1 00:00:16,475 --> 00:00:19,269 [cheering] 2 00:00:22,439 --> 00:00:23,690 Can I say something? 3 00:00:23,774 --> 00:00:25,359 I know y'all think-- And turn my mic up. 4 00:00:25,442 --> 00:00:28,654 [Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins narrating] The show of love, I'll never forget it. 5 00:00:28,737 --> 00:00:32,908 [on-screen] A lot of people right now, the people in the Barack Obama campaign, 6 00:00:33,825 --> 00:00:35,869 [on TV] just everybody who helped get everything. 7 00:00:36,328 --> 00:00:38,956 Everybody who was out in the street getting votes and all that shit. 8 00:00:39,039 --> 00:00:41,250 [crowd cheering] 9 00:00:41,333 --> 00:00:42,501 [announcer] Yeah! 10 00:00:42,584 --> 00:00:44,378 It was so much energy. 11 00:00:44,461 --> 00:00:46,088 You would've thought we all won. 12 00:00:47,172 --> 00:00:48,423 It was electrifying. 13 00:00:48,507 --> 00:00:51,593 -[indistinct rapping] -[audience cheering and rapping along] 14 00:00:54,263 --> 00:00:56,598 This our moment, we, you know, our guy's in the White House 15 00:00:56,682 --> 00:00:59,226 and I do my verse, you know, club goes crazy 16 00:01:00,227 --> 00:01:02,062 and then I pass the mic to Jay-Z. 17 00:01:02,145 --> 00:01:03,480 ♪ Anybody feel me? ♪ 18 00:01:03,897 --> 00:01:06,650 ♪ My president is Black, in fact he's half white ♪ 19 00:01:06,733 --> 00:01:10,070 ♪ So even in a racist mind, he's half right ♪ 20 00:01:10,153 --> 00:01:13,115 ♪ So if you got a racist mind, it's alright ♪ 21 00:01:13,198 --> 00:01:16,577 ♪ My president is Black, but his house is all white ♪ 22 00:01:16,660 --> 00:01:19,621 [cheering] 23 00:01:22,791 --> 00:01:25,002 [Jeezy] I feel like it helped him become the first Black president 24 00:01:25,085 --> 00:01:27,504 because when you connect hip-hop culture 25 00:01:27,588 --> 00:01:30,924 and our movement to that movement he had, 26 00:01:31,008 --> 00:01:33,886 I feel like it was, it was set up to win. 27 00:01:33,969 --> 00:01:36,471 You know what I'm saying? It was already written. 28 00:01:37,181 --> 00:01:40,767 Hip-hop speaks truth to power. 29 00:01:40,851 --> 00:01:45,981 The President of the United States of America is the power. 30 00:01:46,523 --> 00:01:50,611 This is the story of how hip-hop got the power. 31 00:01:52,070 --> 00:01:53,447 We know Donald Trump did heard it. 32 00:01:53,530 --> 00:01:54,781 You know what I'm saying? [chuckles] 33 00:01:54,865 --> 00:01:58,076 Well, Reagan's the father of crack cocaine as far as we're concerned. 34 00:01:58,785 --> 00:02:01,371 President Obama said, "Wow, we really keeping it real here." 35 00:02:01,455 --> 00:02:05,334 To tell you the truth, I believe that Clinton liked hip-hop. 36 00:02:05,417 --> 00:02:08,128 Little Bush? Little Bush was around. 37 00:02:08,212 --> 00:02:09,254 Call me racist. 38 00:02:09,338 --> 00:02:11,924 In 2020, Obama put me on his summer playlist. 39 00:02:12,007 --> 00:02:14,009 I'm still the only president 40 00:02:14,092 --> 00:02:16,178 to listen to Jay-Z's music in the Oval Office. 41 00:02:17,804 --> 00:02:20,891 Donald Trump, like he's a real nigga 'cause he's unapologetic. 42 00:02:20,974 --> 00:02:24,186 We got Kanye in the White House saying, "Free Larry Hoover." 43 00:02:25,187 --> 00:02:27,523 Can we affect policy? 44 00:02:27,606 --> 00:02:30,150 There's a lot of people come in that room and do nothing in that room. 45 00:02:30,859 --> 00:02:33,529 The letter from the White House is mo' crazy to me 46 00:02:33,612 --> 00:02:35,072 than Donald Trump hearing the song. 47 00:02:36,573 --> 00:02:39,243 [Jeezy] This is Hip-Hop and The White House. 48 00:02:40,410 --> 00:02:41,453 Let's get it. 49 00:02:44,414 --> 00:02:49,378 And now, to present the excitement of youth, the sights, 50 00:02:49,461 --> 00:02:51,630 and the sounds of a big city, 51 00:02:52,214 --> 00:02:55,968 here are New York City Breakers. 52 00:02:56,051 --> 00:02:58,512 [♪ hip-hop music playing] 53 00:02:58,595 --> 00:03:02,182 [Jeezy] Hip-hop has been connected to presidents from the jump. 54 00:03:02,724 --> 00:03:07,688 The culture was created 50 years ago by DJs, breakers, 55 00:03:08,272 --> 00:03:12,109 graffiti artists, and rappers responding to a life of oppression. 56 00:03:13,026 --> 00:03:15,612 This environment was the result of policies 57 00:03:15,696 --> 00:03:18,282 that came straight out of the White House. 58 00:03:18,365 --> 00:03:21,535 So I lived in different sections of the Bronx growing up all of my life, 59 00:03:21,618 --> 00:03:23,620 playing in empty lots, 60 00:03:24,037 --> 00:03:27,666 you know, just with rubble all around, bouncing on mattresses and... 61 00:03:27,749 --> 00:03:29,418 I mean, it was what it was. 62 00:03:29,501 --> 00:03:33,463 We didn't know what was behind us being there until later on. 63 00:03:34,673 --> 00:03:36,967 [Dave "Davey D" Cook] I remember when Jimmy Carter came to the Bronx, 64 00:03:37,050 --> 00:03:38,051 it was a big deal. 65 00:03:38,135 --> 00:03:39,344 What preceded it? 66 00:03:39,428 --> 00:03:42,556 That was Gerald Ford who was the president 67 00:03:42,639 --> 00:03:45,475 who basically told New York City to kick rocks 68 00:03:45,559 --> 00:03:49,938 when we were going through our financial hardships in the '70s 69 00:03:50,022 --> 00:03:52,524 and he said, "We're not gonna bail out New York." 70 00:03:52,608 --> 00:03:55,986 That had a direct correlation to the conditions 71 00:03:56,069 --> 00:03:58,197 that would lead rise to hip-hop. 72 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,993 Prior to that was Richard Nixon who started a war on drugs. 73 00:04:03,076 --> 00:04:07,915 So those conditions of oppression 74 00:04:07,998 --> 00:04:11,084 that was coming in from the highest office of the land. 75 00:04:11,168 --> 00:04:15,255 But real hip-hop was always about doing our own thing 76 00:04:15,339 --> 00:04:17,049 within our own community. 77 00:04:17,132 --> 00:04:18,675 You're gonna give us garbage, 78 00:04:18,759 --> 00:04:21,345 we're gonna turn it into a billion dollar something. 79 00:04:21,428 --> 00:04:23,388 That was always the attitude. 80 00:04:23,472 --> 00:04:25,849 Hip-hop has always been political 81 00:04:25,933 --> 00:04:28,810 because of the context in which it was created. 82 00:04:36,568 --> 00:04:41,198 [Jeezy] When President Reagan took office in January 1981, 83 00:04:41,281 --> 00:04:43,909 I was just a baby growing up in Georgia. 84 00:04:43,992 --> 00:04:46,537 I didn't know anything about Reaganomics. 85 00:04:46,620 --> 00:04:48,455 That was Reagan's budget policy 86 00:04:48,539 --> 00:04:51,166 that slashed funding in the poor neighborhoods 87 00:04:51,250 --> 00:04:54,127 and gave tax breaks to the wealthy. 88 00:04:54,211 --> 00:04:56,505 [KRS-One] When President Reagan would come on television 89 00:04:56,588 --> 00:05:00,217 and say things like, "We're gonna cut this budget and cut that budget," 90 00:05:00,300 --> 00:05:04,888 people don't realize that the very next day something happened, 91 00:05:04,972 --> 00:05:08,308 meaning something was missing from your community 92 00:05:08,392 --> 00:05:11,895 and we could see it happening in real time. 93 00:05:11,979 --> 00:05:13,730 My fellow citizens, [clears throat] 94 00:05:13,814 --> 00:05:17,150 the matter that brings me before you today is a grave one 95 00:05:17,234 --> 00:05:20,529 and concerns my most solemn duty as president. 96 00:05:20,612 --> 00:05:23,323 It is the cause of freedom in Central America 97 00:05:23,407 --> 00:05:25,742 and the national security of the United States. 98 00:05:25,826 --> 00:05:26,827 There was a storm brewing. 99 00:05:28,453 --> 00:05:31,582 It was a political storm and I just didn't have any idea what it was gonna be 100 00:05:31,665 --> 00:05:33,292 until I saw the effects of it. 101 00:05:33,375 --> 00:05:37,171 We was expecting for it to be rain, but crack rained down, 102 00:05:37,254 --> 00:05:39,256 and that was the storm that was coming. 103 00:05:39,339 --> 00:05:43,302 [Jeezy] The crack cocaine epidemic hit America during Reagan's presidency, 104 00:05:43,802 --> 00:05:46,805 but there was some things none of us understood at the time. 105 00:05:46,889 --> 00:05:49,683 Reagan administration officials knew 106 00:05:49,766 --> 00:05:51,894 Central American drug traffickers 107 00:05:51,977 --> 00:05:54,938 were importing cocaine into our neighborhoods. 108 00:05:55,022 --> 00:05:58,609 Why didn't Reagan's government stop these drugs from coming in? 109 00:05:58,984 --> 00:06:02,196 Because the sales were funding military conflicts 110 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,781 that the Reagan administration was supporting. 111 00:06:04,865 --> 00:06:06,116 Imagine that. 112 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,410 ♪ Oliver North introduced us to cocaine ♪ 113 00:06:08,493 --> 00:06:11,455 ♪ In the '80s when them bricks came on military planes ♪ 114 00:06:30,599 --> 00:06:35,354 What I discovered was that some of this was known about, 115 00:06:35,771 --> 00:06:38,815 uh, by the CIA and maybe the DA and others. 116 00:06:38,899 --> 00:06:40,567 Now, all of a sudden there was this, 117 00:06:40,651 --> 00:06:42,611 this new thing running around called crack. 118 00:06:42,694 --> 00:06:46,406 It would be for years that we actually got it confirmed 119 00:06:46,490 --> 00:06:51,537 that Reagan and the CIA and his war to, to fund the war 120 00:06:51,995 --> 00:06:53,997 was the reason why that happened. 121 00:06:54,081 --> 00:06:57,584 Well, Reagan's the father of crack cocaine as far as we're concerned, 122 00:06:57,668 --> 00:07:00,128 the whole Iran Contra, Oliver North, 123 00:07:00,212 --> 00:07:02,798 the whole weapons, the coke, the whole thing. 124 00:07:02,881 --> 00:07:06,635 Crack blew up and so did hip-hop at the same exact time. 125 00:07:06,718 --> 00:07:08,804 They actually grew up together. 126 00:07:08,887 --> 00:07:12,766 Hip-hop grew out of the crack era. 127 00:07:12,850 --> 00:07:16,478 All of that is a part of hip-hop's real and actual history, 128 00:07:16,562 --> 00:07:21,525 which makes Ronald Reagan part of hip-hop's real and natural history. 129 00:07:22,568 --> 00:07:25,195 The way I see Reagan connected to hip-hop 130 00:07:25,279 --> 00:07:27,406 is giving us something to rap about. 131 00:07:27,489 --> 00:07:29,950 Because of the influx of these drugs, 132 00:07:30,033 --> 00:07:32,870 because of what's going on in those communities. 133 00:07:32,953 --> 00:07:35,122 You know, you get records like The Message 134 00:07:35,622 --> 00:07:38,792 [KRS-One] "Rats in the front room, roaches in the back, 135 00:07:38,876 --> 00:07:41,962 junkies in the alley with that baseball bat." 136 00:07:42,045 --> 00:07:45,299 "I have a bum education, double-digit inflation, 137 00:07:45,382 --> 00:07:48,677 can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station." 