Ahead of elections, politicians will utilize any avenue available to potentially gain more voters, and also show how “tapped in” they are to any given demographic. Amongst politicians who get rappers’ names wrong, “free” the incarcerated for a political moment, and even customize hideous kicks to appeal to young Black voters — there are some genuine political figures who have made their campaigns about the needs of minority communities, and less about pandering to Black people.
Now, as much as politicians like former POTUS Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton have appeared to be for the people, both have lost trust amongst people of color before. However, Clinton has taken the initiative to, at least, engage with the Black community in a real way and acknowledge her past ignorance.
There are others who have actually formed genuine bonds with important figures within Hip-Hop culture, directly influencing the youth. From Barack Obama highlighting rap lyrics in speeches and having Beyoncé and Jay-Z back him to the “Hip-Hop Mayor” of New York, Eric Adams, weaving the culture into his administration — here are five politicians who have genuinely embraced Hip-Hop culture.
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Barack Obama
Image Credit: Brooks Kraft LLC/Getty Images Of all politicians, former POTUS Barack Obama has embraced Hip-Hop culture the most throughout his two terms as President. Aside from his Summer playlists full of R&B and Hip-Hop bops, Obama not only has quoted rap lyrics in his speeches, but has spoken to issues in communities that Hip-Hop often highlights.
In a 2021 interview with Complex, the 62-year-old shared his connection to Jay-Z and why he feels they’re similar. “I’ve mentioned a couple of songs that even when I was running for president came up a lot on my iPod. One of them was ‘My 1st Song’ by JAY-Z, which is a song that I love because it talks about the struggle of just trying to make it,” Obama said. “And sometimes you have to resort to false bravado and hustle and tamping down your insecurities, and when I was running for president, obviously, at that point I didn’t know whether I was gonna make it.”
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Obama also has brought Hip-Hop to the White House. Besides having Beyoncé perform during his Inaugural Ball, he’s also invited Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monae to perform at the last Fourth of July celebration of his tenure.
Additionally, in 2016, Obama made history by selecting Wale to open for his final State Of The Union address as Commander-in-Chief, and in the same year, invited Nicki Minaj, Chance The Rapper, Pusha T, Busta Rhymes, DJ Khaled, and J.Cole amongst others to discuss his “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative and criminal justice reform.
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Stacey Abrams
Image Credit: Instagram/StaceyAbrams Stacey Abrams has been a voice in the political world for the advocacy of Hip-Hop and how it is weaponized in the judicial system. The Georgia politician has been loud about her disdain for rap lyrics being used in court, as well as her mantra of “meeting people where they are.”
“I believe in the First Amendment,” she spoke of prosecutors using Young Thug’s lyrics against him in his ongoing RICO case. “I cannot speak to the particulars of this case, but I do think it is a very dangerous precedent to use someone’s written word … as a proof point.” She added that she understands people use “provocative language” in their art.
She’s also supported rappers like 21 Savage, Common and Latto on causes that matter to them. In 2022, she joined Latto onstage to advocate for abortion rights. Abrams surprised the crowd holding a “My Body, My Choice” sign during the “Big Energy” rapper’s performance of “PXSSY,” which was a response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “I’m not going to interrupt your fun. I just want to remind you if you believe ‘it’s my body, my choice,’ I need your vote! You gotta show up,” Abrams told the crowd. “This is our time. This is our choice and this is our year. I need your big energy! Let’s get it done,” she declared.
Additionally, Abrams also met with Lil Baby in 2022, educating him on “how things work,” in the world. Baby could curiously be heard saying, “You know like at some point, you don’t even understand that this type of stuff goes on. So, it’s like interesting to me to really understand how the world really works. So, it ain’t even really just politics, it’s just … like the world and how it works, how it goes, and what’s really going on.”
Abrams explained, “We understand the mayor, and we understand the president — they get away with so much because most of us don’t learn about the state. The state gets the money from the federal government. And it’s the state that decides how much money makes it to the local governments. How much the mayor gets.”
