivesmatter.com
Both Democratic candidates, Sanders and Clinton, have met with Black Lives Matter — with mixed results.
DeRay McKesson, Black Lives Matter activist and part of the Campaign Zero effort to end police violence in America, complimented Sanders on his “candor” and “willingness to be pushed” in his platforms concerning racial justice going forward. McKesson also said that there were areas where they were not in agreement, however, he believes Sanders “gets it.”
Former Secretary of State Clinton’s meeting with them was characterized as “tense” as she disagreed with the activists on several different subjects, most notably on the subject of laws put into place during Bill Clinton’s administration that the activists claimed directly harmed the black community.
“I do think that a lot of what was tried and how it was implemented has not produced the kinds of outcomes that any of us would want,” Clinton said. “But I also believe that there are systemic issues of race and justice that go deeper than any particular law.”
Both candidates have now released detailed platforms on racial equality and criminal justice available on their respective websites. Among the issues covered within the plans are mass incarceration, private prisons, racial violence, voting rights, marijuana legislation, and more.
Though presented differently, the platforms heavily overlap, and have both drawn positive public reaction. The major disagreement between Sanders and Clinton is the death penalty, which Sanders does not support saying, “..real criminal justice reform must have the United States join every other major democracy in eliminating the death penalty.” Sanders also tends to speak more favorably about legislation that would remove the Schedule I designation of marijuana and allow states to move forward in legalization.
Acknowledgement of a history of injustices and the influence of Black Lives Matter and other activist groups make these political platforms intrinsically linked to the world of hip hop and the global influence of the African-American stars that occupy the genres highest positions.
HILLARY CLINTON AND POP CULTURE
The hip hop world took over pop culture in 2015. On Spotify, the top 5 most streamed albums in the U.S. were “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” by Drake, “Beauty Behind The Madness” by The Weeknd, “Fetty Wap” by Fetty Wap, “Dark Sky Paradise” by Big Sean, and “SremmLife” by Rae Sremmurd. The top three male artists were Drake, The Weeknd, and Kanye West. The top three female artists were Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, and Rihanna. All of these acts feature minorities and are related to hip hop.
Clinton comes into South Carolina with the endorsement of many popular hip hop related figures, including Beyonce, whose recent Super Bowl 50 performance drew both admiration and criticism for the representation of the Black Panthers. Others include Waka Flocka Flame, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule, 50 Cent, Timbaland, Young Jeezy, Pharrell Williams, along with some positive comments from A$AP Rocky and Ne-Yo.
Unlike Sanders, Hillary Clinton has the benefit of a high public profile. From being the First Lady from 1993–2001 and revolutionized the position more than anyone since Eleanor Roosevelt, to serving as Secretary of State for President Obama, her career has made her a political trendsetter for her gender and a pop culture icon.
Perhaps because of the timing of his presidency, Bill Clinton was popularly viewed as the first modern president — the bridge between the world of President George H.W. Bush and his son George W. — where cultures continued to intersect and technology was beginning to bring the U.S. even closer together.
In 1992, Clinton appeared on the Arsenio Hall show and played the saxophone while other potential candidates were appearing on traditional news shows. This move endeared him to a wide range of supporters across racial barriers and earned him the tongue-in-cheek title of “the first black president” by Toni Morrison who wrote, “Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald’s-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas.”
Rap has also turned the Bill and Hillary pairing into a core reference for the “ride-or-die” couple, with comparisons to the long-standing relationships of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, Jay-Z and Beyonce, P.Diddy and Kim Porter, and more. In 2008, Ludacris rapped, “Let’s stay together … If Will and Jada can do it, then why can’t we? Hillary is still with Bill Clinton, how did they do it?” even after endorsing Obama for the presidency.
Hillary on her own also comes up frequently in hip hop when referencing powerful women. Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Nelly, Young Jeezy, and Nicki Minaj, among others, all have a history of name-checking her and many of these same artists have endorsed her in 2016.
However, the high-profile hasn’t always worked in Hillary’s favor. Some writers have been critical of her approach to hip hop culture, and accused her of using it for political gain without actually having a real appreciation for the issues innate within it.
“We are not just swagger to be exchanged … If Clinton wants to begin sincerely courting us for more than celebrity support, she must be willing to love us and our issues as much as she loves our musical legacies,” wrote Victoria Massie, in response to Clinton’s take on the Run-D.M.C. logo.
Rappers The Game and Ice Cube have been critical of her, expressing the idea that she is untrustworthy. “Never put your trust in Hillary Rodham, cause I can tell you now it’s gon’ turn out rotten,” raps Ice Cube in his song “Stand Tall.” In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, when asked about if he liked any of the 2016 candidates, Ice Cube said, “Not really. You can elect, but you can never select. That’s the dilemma. It’s the difference between bad and worse.”
Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, wrote an article titled “Why Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote.” In it, she addresses the 1994 crime bill championed by the Clintons, which escalated the War on Drugs, expansion of police forces, and “3-strike” laws. She writes, “When Clinton left office in 2001, the United States had the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Human Rights Watch reported that in seven states, African Americans constituted 80 to 90 percent of all drug offenders sent to prison, even though they were no more likely than whites to use or sell illegal drugs.”
Both Bill and Hillary have expressed regret recently over the bill. The former President said that the bill “overshot the mark” and the former First Lady now says she plans to eliminate parts of the controversial bill, including the abolishment of private prisons and the racial disparities in arrests and sentencing.
Senator Sanders also voted yes in support of the 1994 crime bill, but claims to have done so only because the sweeping bill also included the Violence Against Women act and a ban on assault weapons. In 1994 while serving as a congressman, he spoke to the members about the bill saying, “…through the neglect of our Government and through a grossly irrational set of priorities, we are dooming tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime, and violence.”
“We can either educate or electrocute,” said Sanders.
THE RISE OF SANDERS
Sanders’ history, which includes having been the longest serving independent in U.S. congressional history, continues to make news as his campaign for the Democratic nomination intensifies. In New Hampshire, the Vermont senator become the first self-described democratic-socialist to win a primary, along with becoming the first Jew to do so as well.
Supporters have also touted his long history of activism. While at the University of Chicago in the early 1960’s, he was an active civil rights protest organizer and in 1963, he marched on Washington D.C. with Martin Luther King Jr. Recently, a photo surfaced of a young Bernie Sanders being arrested in 1963 at a Southside protest. Records show he was charged with resisting arrest. He was found guilty and fined $25, according to the original Tribune story about the protests.
Throughout the campaign, Killer Mike has compared the platform of Sen. Sanders to the principles of Martin Luther King Jr. In an interview on the Tonight Show with Stephen Colbert, he said, “Dr. King in his last two years of life talked about a poor people’s campaign, organizing unions on the behalf of poor workers, organizing against the war machine…Bernie Sanders is the only politician who has consistently for 50 years taken that social justice platform and right now we have the opportunity to elect someone that is directly out of the philosophy of King-en non-violence.”
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a roundtable hosted by Sen. Sanders, Killer Mike, Dr. Cornel West, and former senator Nina Turner, met together for nearly an hour to discuss the legacy of King.
Other rappers such as Bun B, Scarface, and Lil B, have echoed Killer Mike’s opinion and thrown their support behind Sanders.
Mike will continue to play a vital role in the campaign as one of it’s main spokespeople across the country, but especially in the South. The Sanders campaign must successfully win the majority of the vote within minority communities that some have referred to as Clinton’s “firewall.”
Despite his record, Sanders is still a newcomer to many, some of which are still skeptical of the Senator who has spent most of his political career governing and representing Vermont, one of the whitest (96%) states in the nation.
Author Charles M. Blow recently wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times that called out the political phenomenon of “Bernie-Splaining” in which, as he explains, supporters of Sanders have taken to condescending measures to express that Sanders is better for black people, and therefore, if they don’t vote for him, they will be voting against their own self-interests.
Blow writes, “Tucked among all this Bernie-splaining by some supporters, it appears to me, is a not-so-subtle, not-so-innocuous savior syndrome and paternalistic patronage that I find so grossly offensive that it boggles the mind that such language should emanate from the mouths — or keyboards — of supposed progressives.”
THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY
As the Primary race moves past Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, to southern states like South Carolina, the candidates will consistently need to prove themselves to larger bases of minority voters that historically lean Democrat. In Nevada, Clinton won the African-American vote, 3–1.
Nina Turner, former state senator for Ohio, recently switched her endorsement from Clinton to Sanders after being involved in campaigning for President Obama in the last two elections. She appeared recently on MSNBC to discuss her endorsement of Senator Sanders and the influence that African-American activists — including herself — have on the minority vote. “Nobody owns the black vote,” Turner said, “the black vote should be earned.” She also commented that the Democratic party has often taken minority voters for granted, and despite the percentages in past years, the black community is not monolithic and will not fall in line behind one specific candidate.
In 2008, 55% of Democratic voters in South Carolina were black. Though the candidates approach differ, each one will undoubtedly need to win a majority of the minority vote to win the state.
Celebrity endorsements don’t always result in a direct impact on the polls, however, both Sanders and Clinton have struggled to communicate exactly what makes one or the other a better choice going forward. Hip hop voices are most important at this point, when the message is most effective coming from someone inside of the community instead of coming from a politician.
African American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet and social critic James Baldwin’s wrote the following in his essay “Journey to Atlanta”:
“Our people” have functioned in this country for nearly a century as political weapons, the trump card up the enemies’ sleeve; anything promised Negroes at election time is also a threat leveled at the opposition; in the struggle for mastery the Negro is the pawn.
On Saturday, February 27th, the most important stop on the primary trail so far will happen in South Carolina. This time, it seems that African-American voters and powerful hip hop voices will own the vote, not the other way around.