138 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,639 "Don't push me 'cause I'm clo--" 139 00:07:52,723 --> 00:07:54,933 This is describing oppression, 140 00:07:55,767 --> 00:07:57,269 straight up and down. 141 00:07:57,352 --> 00:07:59,938 Somebody speaking our plight, 142 00:08:00,022 --> 00:08:02,900 somebody's giving us our existence, 143 00:08:02,983 --> 00:08:05,194 somebody understands what we going through. 144 00:08:05,277 --> 00:08:06,695 ♪ It's like a jungle sometimes ♪ 145 00:08:06,778 --> 00:08:08,864 ♪ It makes me wonder how I keep from going under ♪ 146 00:08:08,947 --> 00:08:09,948 Life is hard. 147 00:08:10,032 --> 00:08:13,035 I mean, for the average person, life is extra hard 148 00:08:13,118 --> 00:08:15,412 and Message tapped into that emotion 149 00:08:15,495 --> 00:08:16,997 and I think that's the politic behind it, 150 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:18,832 you know, it was a real-life emotion. 151 00:08:18,916 --> 00:08:20,584 Even, you know, throughout my whole life 152 00:08:20,667 --> 00:08:23,962 you could see where something is wrong in politics. 153 00:08:24,046 --> 00:08:27,716 You know, you could figure out where the, where the scam is, you know what I mean? 154 00:08:28,300 --> 00:08:31,512 [Jeezy] After his reelection, Reagan brought the New York City Breakers 155 00:08:31,595 --> 00:08:34,139 to perform at his inauguration, 156 00:08:34,223 --> 00:08:35,974 the first official contact 157 00:08:36,725 --> 00:08:39,520 between hip-hop and the White House. 158 00:08:42,439 --> 00:08:45,067 It's not Reagan loving hip-hop, 159 00:08:45,150 --> 00:08:47,069 you can't tell me it's Reagan loving hip-hop, 160 00:08:47,152 --> 00:08:48,654 but it's a political move. 161 00:08:48,737 --> 00:08:52,074 The fact that it's being used or exploited 162 00:08:52,157 --> 00:08:53,575 in a way, it's like a give-and-take. 163 00:08:53,659 --> 00:08:55,786 Alright. You use me, I use you. 164 00:08:57,538 --> 00:08:59,414 [Jeezy] Our neighborhoods continued to suffer 165 00:09:00,082 --> 00:09:01,542 through Reagan's second term 166 00:09:01,625 --> 00:09:04,127 and hip-hop narrated the whole drama. 167 00:09:04,795 --> 00:09:09,216 Too Short, Ice-T, Toddy Tee, Public Enemy. 168 00:09:09,925 --> 00:09:12,302 Those are just a few rappers who reveal 169 00:09:12,427 --> 00:09:16,598 what Reagan's so-called war on drugs did to the places where hip-hop lived. 170 00:09:16,682 --> 00:09:19,059 Then came a record that changed the whole game. 171 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:22,938 I was 11 when I heard it, it went a little something like this... 172 00:09:23,021 --> 00:09:25,274 ♪ Searching my car, looking for the product ♪ 173 00:09:25,357 --> 00:09:27,734 ♪ Thinking every nigga is selling narcotics ♪ 174 00:09:27,818 --> 00:09:29,903 [Jeezy] The year was 1988. 175 00:09:29,987 --> 00:09:32,155 The group was N.W.A. 176 00:09:32,239 --> 00:09:36,827 Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, DJ Yella, 177 00:09:36,910 --> 00:09:39,538 and a dope dealer named Eazy-E. 178 00:09:39,621 --> 00:09:42,249 ♪ While I'm driving off laughing, this is what I'll say ♪ 179 00:09:42,332 --> 00:09:43,333 ♪ Fuck the police ♪ 180 00:09:43,417 --> 00:09:44,710 -[record scratches] -♪ Fuck, fuck ♪ 181 00:09:44,793 --> 00:09:46,003 ♪ Fuck the police ♪ 182 00:09:46,086 --> 00:09:47,379 -[record scratches] -♪ Fuck, fuck ♪ 183 00:09:47,462 --> 00:09:49,464 [Jeezy] Hip-hop and its relationship 184 00:09:49,548 --> 00:09:52,134 with the White House would never be the same. 185 00:09:52,217 --> 00:09:56,013 When I heard it and then there was so much talk about it, 186 00:09:56,096 --> 00:10:00,184 I just thought it was a revelation that had taken place 187 00:10:00,267 --> 00:10:02,102 and that's what a lot of people were thinking. 188 00:10:02,186 --> 00:10:03,854 They just didn't have the nerve to say it. 189 00:10:03,937 --> 00:10:07,608 It was political because the police have been thought of 190 00:10:07,691 --> 00:10:12,404 as the saviors that keep the communities safe and secure 191 00:10:12,487 --> 00:10:15,741 and they were untouchable in terms of criticism. 192 00:10:15,824 --> 00:10:19,036 For him to have the courage to say F the police, 193 00:10:19,119 --> 00:10:21,413 uh, was new, different, and exciting. 194 00:10:26,001 --> 00:10:28,670 [Jeezy] It wasn't exciting to the federal government. 195 00:10:28,754 --> 00:10:33,342 Reagan's vice president George H.W. Bush was elected 196 00:10:33,425 --> 00:10:35,511 to replace him in the White House. 197 00:10:35,594 --> 00:10:38,305 The FBI sent the group a threatening letter 198 00:10:38,847 --> 00:10:42,476 and then Eazy-E pulled a real gangster move. 199 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:44,645 He's not a presidential advisor yet, 200 00:10:44,728 --> 00:10:47,981 but his rap has gained him entry to the Republican elite. 201 00:10:48,065 --> 00:10:49,483 [newscaster] You might not have guessed 202 00:10:49,566 --> 00:10:52,027 that Eazy-E, Eric Wright is his real name, 203 00:10:52,110 --> 00:10:56,865 would be among this group of well-off Republicans who paid $1,250 204 00:10:56,949 --> 00:11:00,369 to become members of something called the Republican Inner Circle 205 00:11:00,452 --> 00:11:04,039 who were waiting in line today to hear law-and-order man George Bush 206 00:11:04,122 --> 00:11:06,166 at a private, members only reception. 207 00:11:06,250 --> 00:11:08,585 In the scheme of presidential politics, 208 00:11:08,669 --> 00:11:13,006 I think Eazy-E rests in a place of, um... 209 00:11:13,090 --> 00:11:14,716 He's a precedent. 210 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,053 He is, uh, an early stage 211 00:11:18,136 --> 00:11:20,055 of our political awareness. 212 00:11:20,138 --> 00:11:23,725 He does hold the title of being one of the first, 213 00:11:23,809 --> 00:11:28,397 if not the first, a major rap figure, uh, 214 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:33,694 to engage with the White House in this kind of meaningful way. 215 00:11:33,777 --> 00:11:35,112 That means that we are in there. 216 00:11:35,195 --> 00:11:37,531 That means that we have definitely 217 00:11:37,614 --> 00:11:39,533 broken down barriers and walls. 218 00:11:39,616 --> 00:11:42,619 You're only placed in certain rooms by the influence that you hold. 219 00:11:42,703 --> 00:11:45,873 It's not you, the one person that's in the room that they're allowing. 220 00:11:45,956 --> 00:11:48,417 They're allowing everyone that's associated with you, 221 00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:51,837 that listens to you, that follows you in the room at that point. 222 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:56,258 But you gotta also ask what did he get out of it? 223 00:11:56,341 --> 00:11:58,385 Did hip-hop win with anything with that? 224 00:11:58,468 --> 00:11:59,469 Did we gain anything? 225 00:11:59,553 --> 00:12:01,513 [Jeezy] That's a fair question. 226 00:12:01,597 --> 00:12:04,766 There's one thing that hip-hop gained for sure, 227 00:12:05,058 --> 00:12:10,063 the attention of a young governor with his eyes on the White House. 228 00:12:11,231 --> 00:12:13,567 Some Americans were completely shocked at the verdict 229 00:12:13,650 --> 00:12:16,612 in the Rodney King case and the violence which followed. 230 00:12:16,695 --> 00:12:18,947 At least nine people dead, more than 400 injured, 231 00:12:19,031 --> 00:12:21,158 nearly a thousand in jail. 232 00:12:21,241 --> 00:12:23,785 There was no justice in America today, 233 00:12:23,869 --> 00:12:25,746 and I'm glad they showed it to the world. 234 00:12:25,829 --> 00:12:29,124 [clamoring] 235 00:12:30,501 --> 00:12:31,502 [glass shatters] 236 00:12:32,878 --> 00:12:34,630 [Jeezy] Let me set the scene. 237 00:12:34,713 --> 00:12:36,673 It was 1992, 238 00:12:37,090 --> 00:12:40,093 Bill Clinton was running for president as a Democrat. 239 00:12:40,511 --> 00:12:43,222 He wanted to send a message to moderate white voters 240 00:12:43,305 --> 00:12:44,890 that he was a safe choice. 241 00:12:45,224 --> 00:12:49,269 So he went to Reverend Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Coalition Conference 242 00:12:49,353 --> 00:12:53,440 and decided to criticize a young Black rapper and activist. 243 00:12:54,274 --> 00:12:56,693 You had a, a rap singer here last night 244 00:12:57,611 --> 00:12:59,029 named Sister Souljah. 245 00:12:59,613 --> 00:13:02,491 I defend her right to express herself through music. 246 00:13:03,617 --> 00:13:05,827 But her comments before and after Los Angeles 247 00:13:05,911 --> 00:13:10,040 were filled with the kind of hatred that you do not honor today and tonight. 248 00:13:10,541 --> 00:13:14,962 [Jeezy] Many people believe Clinton took Souljah's statements out of context. 249 00:13:15,045 --> 00:13:18,799 [Maxine Waters] He too wanted to capture some of those people 250 00:13:18,882 --> 00:13:22,928 who thought that there was some danger, uh, in the hip-hop community, 251 00:13:23,011 --> 00:13:25,931 uh, with rappers, uh, with young Black people 252 00:13:26,014 --> 00:13:27,307 who were denouncing them. 253 00:13:27,391 --> 00:13:30,185 He was a brilliant politician 254 00:13:30,269 --> 00:13:32,938 in understanding the need to triangulate 255 00:13:33,021 --> 00:13:35,315 among the different constituencies in America. 256 00:13:35,399 --> 00:13:38,443 So he was more than willing 257 00:13:38,527 --> 00:13:42,072 to throw young Black folks under the bus 258 00:13:42,447 --> 00:13:45,909 in order to make people feel more secure 259 00:13:45,993 --> 00:13:48,453 who already had a bias against young Black people. 260 00:13:48,537 --> 00:13:52,791 The rap singer Governor Clinton had criticized last weekend rapped back. 261 00:13:53,208 --> 00:13:57,087 Considerable time has been spent debating whether America 262 00:13:57,171 --> 00:14:00,841 should take seriously the words of a rap artist 263 00:14:00,924 --> 00:14:03,093 or so-called entertainers. 264 00:14:03,177 --> 00:14:07,431 Let me clarify for the press now who I am. 265 00:14:08,140 --> 00:14:12,978 I am Sister Souljah, Sony, epic, rapper, 266 00:14:13,061 --> 00:14:15,981 activist, organizer, and lecturer. 267 00:14:16,064 --> 00:14:19,443 I have spoken on the same platform with Jesse Jackson, 268 00:14:19,526 --> 00:14:22,237 Minister Louis Farrakhan, Reverend Ben Chavis, 269 00:14:22,321 --> 00:14:25,282 Reverend Dr. Calvin Butts and Nelson Mandela. 270 00:14:25,365 --> 00:14:30,662 As you can see, I am no newcomer to the world of politics and movements. 271 00:14:30,746 --> 00:14:35,417 I met Sister Souljah at Howard University, '88, '89. 272 00:14:35,501 --> 00:14:38,587 Around that time, I traveled around the country with her, 273 00:14:38,670 --> 00:14:43,133 uh, and spoke at schools and jails and other things like that. 274 00:14:43,217 --> 00:14:44,801 So we became really close. 