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Eric Adams
Image Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images Eric Adams or “The Hip-Hop Mayor” as some like to call him, has been very vocal about his love for the culture. “I’m the first mayor of the Hip-Hop generation that listened to the music, and now I’m the mayor of the city. So I’m the Hip-Hop mayor,” he’s dubbed himself.
Despite Adams receiving his fair share of backlash for criticizing Drill music and plastering “Stop The Sag” billboards all over the city in 2010, the Brownsville-native has also utilized Hip-Hop to connect to citizens in a positive way. In 2022, Adams hosted a late-night summit featuring Maino, B-Lovee, Fivio Foreign and more to discuss aspects of Drill lyrics such as retaliation and violence. “A lot of these drill rappers are irresponsible and reckless and concerning. I think that was a good meeting to have,” he said at the time.
Mayor Adams’ advocacy for the culture has gone beyond four walls and board rooms, as last year he announced that $5.5 million of city funds would go directly to the Universal Hip-Hop Museum.
“Whether you are in Co-op City or Canarsie, New Yorkers deserve the opportunity to learn about some of the unique cultures in their backyard,” he stated at the time. “Hip-Hop tells the story of this city and the Bronx so vividly. It tells life amid poverty and crime, of turning pain into purpose, of making it. That’s why I’m proud to announce our administration’s commitment of $2 million in new capital funding for the Universal Hip Hop Museum, alongside $3.5 million from the local elected officials.”
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Rep. Jamaal Bowman
Image Credit: Shannon Finney/Getty Images U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowmaan has devoted much of his political career to uplifting Black people, while using the power of Hip-Hop to tackle pressing issues facing minorities. Earlier this month, Bowmaan introduced the Congressional Hip-Hop Power and Justice Task Force, which “uses Hip-Hop’s messaging of building a more equitable society to help spearhead initiatives to address economic equality, affordable housing and racial justice imperatives.”
Naming coveted MC’s like Eric B. & Rakim, Queen Latifah, Chuck D and Public Enemy as his inspiration, Bowmaan stated to The Hill, “They were very instrumental in creating a curriculum and blueprint for my life. I owe a lot of who I am to the lessons that they taught me on and through their music.”
The New York-native’s purpose is to align his messages with some of those of the genre. He added, “Hip-Hop has always been about ending poverty in America, about fully funding our public schools. It’s always been about justice reform and police reform. It’s always been about affordable housing and dealing with the issue of threats of violence.”
Bridging the gap between marginalized citizens and lawmakers, he stated, “We want artists to constantly be talking to lawmakers about what they’re going through in their communities and what’s happening in their communities so lawmakers can understand that Hip-Hop artists come from the most marginalized, neglected places in our country.”
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Mayor Ras Baraka
Image Credit: Tosin Thompson Newark, NJ mayor Ras Baraka is no stranger to Hip-Hop culture and the communities who champion the genre most. As the son of the late poet laureate, Amiri Baraka, Ras has lived the very words spoken by his father when it comes to poverty, violence and more.
To combat his city’s challenges, Ras has incorporated Hip-Hop into his advocacy for a more peaceful city. Besides daily mayoral duties, Ras’ advocacy runs back to 2005 when he introduced Hip-Hop Power To The P.E.O.P.L.E. He also launched 24 Hours of Peace in 2012, a full-day event that “Fosters peaceful conflict resolution in family and community, sees artistic expression as a stool for positive reinforcement, offers at-risk communities 24 hours without violence, crime, or confrontation” and more.
“We say crime and violence is a public health issue. So if you treat it like public health, then there are different ways you deal with it,” Mayor Baraka told VIBE in 2022. “There’s intervention. There’s treatment – and treatment unfortunately, is usually arrest and police and the courts. And this is what this is a part of: the educational component of it to change culture, tell kids that it’s okay to love, be peaceful, shake each other’s hands, say, ‘I’m sorry, [and] that I apologize.’ And to love yourself and your community and your family more than all of the other negativity that’s going on around you. If we make that okay, the kids make different decisions.”
In the past, the 24-hour event garnered the support of influential pillars of Hip-Hop culture, including Queen Latifah, Redman, AZ and more.
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