Obama Theorizes Why Rappers Like 50 Cent & Lil Wayne Endorsed Trump
The election is over but still, Trump isn’t conceding defeat. Instead, he’s maintaining his argument that the 2020 election was rigged against him, despite the overwhelming amount of joy that filled the streets after Biden was projected as the winner. It’s nothing new for Trump but his 2020 race saw an increase of supporters among the Black male demographic.
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In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Obama shared his thoughts and observations on why that may be and criticized hip-hop while doing so. The former president explained he often reminds himself of the similarities between how Trump and mainstream rappers measure their success, largely through material goods.
“It’s interesting—people are writing about the fact that Trump increased his support among Black men [in the 2020 presidential election], and the occasional rapper who supported Trump,” Obama said, an obvious reference to 50 Cent and Lil Wayne’s recent endorsements. “I have to remind myself that if you listen to rap music, it’s all about the bling, the women, the money. A lot of rap videos are using the same measures of what it means to be successful as Donald Trump is. Everything is gold-plated. That insinuates itself and seeps into the culture.”
“America has always had a caste system—rich and poor, not just racially but economically—but it wasn’t in your face most of the time when I was growing up,” Obama continued. “Then you start seeing Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, that sense that either you’ve got it or you’re a loser. And Donald Trump epitomizes that cultural movement that is deeply ingrained now in American culture.”
Despite the criticism, Obama was the first rapper to truly bridge the gap between rappers and the White House, often described as America’s first hip-hop President. Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Ludacris, and Kendrick Lamar, whose “How Much A Dollar Cost” topped Obama’s list of favorite songs of 2015, during his tenure in the Oval Office for different occasions.