275 00:14:44,885 --> 00:14:48,013 Obviously, she was incensed by this, 276 00:14:48,096 --> 00:14:51,225 uh, but she also was, like, smart and strategic enough 277 00:14:51,308 --> 00:14:53,060 to understand what this was about 278 00:14:53,685 --> 00:14:56,730 and wanted to respond to it in a way, uh, 279 00:14:56,813 --> 00:15:01,109 that she thought, uh, would, would have impact. 280 00:15:01,193 --> 00:15:05,155 I stand before you today feeling very confident, 281 00:15:05,239 --> 00:15:08,075 steadfast, and powerful. 282 00:15:08,158 --> 00:15:10,994 At the same time, I am surprised 283 00:15:11,078 --> 00:15:13,956 that as a young African woman 284 00:15:14,039 --> 00:15:17,835 I have impacted and affected the development 285 00:15:17,918 --> 00:15:23,090 of not only national politics, but international politics as well. 286 00:15:23,173 --> 00:15:25,634 [Ras J. Baraka] Just really articulating 287 00:15:25,717 --> 00:15:30,180 how powerful we had become as a hip-hop community 288 00:15:30,264 --> 00:15:34,810 that the president of the United States would feel that he could gain something 289 00:15:34,893 --> 00:15:37,646 by attacking, uh, this movement at that time. 290 00:15:38,021 --> 00:15:39,398 Like, she just, boom. 291 00:15:39,898 --> 00:15:41,608 And she's smarter than him. 292 00:15:41,692 --> 00:15:44,319 You not gonna be able to come back from this, bro. 293 00:15:44,403 --> 00:15:45,571 Not with her. 294 00:15:46,405 --> 00:15:48,115 [Jeezy] But Clinton did come back. 295 00:15:48,198 --> 00:15:51,535 His tactics helped him get elected president five months later. 296 00:15:52,035 --> 00:15:56,832 Then he invited LL Cool J to perform at his inauguration. 297 00:15:58,542 --> 00:16:01,128 I remember all the girls having a crush on LL 298 00:16:01,211 --> 00:16:02,504 when I was in middle school, 299 00:16:02,588 --> 00:16:06,800 and he was smart, sexy, and ambitious. 300 00:16:06,884 --> 00:16:09,678 And I think when he took the stage, um, 301 00:16:09,761 --> 00:16:12,181 he understood that this was gonna broaden his audience. 302 00:16:12,681 --> 00:16:14,600 So instead of Clinton triangulating him, 303 00:16:14,683 --> 00:16:16,768 he was triangulating on the Clintons. 304 00:16:16,852 --> 00:16:19,813 That was an incredible transition for us. 305 00:16:19,897 --> 00:16:21,815 Not only are we in the White House, 306 00:16:21,899 --> 00:16:24,193 but now we are part of the White House, 307 00:16:24,276 --> 00:16:26,403 especially on its biggest day, 308 00:16:26,486 --> 00:16:29,239 on its biggest stage on the hugest platform. 309 00:16:32,075 --> 00:16:35,204 [interviewer] 1992, Bill Clinton is elected. 310 00:16:35,287 --> 00:16:40,209 Young Jeezy is literally young Jeezy, 15, 16 years old. 311 00:16:40,626 --> 00:16:44,004 What is your life like and what hip-hop are you listening to? 312 00:16:44,838 --> 00:16:47,716 [Jeezy] I think I'm playing Bun B, um, 313 00:16:48,383 --> 00:16:50,260 a lot of West Coast music at the time. 314 00:16:50,344 --> 00:16:51,929 A lot of West Coast music. 315 00:16:52,513 --> 00:16:54,139 Uh, N.W.A for sure. 316 00:16:54,223 --> 00:16:58,352 I'm living with my grandmother, and music is my life. 317 00:16:58,435 --> 00:17:00,437 That's, that's how I'm navigating through things 318 00:17:00,521 --> 00:17:03,440 because I'm basically learning through the music. 319 00:17:03,524 --> 00:17:07,819 Tupac was my first introduction into politics. 320 00:17:07,903 --> 00:17:09,321 Pac was naming out senators, 321 00:17:09,404 --> 00:17:11,782 he was talking about district attorneys 322 00:17:11,865 --> 00:17:15,077 and, you know, it's like I didn't even know what this stuff was. 323 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,288 It made me go ask the questions, "What is a senator?" 324 00:17:18,830 --> 00:17:20,749 You know, "What makes the president the president?" 325 00:17:21,917 --> 00:17:24,545 [Farai Chideya] The Clinton years were an era 326 00:17:24,628 --> 00:17:26,964 where we saw the growth of hip-hop 327 00:17:27,047 --> 00:17:29,842 towards the global industry it has now become. 328 00:17:29,925 --> 00:17:32,344 You got New Orleans entering the game, 329 00:17:32,427 --> 00:17:34,638 you got Houston being a big factor. 330 00:17:34,721 --> 00:17:36,890 A lot of the content is changing. 331 00:17:36,974 --> 00:17:38,851 [Jeezy] Goodbye, Sister Souljah. 332 00:17:39,393 --> 00:17:40,894 Hello, Lil' Kim. 333 00:17:40,978 --> 00:17:43,522 This was before music moved to the Internet. 334 00:17:43,605 --> 00:17:47,401 Hip-hop fans bought hundreds of millions of CDs. 335 00:17:47,484 --> 00:17:50,153 The hood made more money than ever, 336 00:17:50,237 --> 00:17:53,282 selling records and selling dope. 337 00:17:53,365 --> 00:17:56,159 The music industry is starting to push 338 00:17:56,243 --> 00:17:58,328 a lot of the more political artists out. 339 00:17:58,412 --> 00:18:00,122 You still have political artists, 340 00:18:00,205 --> 00:18:03,166 but they're not within the mainstream. 341 00:18:03,250 --> 00:18:04,835 The superstructure itself 342 00:18:05,502 --> 00:18:10,048 decide to make a very conscious shift, to not play certain things, 343 00:18:10,132 --> 00:18:12,759 to not talk about certain music, right? 344 00:18:12,843 --> 00:18:14,595 They would put on the radio, 345 00:18:14,678 --> 00:18:16,263 somebody talking about shooting you 346 00:18:16,346 --> 00:18:19,850 or degrading your character as opposed to Public Enemy. 347 00:18:26,148 --> 00:18:28,025 [♪ upbeat music playing] 348 00:18:30,068 --> 00:18:31,069 [explosion] 349 00:18:31,153 --> 00:18:34,406 [Jeezy] After Clinton, came George W. Bush. 350 00:18:34,489 --> 00:18:36,783 When Bush started dropping bombs on Iraq, 351 00:18:37,034 --> 00:18:39,786 rap music was hustling and popping champagne 352 00:18:39,870 --> 00:18:41,747 but underneath all that, 353 00:18:41,830 --> 00:18:45,459 the hip-hop generation was gathering political power. 354 00:18:47,002 --> 00:18:49,880 By the time you get to the early 2000s, 355 00:18:49,963 --> 00:18:52,841 there is a generation of young people who saw 356 00:18:52,925 --> 00:18:54,384 the power and influence of hip-hop 357 00:18:54,718 --> 00:18:59,515 could be used to transform the country and our communities. 358 00:18:59,598 --> 00:19:03,852 And so they began to organize under the banner of hip-hop. 359 00:19:04,561 --> 00:19:08,232 [Jeezy] We had Rap the Vote, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, 360 00:19:08,315 --> 00:19:10,150 the League of Young Voters. 361 00:19:10,776 --> 00:19:12,569 As Bush ran for reelection, 362 00:19:12,653 --> 00:19:15,656 Bakari Kitwana and Ras Baraka 363 00:19:15,739 --> 00:19:19,201 cofounded the National Hip-Hop Political Convention. 364 00:19:19,576 --> 00:19:22,037 Three thousand people from across the country 365 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:24,706 attended in the summer of 2004. 366 00:19:25,582 --> 00:19:27,251 [Baraka] All over the country, all over the world, 367 00:19:27,334 --> 00:19:30,045 people were listening to hip-hop music 368 00:19:30,128 --> 00:19:32,589 and we influenced the way people dressed, what they drink, 369 00:19:32,673 --> 00:19:34,675 what they thought, the words they said. 370 00:19:34,758 --> 00:19:36,426 Right? We influenced so much stuff. 371 00:19:36,510 --> 00:19:40,055 So we thought that we could, like, bottle that influence, 372 00:19:40,138 --> 00:19:41,890 if you will, like package it 373 00:19:41,974 --> 00:19:46,687 and begin to use it specifically to help us in our community 374 00:19:46,979 --> 00:19:48,564 to, to change our conditions. 375 00:19:48,647 --> 00:19:52,359 [Bakari Kitwana] There hadn't been a concerted effort to bring this power 376 00:19:52,442 --> 00:19:54,486 of hip-hop to the national level. 377 00:19:54,570 --> 00:19:57,865 What if we can turn this same type 378 00:19:57,948 --> 00:20:00,617 of influence onto electoral policy? 379 00:20:00,701 --> 00:20:02,703 It would completely change the game. 380 00:20:04,955 --> 00:20:08,125 Early 2000s, straight up out the trunk, you know, 381 00:20:08,208 --> 00:20:12,296 paying for my own music, uh, printing up CDs, 382 00:20:12,379 --> 00:20:17,176 you know, doing shows and, and, uh, venues that didn't have stages. 383 00:20:17,259 --> 00:20:18,719 It was like I was on my grind 384 00:20:18,802 --> 00:20:20,888 and I was just trying to figure out my voice 385 00:20:20,971 --> 00:20:24,308 and my identity like, and, and a lot of what I was doing 386 00:20:24,391 --> 00:20:26,560 was coming from a lot of the influence that I got from Pac. 387 00:20:26,643 --> 00:20:29,062 I was like, "Yo, you know, I'm gonna motivate myself 388 00:20:29,521 --> 00:20:31,023 and others in the process." 389 00:20:31,106 --> 00:20:32,691 And that was like my mindset, 390 00:20:33,233 --> 00:20:36,069 um, and also watching what was going on with the world. 391 00:20:36,528 --> 00:20:39,740 I remember seeing, uh, Hillary Clinton 392 00:20:39,823 --> 00:20:44,161 in 2004 sitting next to Diddy at the Democratic Convention. 393 00:20:44,244 --> 00:20:47,539 MTV had Diddy interview her there. 394 00:20:47,623 --> 00:20:50,501 He had his own, you know, Vote or Die. 395 00:20:50,584 --> 00:20:53,086 And-and Clinton kept talking about how much that, you know, 396 00:20:53,170 --> 00:20:55,631 he hit the nail on the head with the phrase, "Vote or Die." 397 00:20:55,714 --> 00:20:57,424 And I saw some people walking across the street 398 00:20:57,508 --> 00:21:00,427 with the Vote or Die shirt and it didn't register then. 399 00:21:00,511 --> 00:21:04,014 And when I started to make this project I was working on, uh, 400 00:21:04,097 --> 00:21:06,225 the first record I came up with, 401 00:21:06,308 --> 00:21:09,394 I was like, I want this to be like a national anthem for the streets. 402 00:21:09,478 --> 00:21:12,773 I was like, "Yo, trap or die," it's gonna be a movement 403 00:21:12,856 --> 00:21:14,149 because I saw what they was doing, 404 00:21:14,233 --> 00:21:15,859 but I was like, how can this, 405 00:21:15,943 --> 00:21:17,945 how can I have my movement in the streets? 406 00:21:18,028 --> 00:21:20,364 And it's like I really ran that whole campaign, 407 00:21:20,447 --> 00:21:23,158 like a presidential, uh, campaign 408 00:21:23,242 --> 00:21:26,119 because what I saw them doing, I just went and emulated that. 409 00:21:26,620 --> 00:21:27,704 ♪ ...die, nigga ♪ 410 00:21:27,788 --> 00:21:28,830 ♪ Yeah ♪ 411 00:21:28,914 --> 00:21:30,791 ♪ We trap or die, nigga ♪ 412 00:21:30,874 --> 00:21:33,293 ♪ Mix the flake with the soda, you got Young Jeezy ♪ 413 00:21:33,377 --> 00:21:34,378 ♪ Damn ♪ 414 00:21:34,461 --> 00:21:36,672 ♪ You still wanna talk blow man ♪ 415 00:21:36,755 --> 00:21:39,258 ♪ Soft white like Alaska, call me snowman ♪ 416 00:21:39,341 --> 00:21:41,468 [Jeezy] Even though most of hip-hop lined up 417 00:21:41,552 --> 00:21:45,597 against Bush in the 2004 election, he still won. 418 00:21:46,098 --> 00:21:48,517 But the power of hip-hop was felt. 419 00:21:49,101 --> 00:21:51,979 In 2004, youth voter participation 420 00:21:52,062 --> 00:21:55,107 increased nine percent from the year 2000. 421 00:21:55,190 --> 00:21:57,818 It represents Black people 422 00:21:57,901 --> 00:22:01,530 and hip-hop mobilizing for power, right? 423 00:22:01,613 --> 00:22:04,783 Hip-hop continues to speak truth to power. 424 00:22:06,910 --> 00:22:09,705 -[wind blowing] -[palms thrashing] 425 00:22:09,788 --> 00:22:11,748 [thundering] 426 00:22:17,212 --> 00:22:20,883 [Bun B] We bear witness to so much trauma and abuse. 427 00:22:20,966 --> 00:22:23,760 There's so many people that we know 428 00:22:23,844 --> 00:22:27,598 and that we've come across and walk through life with 429 00:22:27,681 --> 00:22:30,017 and care for and love deeply, 430 00:22:30,642 --> 00:22:33,020 who simply, no one will ever know their struggle, 431 00:22:33,103 --> 00:22:34,438 and no one speaks for them. 432 00:22:35,689 --> 00:22:38,400 And that's where that comes from, from a lot of hip-hop records. 433 00:22:38,483 --> 00:22:41,153 It's not even about their own personal experience, 434 00:22:41,236 --> 00:22:42,487 but they're speaking for the person 435 00:22:42,571 --> 00:22:45,532 that they know cannot speak for themselves. 436 00:22:45,949 --> 00:22:48,660 And if you don't say something, these people will have gone 437 00:22:48,744 --> 00:22:51,914 through this life with no one ever really even knowing they existed. 438 00:22:51,997 --> 00:22:53,916 [♪ vocalizing] 439 00:22:53,999 --> 00:22:57,294 The population of New Orleans is 67% Black. 440 00:22:57,377 --> 00:23:00,047 So it's not surprising that the face of suffering 441 00:23:00,130 --> 00:23:04,051 in that city this week has been largely African American. 442 00:23:04,676 --> 00:23:08,180 The slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina 443 00:23:08,263 --> 00:23:13,519 has led to questions about race, poverty, and a seemingly indifferent government. 444 00:23:13,602 --> 00:23:18,148 I noticed that especially in New Orleans, that the response is greater 445 00:23:18,232 --> 00:23:20,859 when it's white compared to when it's Black. 446 00:23:20,943 --> 00:23:22,444 And if those areas that are named 447 00:23:22,528 --> 00:23:25,072 where people are not having food and water 448 00:23:25,155 --> 00:23:27,157 is generally the Black population. 449 00:23:27,783 --> 00:23:30,661 [Jeezy] Enter Kanye West. 450 00:23:30,744 --> 00:23:34,581 Ye was on a telethon raising money for hurricane victims 451 00:23:34,873 --> 00:23:36,708 with millions of people watching. 452 00:23:38,043 --> 00:23:43,549 Kanye did what Melle Mel, Eazy-E and Public Enemy had done before. 453 00:23:43,841 --> 00:23:48,720 Ye gave us a bar that captured exactly how hip-hop felt. 454 00:23:49,096 --> 00:23:52,140 "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." 455 00:23:53,517 --> 00:23:56,228 When Ye said, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people," 456 00:23:56,311 --> 00:23:58,146 that was supremely important. 457 00:23:58,230 --> 00:24:01,900 It needed to be said like, "No, we know what's up. 458 00:24:02,526 --> 00:24:04,194 "We know who you are. 459 00:24:04,611 --> 00:24:07,197 You ain't fooling us and we gonna expose you." 460 00:24:07,656 --> 00:24:11,618 Kanye really hit a nerve, 461 00:24:11,702 --> 00:24:14,746 and not just Black people, but white people 462 00:24:14,830 --> 00:24:17,875 and people of every race saw the failure 463 00:24:17,958 --> 00:24:20,836 of the US government to protect its own citizens. 464 00:24:20,919 --> 00:24:22,504 [Curren$y] My mom's house, wiped out. 465 00:24:22,588 --> 00:24:25,007 A few of my homeys died in that shit, 466 00:24:25,549 --> 00:24:28,260 and, um, one of my, one of my partners, 467 00:24:28,343 --> 00:24:30,262 his cousin, like, drowned right behind him. 468 00:24:30,345 --> 00:24:33,223 He just got tired and told him like, just fuck it. 469 00:24:33,307 --> 00:24:36,059 Like, like, go ahead. I'm too tired for this shit. 470 00:24:36,143 --> 00:24:37,519 And just went under the water. 471 00:24:37,603 --> 00:24:40,647 Black people were seen on television begging for help. 472 00:24:40,731 --> 00:24:45,027 There had been no real plans in the New Orleans area 473 00:24:45,110 --> 00:24:47,696 to deal with such a disaster. 474 00:24:47,779 --> 00:24:50,157 And nobody came for a long time. 475 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,284 It was a horrible situation. 476 00:24:52,367 --> 00:24:54,870 Who was the state representatives in Louisiana? 477 00:24:54,953 --> 00:24:57,289 We argue with the things our president should do, 478 00:24:57,372 --> 00:24:59,833 when the people that actually are head of our state should be doing. 479 00:25:05,255 --> 00:25:06,632 No, they didn't. They didn't. 480 00:25:07,257 --> 00:25:08,634 Why do we even look for help 481 00:25:09,134 --> 00:25:11,720 if we knew it was help-- wasn't help in the very beginning? 482 00:25:11,803 --> 00:25:13,972 George Bush took a plane 483 00:25:14,056 --> 00:25:18,060 and, um, you know, did a tour over the area 484 00:25:18,143 --> 00:25:21,772 and he said something about the FEMA director was doing a good job. 485 00:25:21,855 --> 00:25:23,607 Again, I wanna thank you all for-- 486 00:25:23,690 --> 00:25:25,484 And, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. 487 00:25:26,026 --> 00:25:28,028 The FEMA director's working 24-- 488 00:25:29,571 --> 00:25:30,906 He must be crazy. 489 00:25:30,989 --> 00:25:33,951 They're not doing a good job. These people are suffering. 490 00:25:34,034 --> 00:25:36,745 When Kanye said that, it hit home. 491 00:25:36,828 --> 00:25:40,415 [Jeezy] The quote, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people" 492 00:25:40,916 --> 00:25:44,503 is one of the most memorable lines in hip-hop history. 493 00:25:44,878 --> 00:25:47,422 It landed on the White House like a bomb. 494 00:25:47,714 --> 00:25:51,218 Trust and believe, the president felt the blast. 495 00:25:51,301 --> 00:25:53,178 Called me a racist and I didn't appreciate it then 496 00:25:53,262 --> 00:25:55,138 and I don't, I don't appreciate it now. 497 00:25:55,514 --> 00:25:56,765 It's one thing to say, you know, 498 00:25:56,849 --> 00:25:59,101 I don't appreciate the way he's handled his business. 499 00:25:59,726 --> 00:26:01,854 It's another thing to say, this man's a racist. 500 00:26:02,396 --> 00:26:05,148 I resent it. It's not true. 501 00:26:05,232 --> 00:26:07,693 And it's one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency. 502 00:26:08,193 --> 00:26:10,070 George Bush needed to hear that, and he... [chuckles] 503 00:26:10,153 --> 00:26:11,154 and he heard it. 504 00:26:11,238 --> 00:26:12,573 It had a powerful effect 505 00:26:12,656 --> 00:26:15,534 and that's how powerful hip-hop had become. 506 00:26:15,617 --> 00:26:17,828 Bush's response was fascinating. 507 00:26:17,911 --> 00:26:21,164 The question was, what was the most, uh, 508 00:26:21,248 --> 00:26:23,625 controversial moment of your presidency or something like that. 509 00:26:23,709 --> 00:26:25,043 He asked him, right? 510 00:26:25,127 --> 00:26:29,548 And so it's deep that he's sitting there and that's what he thinks of. 511 00:26:29,631 --> 00:26:31,508 You know what I thought of when he's in Egypt 512 00:26:31,592 --> 00:26:32,968 or somewhere in the Middle East 513 00:26:33,051 --> 00:26:35,179 and somebody throws a shoe at him, right? 514 00:26:35,262 --> 00:26:37,556 I was like, "Well, damn, what about the shoe?" 515 00:26:37,639 --> 00:26:40,976 You had a shoe thrown at you during a press conference 516 00:26:41,059 --> 00:26:43,061 and you still talking about Kanye? 517 00:26:43,395 --> 00:26:47,274 Kanye was, in a moment, um, just a catalyst for a truth 518 00:26:47,357 --> 00:26:49,776 that needed to be screamed the way that it was. 519 00:26:49,860 --> 00:26:54,448 Very influential, legendary moment that I don't think you forget. 520 00:26:55,616 --> 00:26:57,117 [interviewer] Bush is in his second term. 521 00:26:57,201 --> 00:26:59,036 Tell me about where you were in your career. 522 00:26:59,369 --> 00:27:00,454 I was thuggin'. 523 00:27:00,537 --> 00:27:01,622 [chuckles] Shit. 524 00:27:01,705 --> 00:27:04,958 I was, uh, relentlessly in the streets, you know what I'm saying? 525 00:27:05,042 --> 00:27:06,793 I was a totally different individual 526 00:27:07,294 --> 00:27:09,213 and I was trying to get out of the struggle 527 00:27:09,296 --> 00:27:11,757 and also, like, taking the music thing seriously. 528 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:16,261 I was... getting outside of my circle, you know what I'm saying? 529 00:27:16,345 --> 00:27:19,890 Just outside of just the street politics. 530 00:27:19,973 --> 00:27:23,393 So I got credit cards and things so I can move around to some nice places. 531 00:27:23,477 --> 00:27:26,897 Once I got in the rooms, I started asking the questions, right? 532 00:27:26,980 --> 00:27:29,900 I always like to consider myself the people's champ, right? 533 00:27:30,317 --> 00:27:34,154 And my job is to get the information back to the culture. 534 00:27:34,238 --> 00:27:38,325 I connected it in a way that I would say 535 00:27:38,951 --> 00:27:43,622 when I was listening to music that Pac and N.W.A, 536 00:27:44,414 --> 00:27:45,707 and those guys connected me 537 00:27:45,791 --> 00:27:49,336 because it was in the language that I speak 538 00:27:49,419 --> 00:27:52,506 for people who have been following my movement. 539 00:27:52,589 --> 00:27:54,591 They're like, "Hold up, if he's concerned about this 540 00:27:54,675 --> 00:27:56,426 "and if he's feeling like this is important, 541 00:27:56,885 --> 00:27:59,721 um, then maybe I should check into it." 542 00:27:59,805 --> 00:28:01,598 And that's when I wrote The Recession. 543 00:28:01,682 --> 00:28:04,518 What an extraordinary weekend on the campaign trail 544 00:28:04,601 --> 00:28:08,605 with two leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination 545 00:28:08,689 --> 00:28:10,274 campaigning full-bore, 546 00:28:10,357 --> 00:28:14,027 even though the general election is more than a year and a half away. 547 00:28:14,111 --> 00:28:16,947 Barack Obama, who formally announced on Saturday 548 00:28:17,030 --> 00:28:19,867 and Hillary Clinton are pulling no punches. 549 00:28:19,950 --> 00:28:23,662 [newscaster] Senator Barack Obama is watching Black political leaders 550 00:28:23,745 --> 00:28:26,498 throw support to Hillary Clinton, and why? 551 00:28:26,582 --> 00:28:29,084 They have said publicly they don't think America 552 00:28:29,168 --> 00:28:31,545 is ready to elect a Black candidate. 553 00:28:32,045 --> 00:28:35,591 [Chideya] He was on the struggle bus for the first part 554 00:28:35,674 --> 00:28:39,428 of the 2008 campaign and he did need hip-hop. 555 00:28:39,511 --> 00:28:42,806 He did need a validation of his Blackness 556 00:28:42,890 --> 00:28:45,184 and his viability with Black voters. 557 00:28:45,267 --> 00:28:47,477 And Black voters were very slow to warm to him. 558 00:28:47,561 --> 00:28:49,605 Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Jay-Z. 559 00:28:49,688 --> 00:28:51,815 I mean this, this new American Gangster, 560 00:28:51,899 --> 00:28:55,527 it tells a story and, uh, and, you know, 561 00:28:55,611 --> 00:28:57,070 uh, you know, he's... 562 00:28:57,154 --> 00:28:59,740 as Jay would say, "He got flow." 563 00:28:59,823 --> 00:29:03,744 Honestly, I love the art of hip-hop. 564 00:29:04,203 --> 00:29:05,787 I don't always love the message of hip-hop, 565 00:29:05,871 --> 00:29:07,623 sometimes degrading to women, 566 00:29:08,540 --> 00:29:11,502 not only uses the N-word a little too frequently, 567 00:29:11,585 --> 00:29:14,213 but also something I'm really concerned about 568 00:29:14,755 --> 00:29:16,673 is always talking about material things. 569 00:29:16,757 --> 00:29:19,593 We organize a fundraiser for Obama. 570 00:29:19,676 --> 00:29:21,803 I think we raised $250,000 or something 571 00:29:21,887 --> 00:29:23,430 with the thinking that we were gonna be able 572 00:29:23,514 --> 00:29:26,517 to meet and bring the issues of the hip-hop community 573 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:28,894 before the would-be next president. 574 00:29:28,977 --> 00:29:30,521 But he wouldn't meet with us. 575 00:29:30,604 --> 00:29:32,147 So we didn't give him the money. 576 00:29:32,231 --> 00:29:35,776 [Jeezy] Obama was being careful not to offend certain voters 577 00:29:35,859 --> 00:29:37,194 by getting too close to hip-hop, 578 00:29:38,070 --> 00:29:40,197 but he knew how to send us a message. 579 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,407 When you're running for the presidency, 580 00:29:42,824 --> 00:29:44,451 then you've gotta expect it. 581 00:29:45,035 --> 00:29:47,454 Uh, and, you know, you've just gotta kinda let it... 582 00:29:47,538 --> 00:29:50,207 -[♪ hip-hop music playing] -[crowd cheering] 583 00:29:50,290 --> 00:29:51,291 You know. 584 00:29:52,793 --> 00:29:55,796 That was him telling us like, "Go to the polls 585 00:29:55,879 --> 00:29:58,340 "because I am, I am totally in tune. 586 00:29:58,423 --> 00:29:59,633 "I'm in the car with you, 587 00:29:59,716 --> 00:30:01,134 so I need you to be in the car with me." 588 00:30:01,218 --> 00:30:03,554 He's a real nigga! [laughs] 589 00:30:06,348 --> 00:30:08,475 Yeah, bro, that's what I thought, bro. 590 00:30:08,559 --> 00:30:11,019 If you know, you know, some people might have saw him do that 591 00:30:11,103 --> 00:30:13,355 and thought, "Oh, okay," they might not have known 'cause... 592 00:30:13,438 --> 00:30:16,316 ♪ You better get that dirt off your shoulders ♪ 593 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:17,985 Like, they don't know that that was an anthem. 594 00:30:18,068 --> 00:30:22,489 Obama really did need some shine from, from the streets. 595 00:30:23,031 --> 00:30:24,992 How did I become aware of Barack Obama? 596 00:30:25,826 --> 00:30:30,289 Uh, I was sitting in this, um, restaurant we love in Atlanta... 597 00:30:30,956 --> 00:30:32,708 um, called Spondivits. 598 00:30:32,791 --> 00:30:37,296 And he was on the news channel 599 00:30:37,379 --> 00:30:39,840 and when I heard him speak it, it, it felt like 600 00:30:39,923 --> 00:30:42,217 he was talking to and for me. 601 00:30:42,926 --> 00:30:43,969 And I was like, "Damn." 602 00:30:44,052 --> 00:30:45,345 Like, I've never... 603 00:30:47,431 --> 00:30:49,641 felt like I can connect with somebody 604 00:30:49,725 --> 00:30:51,351 that could possibly be the president 605 00:30:51,810 --> 00:30:54,646 and I would find myself, like, catching stuff he said online 606 00:30:54,730 --> 00:30:57,566 or catching stuff that he was saying on the news channels. 607 00:30:57,649 --> 00:31:01,153 Like, I'm just like, "Man, like, I really believe in his heart, 608 00:31:01,236 --> 00:31:02,988 like, he really wants to make a change." 609 00:31:03,322 --> 00:31:05,991 [Bun B] I think with Obama, I saw myself. 610 00:31:06,074 --> 00:31:10,037 It was very clear that he identified in a Black man 611 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,789 and he was very deeply entrenched in Black culture. 612 00:31:12,873 --> 00:31:17,211 I definitely wanted to make sure I'm not only on the right side of history, 613 00:31:17,294 --> 00:31:19,296 but I was active in the moment. 614 00:31:19,922 --> 00:31:22,174 We felt like Obama had spoken to us 615 00:31:22,257 --> 00:31:23,759 and we wanted to make sure that the people 616 00:31:23,842 --> 00:31:26,803 who maybe were not tuned in politically 617 00:31:26,887 --> 00:31:29,389 like we were understood the message. 618 00:31:29,473 --> 00:31:31,808 Like, hey, you must not know. 619 00:31:31,892 --> 00:31:34,061 Like, this is a new time, this is a new age. 620 00:31:34,144 --> 00:31:37,105 This the man right here. Y'all need to come on in. 621 00:31:37,189 --> 00:31:38,815 Barack Obama for me, 622 00:31:39,399 --> 00:31:41,944 this is respectfully, I say this about the president. 623 00:31:42,027 --> 00:31:44,404 I never, I never had a-a feeling 624 00:31:44,488 --> 00:31:45,781 that he would change nothing. 625 00:31:46,532 --> 00:31:49,159 I-I just, I-I literally just knew like, 626 00:31:49,243 --> 00:31:51,119 bro, this man is not about to change shit. 627 00:31:51,203 --> 00:31:54,498 One of my first art projects is literally a portrait of Barack Obama, 628 00:31:54,581 --> 00:31:55,666 and I did it in sixth grade. 629 00:31:55,749 --> 00:31:59,044 The idea of a Black president to an 11-year-old kid, 630 00:31:59,127 --> 00:32:02,548 an 11-year-old Black kid who lives in Montgomery, Alabama. 631 00:32:02,631 --> 00:32:05,300 Um... We were ready. 632 00:32:05,384 --> 00:32:08,887 It was like, I, I was aware, hyperaware of racism 633 00:32:08,971 --> 00:32:12,266 and, and, um... segregation 634 00:32:12,349 --> 00:32:16,436 and, and things that had plagued my hometown 635 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,106 and also our history as a people. 636 00:32:19,189 --> 00:32:23,527 Uh, so the idea that we were gonna have one in the White House, 637 00:32:23,610 --> 00:32:26,196 it was like, oh, like, y'all finna-- 638 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:27,364 Everything's about to change. 639 00:32:28,198 --> 00:32:29,992 The Recession album was done. 640 00:32:30,492 --> 00:32:31,994 And I hear this, this beat 641 00:32:32,995 --> 00:32:35,163 and I'm just walking around the house 642 00:32:36,373 --> 00:32:38,959 and I keep singing in my head, "My president is Black," 643 00:32:39,042 --> 00:32:40,043 and I look at my man, I say, 644 00:32:40,127 --> 00:32:42,713 "Yo, I'ma go to the studio and drop this." 645 00:32:42,796 --> 00:32:44,965 And he was like, "Man, the album's done. You know the..." 646 00:32:45,048 --> 00:32:47,050 I said, "No, I'm just gonna cut it 'cause I, 'cause I feel it." 647 00:32:47,134 --> 00:32:50,429 So later on that day we go to the studio, knock it out 648 00:32:50,512 --> 00:32:51,638 and I'm like, "Yo, this is it. 649 00:32:51,722 --> 00:32:52,973 This is how I'ma end the album." 650 00:32:53,056 --> 00:32:54,183 ♪ My president is Black ♪ 651 00:32:54,266 --> 00:32:55,893 ♪ My Lambo's blue ♪ 652 00:32:55,976 --> 00:32:59,062 ♪ And I be... if my rims ain't too ♪ 653 00:32:59,146 --> 00:33:02,191 ♪ My mama ain't at home and daddy's still in jail ♪ 654 00:33:02,274 --> 00:33:04,902 ♪ Tryin' to make a plate, ain't nobody seen the... ♪ 655 00:33:04,985 --> 00:33:06,153 ♪ My president is... ♪ 656 00:33:06,236 --> 00:33:08,780 Everybody that was in the studio was like, "It sounds good, 657 00:33:08,864 --> 00:33:11,575 "but, uh, if he doesn't win, you gonna look crazy 658 00:33:11,658 --> 00:33:13,702 "'cause the album comes out now 659 00:33:13,785 --> 00:33:15,746 "and, and, and, and it's gonna be like, you know, 660 00:33:15,829 --> 00:33:18,498 almost five months away from the, um, from the election." 661 00:33:18,582 --> 00:33:20,292 You know, I was like, "No, he's gonna win." 662 00:33:20,375 --> 00:33:21,543 [chuckles] You know what I'm saying? 663 00:33:21,627 --> 00:33:22,920 Like, he's-he's gonna win the election. 664 00:33:23,003 --> 00:33:26,548 Young Jeezy fuckin' elected President Obama. 665 00:33:27,007 --> 00:33:30,844 He definitely, like, got more people to the polls with a song. 666 00:33:30,928 --> 00:33:33,764 People who never planned on going to the polls. 667 00:33:33,847 --> 00:33:36,308 I'm like, "Oh, you're here because of Jeezy." Like, this... 668 00:33:36,391 --> 00:33:38,560 "You've never, you've never done this before. 669 00:33:38,644 --> 00:33:40,229 I got you, but we're glad to have you." 670 00:33:40,312 --> 00:33:42,940 When he won, I jumped in my Lamborghini, 671 00:33:43,941 --> 00:33:47,694 I drove through the city, I went on Peachtree, let my doors up. 672 00:33:48,487 --> 00:33:49,947 I was playing My President is Black. 673 00:33:50,030 --> 00:33:52,407 Everybody was, you know, just, it was like a parade. 674 00:33:52,491 --> 00:33:54,660 Everybody's like, "We did it, Jeezy, we did it." 675 00:33:54,743 --> 00:33:55,911 I'm like, "Yeah, we did it." 676 00:33:56,495 --> 00:34:01,250 Every car, every house, every apartment. 677 00:34:02,584 --> 00:34:04,253 It's, it's like, that's all you heard. 678 00:34:04,878 --> 00:34:06,046 That's all you heard. 679 00:34:06,171 --> 00:34:08,882 [♪ "My President Is Black" remix by Jay-Z playing] 680 00:34:10,384 --> 00:34:11,468 The show of love, 681 00:34:11,552 --> 00:34:13,136 they knew who I was in that room, 682 00:34:13,762 --> 00:34:14,972 the man of the hour. 683 00:34:15,055 --> 00:34:17,266 And mind you, nobody know Jay-Z did the remix. 684 00:34:17,349 --> 00:34:19,017 I had been, you know, celebration. 685 00:34:19,101 --> 00:34:20,477 I, I was lit, you know what I'm saying? 686 00:34:20,561 --> 00:34:22,771 I was, you know, about five bottles in. 687 00:34:22,855 --> 00:34:26,024 So I might have said some things that was, uh, on my heart. 688 00:34:26,108 --> 00:34:27,234 [Jeezy laughs] 689 00:34:27,317 --> 00:34:31,238 My president is motherfucking Black, nigga! 690 00:34:31,321 --> 00:34:32,447 [cheering] 691 00:34:32,531 --> 00:34:35,534 It was bigger than just the song, uh, you know, 692 00:34:35,617 --> 00:34:37,244 this was a moment in time for us 693 00:34:37,327 --> 00:34:39,580 and I felt like, you know, 694 00:34:39,663 --> 00:34:41,707 this, this was the one time I could do some good. 695 00:34:41,790 --> 00:34:42,916 You know what I'm saying? 696 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:44,168 And, and we did. We did good. 697 00:34:45,252 --> 00:34:49,131 It's an honor, uh, to be here in the White House Library 698 00:34:49,214 --> 00:34:51,508 NPR Music presents Common. 699 00:34:51,592 --> 00:34:52,676 [Common] Thank you. 700 00:34:52,759 --> 00:34:54,011 -Beautiful. -Thank you so much. 701 00:34:54,970 --> 00:34:56,471 ♪ Freedom ♪ 702 00:34:57,181 --> 00:34:59,183 ♪ Freedom come ♪ 703 00:34:59,933 --> 00:35:04,771 ♪ Hold on, won't be long ♪ 704 00:35:05,314 --> 00:35:07,482 ♪ Freedom ♪ 705 00:35:08,108 --> 00:35:10,319 ♪ Freedom come ♪ 706 00:35:10,944 --> 00:35:15,866 ♪ Hold on, won't be long ♪ 707 00:35:16,658 --> 00:35:18,243 Man, the emotions... 708 00:35:18,952 --> 00:35:21,496 and feelings I had walking into the White House 709 00:35:22,414 --> 00:35:25,959 to greet President Barack Obama 710 00:35:26,293 --> 00:35:28,212 and First Lady Michelle Obama. 711 00:35:28,712 --> 00:35:30,756 I was overwhelmed and, 712 00:35:30,839 --> 00:35:35,511 and I had this spiritual feeling that like... 713 00:35:37,095 --> 00:35:40,516 "What did I do to be able to get here?" 714 00:35:42,559 --> 00:35:45,229 [rapping] ♪ We let go to free them so we could free us ♪ 715 00:35:45,312 --> 00:35:47,439 ♪ America's moment to come to Jesus, come on ♪ 716 00:35:47,523 --> 00:35:50,526 The journey hip-hop has taken from the back house to the White House. 717 00:35:51,443 --> 00:35:54,029 It makes me think about our ancestors. 718 00:35:54,112 --> 00:35:56,031 They helped build that White House 719 00:35:56,114 --> 00:35:58,283 and at a time where we were enslaved. 720 00:35:58,784 --> 00:36:02,538 The progress that we've made as Black people 721 00:36:02,621 --> 00:36:04,790 in, in this country, 722 00:36:05,290 --> 00:36:07,376 Black and brown when it comes to hip-hop, 723 00:36:07,459 --> 00:36:08,794 it's one of the greatest gifts. 724 00:36:08,877 --> 00:36:11,088 And we did it, like, we did it. 725 00:36:11,171 --> 00:36:13,841 It was life-blowing, mind-blowing. 726 00:36:14,299 --> 00:36:16,134 It shook my soul in a good way. 727 00:36:19,221 --> 00:36:20,931 Obama was the first hip-hop president. 728 00:36:21,014 --> 00:36:24,434 He understood that the hip-hop culture was here 729 00:36:24,518 --> 00:36:26,687 and that it was having great influence. 730 00:36:26,770 --> 00:36:28,230 And he identified with that. 731 00:36:28,313 --> 00:36:30,899 Obama just swagged out, dawg. You know what I'm saying? 732 00:36:30,983 --> 00:36:34,444 Obama just, he be hooping, you know what I'm saying? 733 00:36:34,528 --> 00:36:36,113 Athletes and hip-hop, we go together. 734 00:36:36,196 --> 00:36:39,366 The struggle that, that artists talk about in their music, 735 00:36:39,449 --> 00:36:41,869 we have that same struggle, we have that same grind. 736 00:36:41,952 --> 00:36:44,997 You use your life and what you've been through and your struggles 737 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:46,456 and you try to make that your future. 738 00:36:46,540 --> 00:36:49,376 My first trip to the White House was crazy 739 00:36:49,459 --> 00:36:52,462 because, you know, this was his first term. 740 00:36:52,546 --> 00:36:55,674 He's a hooper. And so, we were like, "Hey, you trying to hoop?" 741 00:36:55,757 --> 00:36:57,759 So we played HORSE with him at the White House. 742 00:36:57,843 --> 00:36:59,845 I'm not gonna lie, he got a little J. 743 00:36:59,928 --> 00:37:01,096 He has a little J on him. 744 00:37:01,180 --> 00:37:02,723 He be doing all this like... [chuckles] 745 00:37:02,806 --> 00:37:04,558 Like, he like a, uh, 746 00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:06,643 like Obama, like a uncle. 747 00:37:07,561 --> 00:37:09,229 Uncle Obama. What up, dawg? 748 00:37:09,730 --> 00:37:11,607 How you doing today, man? You good? 749 00:37:12,441 --> 00:37:14,109 Obama was tapped in, bro. 750 00:37:14,193 --> 00:37:17,029 [Jeezy] Obama did what any smart brother would do. 751 00:37:17,112 --> 00:37:19,239 Hip-hop helped him get elected. 752 00:37:19,615 --> 00:37:21,200 So he returned the favor. 753 00:37:21,950 --> 00:37:23,869 Obama became the first president 754 00:37:23,952 --> 00:37:27,664 to invite multiple rappers into the White House. 755 00:37:27,748 --> 00:37:29,625 You have a Black man in the White House, 756 00:37:29,708 --> 00:37:31,335 you have hip-hop as a global force 757 00:37:31,752 --> 00:37:34,922 and you have it all together in perfect configuration. 758 00:37:35,005 --> 00:37:37,799 They formed this incredible phalanx 759 00:37:37,883 --> 00:37:41,553 of institutional arts and culture and politics. 760 00:37:41,637 --> 00:37:46,141 There was this mutual admiration of powerful forces 761 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,310 and I think it really stunned a lot of people. 762 00:37:48,393 --> 00:37:53,482 That's how you knew that he was your brother 763 00:37:53,941 --> 00:37:57,653 because he did what your brother would do if he got into a good position. 764 00:37:58,111 --> 00:37:59,112 Your homey gonna call you. 765 00:37:59,196 --> 00:38:01,907 "Yo, I'm in this big ass house, and they got TV there, 766 00:38:01,990 --> 00:38:03,075 I think you could just pull up." 767 00:38:03,158 --> 00:38:04,368 I'm gonna keep it a book, you know? 768 00:38:04,451 --> 00:38:06,203 'Cause I ain't gonna do nothing that ain't a hundred. 769 00:38:06,537 --> 00:38:09,081 When I saw Obama inviting all those rappers, 770 00:38:09,164 --> 00:38:11,834 I was a little offended, you know what I'm saying? 771 00:38:11,917 --> 00:38:14,086 Because I'm like, "Hey, how you not gonna invite your man?" 772 00:38:14,169 --> 00:38:17,130 My team gets a call from somebody from Obama's camp, 773 00:38:17,297 --> 00:38:20,551 um, and they just wanted to thank us for all the work we've done. 774 00:38:21,218 --> 00:38:24,596 And there was a correspondence dinner that happened in New York, 775 00:38:25,264 --> 00:38:26,431 and I'm like, "Yeah, when I see him, 776 00:38:26,515 --> 00:38:28,809 we gonna dap like this and we gonna hug like that." 777 00:38:28,892 --> 00:38:31,812 And, and I remember my security talking to Secret Service 778 00:38:31,895 --> 00:38:34,356 and I just, the whole time they were just shaking their head. 779 00:38:34,439 --> 00:38:36,942 They're saying, "You can't be even here. 780 00:38:37,025 --> 00:38:38,360 Like, you gotta get off the premises." 781 00:38:38,443 --> 00:38:40,445 And I'm like, "Off the premises"? 782 00:38:40,904 --> 00:38:42,781 They did a thorough background check on me. 783 00:38:42,865 --> 00:38:44,533 I took it personal a little bit, I did. 784 00:38:44,616 --> 00:38:46,493 I just was like, "Damn, you know, like... 785 00:38:46,577 --> 00:38:48,579 you know, they don't see me." You know what I'm saying? 786 00:38:48,662 --> 00:38:50,080 He don't see me. You know what I'm saying? 787 00:38:50,163 --> 00:38:52,207 I had to really, like, sit back 788 00:38:52,291 --> 00:38:54,084 and look inward and be like, "Okay, this is my moment 789 00:38:54,168 --> 00:38:57,129 "to accept that because you know my past is my past, I can't change that. 790 00:38:57,212 --> 00:38:58,547 I can just work on my future." 791 00:39:00,340 --> 00:39:02,259 In April 2016, 792 00:39:02,676 --> 00:39:06,471 Obama brought artists to discuss criminal justice reform. 793 00:39:06,555 --> 00:39:10,809 J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, Common, Ludacris, 794 00:39:10,893 --> 00:39:16,106 Wale, Chance the Rapper, Alicia Keys, DJ Khaled, 795 00:39:16,190 --> 00:39:19,651 Timbaland, Busta, Pusha T and Rick Ross. 796 00:39:19,735 --> 00:39:22,070 So inspiring, so motivational. 797 00:39:22,154 --> 00:39:23,155 White House, baby. 798 00:39:23,238 --> 00:39:25,282 You could see the, the pictures on the walls 799 00:39:25,365 --> 00:39:26,658 and, and think like, 800 00:39:27,409 --> 00:39:31,371 they never thought that we would be meeting in here. 801 00:39:31,455 --> 00:39:33,749 They never thought that we would have the, 802 00:39:33,832 --> 00:39:36,335 the power and the voice that we had and, 803 00:39:36,418 --> 00:39:38,003 and the expression that we had 804 00:39:38,337 --> 00:39:40,255 in that room in the White House. 805 00:39:40,339 --> 00:39:42,174 So the talks were really in depth 806 00:39:42,257 --> 00:39:44,384 and we were getting into it. 807 00:39:44,927 --> 00:39:46,678 And, um, this beeping starts to go off. 808 00:39:46,762 --> 00:39:50,015 President Obama was like, "Wait, what? What? What's that? 809 00:39:50,098 --> 00:39:51,475 Wait, what is that?" 810 00:39:51,558 --> 00:39:55,062 And then Rick Ross was like, "Yo, that's my, my ankle monitor," you know. 811 00:39:55,145 --> 00:39:57,940 President Obama said, "Wow, we really keeping it real here." 812 00:39:58,023 --> 00:39:59,024 [laughs] 813 00:39:59,107 --> 00:40:01,527 I don't know if they had that in the White House ever. 814 00:40:01,610 --> 00:40:04,279 A bunch of people went in the White House with Obama. 815 00:40:04,988 --> 00:40:07,866 We don't know what happened. All we saw is pictures. 816 00:40:09,576 --> 00:40:11,453 I ain't seen no list of demands. 817 00:40:12,746 --> 00:40:14,790 This is supposed to be our guy. 818 00:40:15,290 --> 00:40:18,752 Why are we not privy to what going on inside? 819 00:40:18,836 --> 00:40:22,172 That is a question that I asked myself when I saw rappers at the White House. 820 00:40:22,256 --> 00:40:26,635 "What is happening?" And you never really get an answer. 821 00:40:26,718 --> 00:40:30,264 Are we in the inside or are we just being shuffled along? 822 00:40:30,347 --> 00:40:32,266 I know what it's doing for Barack. 823 00:40:32,349 --> 00:40:33,851 I know what it's doing for the presidency. 824 00:40:33,934 --> 00:40:37,062 Can we affect the policy? 825 00:40:37,145 --> 00:40:39,773 There's a lot of people come in that room and do nothing in that room. 826 00:40:39,857 --> 00:40:41,650 How do we affect the change? 827 00:40:41,733 --> 00:40:44,528 Obama kinda has tried to play both sides of the fence. 828 00:40:44,611 --> 00:40:45,779 He's being a politician. 829 00:40:45,863 --> 00:40:48,699 Sometimes he's fighting for us, sometimes he's using us. 830 00:40:48,782 --> 00:40:54,121 One of the most controlled examples really is that Jay-Z and Obama ad. 831 00:40:54,204 --> 00:40:55,289 [cheering] 832 00:40:55,372 --> 00:40:58,166 To me the idea of America is that no matter who you are, 833 00:40:58,250 --> 00:40:59,960 what you look like or where you come from, 834 00:41:00,043 --> 00:41:01,545 you can make it if you try. 835 00:41:02,171 --> 00:41:03,255 Jay-Z did. 836 00:41:03,338 --> 00:41:05,132 He didn't come from power or privilege. 837 00:41:05,215 --> 00:41:06,758 He got ahead because he worked hard, 838 00:41:06,842 --> 00:41:09,720 learned from his mistakes and just plain refused to quit. 839 00:41:10,053 --> 00:41:15,601 It's such a tightly structured, well-thought-through political ad 840 00:41:15,684 --> 00:41:19,479 and it definitely tries to play with 841 00:41:19,897 --> 00:41:23,692 what does hip-hop want and what are we not gonna give it? 842 00:41:23,775 --> 00:41:26,069 He's talking about the American dream. 843 00:41:26,153 --> 00:41:28,697 Anybody can make it in America. 844 00:41:28,780 --> 00:41:31,825 And that's, that's really not our message 845 00:41:31,909 --> 00:41:33,243 when it comes to hip-hop. 846 00:41:33,785 --> 00:41:36,830 Hip-hop got in common with President Obama is that... 847 00:41:38,207 --> 00:41:39,416 he got ice in his veins. 848 00:41:39,499 --> 00:41:43,420 Like, you can tell somewhere down the line he know what's up, 849 00:41:43,504 --> 00:41:45,631 and that's what hip-hop is, knowing what's up. 850 00:41:46,089 --> 00:41:48,050 And my mom called me and she was like, 851 00:41:48,133 --> 00:41:52,679 "Baby, did you hear the president shout you out last night?" 852 00:41:52,763 --> 00:41:54,223 And I said, "Well, you know, 853 00:41:54,306 --> 00:41:56,099 I don't really think he rock with me like that, Mama." 854 00:41:56,183 --> 00:41:57,559 And she's like, "No, he shouted you out." 855 00:41:57,643 --> 00:42:01,104 She sent it to me and I, and I press play. 856 00:42:01,188 --> 00:42:03,232 In my first term, I sang Al Green. 857 00:42:04,191 --> 00:42:07,402 In my second term I'm going with Young Jeezy. 858 00:42:07,486 --> 00:42:08,695 [laughter] 859 00:42:08,779 --> 00:42:09,780 Obama out. 860 00:42:09,988 --> 00:42:11,990 [laughter and applause] 861 00:42:12,074 --> 00:42:13,075 [mouths] Thank you. 862 00:42:13,158 --> 00:42:14,993 I'm just like, "Oh, wow." 863 00:42:15,452 --> 00:42:18,497 He said, "Michelle likes that when I sing that to her at night." 864 00:42:18,997 --> 00:42:21,333 That there to me was that salute 865 00:42:21,416 --> 00:42:22,584 and head nod from a distance. 866 00:42:22,668 --> 00:42:26,171 Like, "I see you, I appreciate you, but you know what it is." 867 00:42:26,255 --> 00:42:27,923 And that's why I said he got ice in his veins. 868 00:42:28,006 --> 00:42:30,467 Only somebody with ice in their veins 869 00:42:30,551 --> 00:42:34,388 would know to give you a nod from a distance that, "I see you, 870 00:42:34,471 --> 00:42:36,223 I see you," you know. 871 00:42:38,308 --> 00:42:39,726 Obama was hip-hop. 872 00:42:39,810 --> 00:42:42,062 Obama was incredibly hip-hop. 873 00:42:42,771 --> 00:42:44,773 [Bun B] Meeting Obama was crazy. 874 00:42:44,857 --> 00:42:47,192 So soft spoken, such... 875 00:42:47,860 --> 00:42:50,320 such reverence in his presence, 876 00:42:50,904 --> 00:42:53,115 um, without being imposing, 877 00:42:53,866 --> 00:42:56,660 um, just such an amazing human being to meet, 878 00:42:56,743 --> 00:42:59,079 if not for 30 seconds, right? 879 00:42:59,162 --> 00:43:02,416 But it was everything I wanted the moment to be. 880 00:43:02,499 --> 00:43:03,667 I cherish it to this day. 881 00:43:03,750 --> 00:43:05,627 [YG] I mean, the handshakes he used to give people, 882 00:43:05,711 --> 00:43:07,129 you know what I'm saying? I'm like, "Yeah!" 883 00:43:07,212 --> 00:43:09,715 Like, like, it was just good to see, like, 884 00:43:10,465 --> 00:43:14,678 to see, like, a Black president and he acting like us. 885 00:43:14,761 --> 00:43:15,762 You know what I'm saying? 886 00:43:15,846 --> 00:43:18,223 I wouldn't be surprised if he had, like, a little book 887 00:43:18,307 --> 00:43:19,850 of Obama rhymes somewhere. 888 00:43:20,184 --> 00:43:23,687 Obama was naturally just a cool motherfucker. 889 00:43:24,021 --> 00:43:26,899 He loves the culture, he respects the art form. 890 00:43:27,107 --> 00:43:29,902 Um, he cares about his music. 891 00:43:29,985 --> 00:43:32,613 In 2020, Obama put me on his summer playlist. 892 00:43:32,696 --> 00:43:34,698 I wrote CROWN when I was 19 years old 893 00:43:34,781 --> 00:43:39,161 and I, I just graduated high school and I did not know 894 00:43:39,244 --> 00:43:43,540 whether or not my dreams would ever come to fruition. 895 00:43:43,624 --> 00:43:45,667 Literally me being like, I'm gonna have to-- 896 00:43:45,751 --> 00:43:47,961 I, I love this too much to not pursue it. 897 00:43:48,045 --> 00:43:49,922 That's probably why Obama was listening to it. 898 00:43:50,005 --> 00:43:51,089 I think that's what it is. 899 00:43:51,173 --> 00:43:52,633 He's like, "How can I be president?" 900 00:43:52,716 --> 00:43:54,635 But then he did it. I'm proud of him. 901 00:43:54,718 --> 00:43:56,595 Hi, Obama. [laughs] 902 00:44:00,015 --> 00:44:01,141 When Barack was in the office 903 00:44:01,225 --> 00:44:04,311 and it was like the second to the last party when, 904 00:44:04,394 --> 00:44:05,562 before he left the White House. 905 00:44:05,646 --> 00:44:07,731 Well, I was like, I'ma play the hardest record I got now 906 00:44:07,814 --> 00:44:09,149 -to see what you... You know. -Right. 907 00:44:09,233 --> 00:44:12,110 And I put on M.O.P.'s Ante Up in the White House and-- 908 00:44:12,194 --> 00:44:13,237 No, you did not! 909 00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:15,447 And the floor was like vibrating. People went crazy. 910 00:44:15,531 --> 00:44:16,990 -And I was like, "Oh, God." -[exhales deeply] 911 00:44:17,491 --> 00:44:19,952 And that was just incredible 912 00:44:20,035 --> 00:44:24,790 because he was playing Mobb Deep and, and Mary J. and, like, 913 00:44:25,457 --> 00:44:30,379 and M.O.P. and, like, you know, Black Moon in the White House 914 00:44:30,462 --> 00:44:33,131 and people were really dancing and celebrating. 915 00:44:33,215 --> 00:44:35,676 It was like one of those things where you, you look around 916 00:44:35,759 --> 00:44:39,096 and say, "Do you see what's going on in this place?" 917 00:44:39,179 --> 00:44:42,307 I know it's like always used, but you just 918 00:44:42,391 --> 00:44:46,770 can't help but think like, "Never thought that hip-hop would take it this far." 919 00:44:47,563 --> 00:44:48,730 ♪ Ante up ♪ 920 00:44:48,814 --> 00:44:49,982 ♪ Yap that fool ♪ 921 00:44:50,065 --> 00:44:51,233 ♪ Ante up ♪ 922 00:44:51,316 --> 00:44:52,693 ♪ Kidnap that fool ♪ 923 00:44:52,776 --> 00:44:54,903 ♪ It's the perfect timing, you see the man shining ♪ 924 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:57,573 ♪ Get up off them goddamn diamonds ♪ 925 00:44:59,575 --> 00:45:02,035 [♪ hip-hop music playing] 926 00:45:03,495 --> 00:45:05,247 I'm not a political rapper. 927 00:45:05,330 --> 00:45:08,417 Like, my music is not about the politics of the world. 928 00:45:08,917 --> 00:45:12,254 Me and Nipsey, we was in the studio working on a, a project, 929 00:45:12,337 --> 00:45:15,549 we two gang members making it out the city. 930 00:45:15,632 --> 00:45:18,010 You know what I'm saying? From different sides. 931 00:45:18,093 --> 00:45:20,721 We in the studio and the TV on. 932 00:45:20,804 --> 00:45:23,182 This when Donald Trump announced, you know what I'm saying, 933 00:45:23,265 --> 00:45:24,850 he was running for president. 934 00:45:24,933 --> 00:45:27,144 It's like at the beginning of his campaign, 935 00:45:27,227 --> 00:45:30,731 we just started seeing Donald Trump on the TV a lot. 936 00:45:30,814 --> 00:45:32,983 Like, you could tell, like, Obama was a good person, 937 00:45:33,066 --> 00:45:34,067 you know what I'm saying? 938 00:45:34,151 --> 00:45:36,486 How he carried himself, how he talked 939 00:45:36,570 --> 00:45:38,864 and then it go to, like, somebody like Donald Trump 940 00:45:38,947 --> 00:45:41,950 who is just like reckless and talking out the side of his neck, 941 00:45:42,034 --> 00:45:43,577 racist than a motherfucker. 942 00:45:43,660 --> 00:45:45,954 You know, we gotta say something. 943 00:45:46,038 --> 00:45:49,166 Nobody trying to get they shows canceled and be going through-- 944 00:45:49,249 --> 00:45:50,584 We already going through that. 945 00:45:50,667 --> 00:45:52,169 So how worse could it be? 946 00:45:52,252 --> 00:45:53,545 Let's do this. 947 00:45:53,629 --> 00:45:55,172 ♪ Fuck Donald Trump ♪ 948 00:45:56,048 --> 00:45:57,591 ♪ Fuck Donald Trump ♪ 949 00:45:57,925 --> 00:46:00,344 ♪ Yeah, nigga, fuck Donald Trump ♪ 950 00:46:00,427 --> 00:46:02,846 ♪ Yeah, yeah, fuck Donald Trump ♪ 951 00:46:02,930 --> 00:46:05,057 ♪ Yeah, fuck Donald Trump ♪ 952 00:46:05,641 --> 00:46:07,267 ♪ Yeah, fuck Donald Trump ♪ 953 00:46:07,976 --> 00:46:10,395 I love them saying it 954 00:46:10,479 --> 00:46:13,440 because sometimes I felt like I was out there by myself. 955 00:46:13,774 --> 00:46:15,943 I respected it, you know what I'm saying? 956 00:46:16,026 --> 00:46:17,319 Because you know, for the, 957 00:46:17,402 --> 00:46:20,197 for the younger hip-hop generation, he took a stance. 958 00:46:21,323 --> 00:46:23,158 You know what I'm saying? He took a real stance. 959 00:46:23,242 --> 00:46:25,244 It was too catchy too. I'm like, "Damn." 960 00:46:25,661 --> 00:46:27,871 It was like just as easy as "Fuck tha Police." 961 00:46:27,955 --> 00:46:30,707 It was timely. It was unexpected. 962 00:46:30,791 --> 00:46:33,293 And I think that's one of the powerful things about hip-hop. 963 00:46:33,377 --> 00:46:36,463 America politicizes Black people 964 00:46:36,547 --> 00:46:38,757 by its public policy towards Black people. 965 00:46:38,841 --> 00:46:41,301 So you don't have to be a political hip-hop artist 966 00:46:41,385 --> 00:46:42,886 to make a political statement. 967 00:46:43,679 --> 00:46:46,807 [YG] Somebody got a letter from, like, Secret Service, FBI, 968 00:46:46,890 --> 00:46:48,517 like, the White House and shit. 969 00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:50,477 And, like, me and Nip was all in papers, 970 00:46:50,561 --> 00:46:52,229 like, talking about the song, 971 00:46:52,312 --> 00:46:55,440 me and Nip was getting banned from performances 972 00:46:55,524 --> 00:46:57,150 from college campuses. 973 00:46:57,651 --> 00:46:59,152 It was all type of shit going on. 974 00:46:59,236 --> 00:47:01,864 I'm like, "Yeah, I knew this was gonna happen," and you feel me? 975 00:47:01,947 --> 00:47:04,032 We like, "Fuck it, 'cause it's like we stood up." 976 00:47:04,116 --> 00:47:05,450 I believe Trump heard the song. 977 00:47:05,534 --> 00:47:07,327 He had to hear the song if the White House, 978 00:47:07,411 --> 00:47:09,371 if they sending letters out and shit. 979 00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:13,041 They was probably like, "Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Trump, you gotta hear this." 980 00:47:13,125 --> 00:47:14,459 [laughs] 981 00:47:18,755 --> 00:47:21,216 You gotta realize around that time, it was a get money time 982 00:47:21,300 --> 00:47:23,051 and we liked the fact that Trump was getting money. 983 00:47:23,135 --> 00:47:24,261 We loved that. 984 00:47:24,344 --> 00:47:25,429 I had a song called Donald Trump, 985 00:47:25,512 --> 00:47:26,805 and this is the thing you gotta understand, 986 00:47:26,889 --> 00:47:30,017 he was the person we equated with money. 987 00:47:30,100 --> 00:47:33,020 That's all we ever heard about him being tied to, 988 00:47:33,103 --> 00:47:34,271 you know, billions of dollars. 989 00:47:34,354 --> 00:47:35,939 And when I made my song, you know, 990 00:47:36,023 --> 00:47:38,567 I never made that song from the stance of him being the president, 991 00:47:38,650 --> 00:47:40,611 nor did I ever think he would be the president. 992 00:47:40,694 --> 00:47:43,071 That was because I was relating it to the money, right? 993 00:47:43,155 --> 00:47:46,158 And I think, um, in the beginning everybody was doing that. 994 00:47:46,241 --> 00:47:49,661 The Trump presidency as a whole did not have time to blossom. 995 00:47:50,662 --> 00:47:53,207 I think we were onto something at the very end 996 00:47:53,290 --> 00:47:56,835 and I don't think that there was time enough 997 00:47:56,919 --> 00:47:59,880 to kind of get the thing going. 998 00:47:59,963 --> 00:48:02,382 People say he polarized the country. 999 00:48:02,466 --> 00:48:03,467 I don't believe that. 1000 00:48:03,550 --> 00:48:07,429 We got Kanye in the White House saying, "Free Larry Hoover." 1001 00:48:07,513 --> 00:48:08,597 That's powerful to me. 1002 00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:10,724 You know, they tried to scare me 1003 00:48:10,807 --> 00:48:12,976 to not wear this hat, my own friends. 1004 00:48:13,060 --> 00:48:15,103 But this hat, it gives me, 1005 00:48:15,187 --> 00:48:16,647 it gives me power in a way. 1006 00:48:16,730 --> 00:48:18,649 Let me give this guy a hug right here. 1007 00:48:18,732 --> 00:48:20,067 -[laughter] -[shutters snapping] 1008 00:48:20,150 --> 00:48:21,985 -I love this guy right here. Yeah. -That's really... 1009 00:48:22,611 --> 00:48:26,573 There are definitely aspects of Trump's personality and actions 1010 00:48:26,657 --> 00:48:30,244 that call to the baser nature of hip-hop. 1011 00:48:30,327 --> 00:48:32,371 You know, hip-hop is a whole range. 1012 00:48:32,454 --> 00:48:36,166 You have, uh, hip-hop that's explicitly misogynistic. 1013 00:48:36,250 --> 00:48:39,336 Some people in hip-hop who were used to demeaning women 1014 00:48:39,419 --> 00:48:41,255 may have looked at Donald Trump 1015 00:48:41,338 --> 00:48:44,883 and the, "Grab them by the pussy," and all that 1016 00:48:44,967 --> 00:48:47,135 as a feature, not a bug as they say, 1017 00:48:47,219 --> 00:48:49,721 as something to be sought after. 1018 00:48:49,805 --> 00:48:52,724 To have that level of impunity, which a Black man will never have. 1019 00:49:08,574 --> 00:49:09,616 It is the same line that, 1020 00:49:09,700 --> 00:49:12,953 it is, uh, two different artists' interpretation 1021 00:49:13,036 --> 00:49:14,288 of the same view. 1022 00:49:15,038 --> 00:49:18,333 There's no respect for women from either one of those men. 1023 00:49:18,750 --> 00:49:22,838 And, also the fields that they work in 1024 00:49:22,921 --> 00:49:28,051 have historically worked against women. 1025 00:49:28,135 --> 00:49:31,221 I think we're doing ourselves a disservice if we don't ask why that is. 1026 00:49:31,471 --> 00:49:35,893 Um, the root of it all honestly is misogyny and misogynoir. 1027 00:49:35,976 --> 00:49:40,480 And there's... the, the Venn diagram 1028 00:49:40,564 --> 00:49:43,817 that's happening here is really something to be noted. 1029 00:49:44,443 --> 00:49:47,487 You said I ran over to the Trump team 1030 00:49:47,571 --> 00:49:49,031 instead of the Biden team. 1031 00:49:49,114 --> 00:49:50,115 That's just not true. 1032 00:49:50,199 --> 00:49:51,867 -They both contacted me. -Well, but you are working 1033 00:49:51,950 --> 00:49:53,452 with the Trump team instead of the Biden team 1034 00:49:53,535 --> 00:49:54,912 and people giving you heat for it. 1035 00:49:54,995 --> 00:49:56,205 What do you say to them? 1036 00:49:56,830 --> 00:49:58,373 Well, I'm willing to work with both teams, 1037 00:49:58,457 --> 00:50:01,668 but I'm just working with whoever is willing to work with me. 1038 00:50:01,752 --> 00:50:04,630 [Tom Llamas] President Trump is stepping up for a major recording artist. 1039 00:50:04,713 --> 00:50:07,966 A$AP Rocky, a rapper from Harlem imprisoned in Sweden. 1040 00:50:08,050 --> 00:50:11,386 President Trump has issued his final list of presidential pardons. 1041 00:50:11,470 --> 00:50:14,056 Other notable names on the list include rappers, 1042 00:50:14,139 --> 00:50:16,016 Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. 1043 00:50:29,863 --> 00:50:32,032 I knew Wayne had-had a gun case. 1044 00:50:32,115 --> 00:50:34,117 [laughs] 1045 00:50:34,451 --> 00:50:37,120 So I seen that and I was like, "Oh, yeah, he politicking. 1046 00:50:37,746 --> 00:50:39,831 He politicking, he get a pass." 1047 00:50:45,128 --> 00:50:48,090 [interviewer] So growing up, who was the first president of the United States 1048 00:50:48,173 --> 00:50:49,675 that you remember being aware of? 1049 00:50:50,342 --> 00:50:52,469 Uh, Benjamin Franklin. 1050 00:50:52,553 --> 00:50:55,848 [interviewer] Do you remember when N.W.A Fuck tha Police song came out? 1051 00:50:56,390 --> 00:50:58,517 Yeah, but that ain't my vibe, though 1052 00:50:58,600 --> 00:51:00,602 because I'm-- it's too, it's too blatant. 1053 00:51:00,686 --> 00:51:02,187 Like, I'm not that kinda person. 1054 00:51:02,271 --> 00:51:06,024 I stand for love, peace, growth, evolving, never change. 1055 00:51:06,108 --> 00:51:07,526 Barack Obama... 1056 00:51:09,278 --> 00:51:11,405 -Alright, I gotta say this. -[interviewer] Yeah. 1057 00:51:11,488 --> 00:51:12,948 It's a lot of people, right... 1058 00:51:14,241 --> 00:51:16,326 respectfully, that's not Black. 1059 00:51:16,952 --> 00:51:19,037 Barack Obama's not from the hood of America. 1060 00:51:19,121 --> 00:51:23,792 People want... a Tupac kind of real nigga, 1061 00:51:24,334 --> 00:51:25,502 that's like a Donald Trump. 1062 00:51:25,586 --> 00:51:28,088 Like he's a real nigga 'cause he's unapologetic. 1063 00:51:28,255 --> 00:51:29,256 Black Lives Matter. 1064 00:51:29,339 --> 00:51:31,717 I just, I just didn't like the narrative, my boy. 1065 00:51:32,384 --> 00:51:35,429 I just didn't like who invested in that movement. Right? 1066 00:51:35,512 --> 00:51:37,014 Because what the fuck you talking about? 1067 00:51:37,097 --> 00:51:38,265 I'm 'bout-- We do matter. 1068 00:51:38,348 --> 00:51:40,100 Why are we saying like-- We know we matter. 1069 00:51:40,184 --> 00:51:41,560 Why are we pushing that agenda? 1070 00:51:41,894 --> 00:51:42,895 That's dumb. 1071 00:51:46,732 --> 00:51:47,733 Bro, it was. 1072 00:51:47,816 --> 00:51:49,359 [interviewer] When Trump says, quote, 1073 00:51:49,443 --> 00:51:51,361 "Grab them by the..." 1074 00:51:51,528 --> 00:51:53,155 that's, that's sexual assault. 1075 00:51:53,238 --> 00:51:55,032 -I'm not fucking with that at all. -[interviewer laughs] 1076 00:51:55,115 --> 00:51:56,283 I have a mother, I have a daughter, 1077 00:51:56,366 --> 00:51:57,951 and that shit ain't nowhere near fucking funny. 1078 00:51:58,035 --> 00:52:01,663 I don't even think that shit should be in fucking headlines, right? 1079 00:52:01,747 --> 00:52:03,582 So that, that ain't nothing I play with. 1080 00:52:03,665 --> 00:52:04,875 So if you know me, you know me. 1081 00:52:04,958 --> 00:52:06,460 Nigga, I don't play by women at all. At all. 1082 00:52:08,712 --> 00:52:10,255 Man, I ain't-- I, I rock with policies. 1083 00:52:10,339 --> 00:52:13,634 I rock with him being a better president than the last guy. 1084 00:52:13,717 --> 00:52:14,718 That's all it is. 1085 00:52:14,801 --> 00:52:15,802 Why I like Trump? 1086 00:52:15,886 --> 00:52:17,554 'Cause he's better than Biden. 1087 00:52:17,971 --> 00:52:20,599 And who in this fucking room gonna tell me I'm lying? 1088 00:52:21,433 --> 00:52:23,101 [interviewer] So why did you decide to come out 1089 00:52:23,185 --> 00:52:26,355 and publicly endorse Trump 2024? 1090 00:52:26,438 --> 00:52:28,524 That's what people call endor-- Like, endorsing? 1091 00:52:28,607 --> 00:52:31,652 I don't know that. I swear to God, bro, on my right hand to-- 1092 00:52:31,735 --> 00:52:33,445 On my right hand to God, I did not look at that 1093 00:52:33,529 --> 00:52:35,572 as being endorsing Trump. 1094 00:52:35,656 --> 00:52:37,741 [interviewer] What do you wanna say to, to hip-hop, 1095 00:52:37,824 --> 00:52:40,744 to the people about this election in the fall? 1096 00:52:41,662 --> 00:52:42,913 Uh... 1097 00:52:47,584 --> 00:52:48,585 What I'm gonna say? 1098 00:52:49,795 --> 00:52:52,089 Only thing I could possibly tell you is, man, 1099 00:52:53,257 --> 00:52:55,092 don't make a last-minute decision. 1100 00:52:55,175 --> 00:52:58,262 It's a lot of people afraid to be frowned upon 1101 00:52:58,345 --> 00:53:01,682 for living they truth or speaking they truth. 1102 00:53:06,311 --> 00:53:08,272 Man... hell, no. 1103 00:53:09,898 --> 00:53:11,900 -[John Roberts] So help you God? -So help me God. 1104 00:53:11,984 --> 00:53:13,735 -[Roberts] Congratulations Mr. President. -Thank you. 1105 00:53:13,819 --> 00:53:15,487 [cheering] 1106 00:53:16,405 --> 00:53:19,157 [♪ band music playing] 1107 00:53:20,617 --> 00:53:22,995 Over the past 50 years, hip-hop has become 1108 00:53:23,078 --> 00:53:25,205 as an unstoppable force in America. 1109 00:53:25,289 --> 00:53:29,168 It caught the ear of a, a child from Newark, New Jersey. 1110 00:53:29,251 --> 00:53:32,963 I think we didn't see more hip-hop in the Biden White House, 1111 00:53:33,046 --> 00:53:35,966 um, because of some very apparent reasons. 1112 00:53:36,049 --> 00:53:37,843 Two of the great artists of our time 1113 00:53:37,926 --> 00:53:39,553 representing the groundbreaking legacy 1114 00:53:39,636 --> 00:53:41,722 of hip-hop in America, 1115 00:53:41,805 --> 00:53:45,642 -LL J Cool J. Uh... -[laughter] 1116 00:53:46,643 --> 00:53:49,104 By the way, that boy's got, 1117 00:53:49,188 --> 00:53:51,732 that man's got biceps bigger than my thighs. 1118 00:53:51,815 --> 00:53:53,066 I think he's spent... 1119 00:53:54,193 --> 00:53:56,737 And an MC Lyte. Both of you, thank you. 1120 00:53:57,070 --> 00:53:59,198 One of the most glaring... [laughs] 1121 00:53:59,281 --> 00:54:02,534 ...was, uh, Biden talking with the Breakfast Club. 1122 00:54:02,618 --> 00:54:04,703 If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me 1123 00:54:04,786 --> 00:54:06,788 or Trump, then you ain't Black. 1124 00:54:06,872 --> 00:54:08,790 Biden is old. 1125 00:54:08,874 --> 00:54:10,042 [laughs] He's, he's tired. 1126 00:54:10,125 --> 00:54:11,752 That man is exhausted. 1127 00:54:11,835 --> 00:54:14,296 We can't expect him to be out here 1128 00:54:14,379 --> 00:54:15,506 hanging out with Ice Spice. 1129 00:54:15,589 --> 00:54:17,925 It's, it's not, it's not in his contract. 1130 00:54:18,008 --> 00:54:21,803 You've been the vice president for a Black president 1131 00:54:21,887 --> 00:54:24,014 and I think he just made a lot of assumptions 1132 00:54:24,097 --> 00:54:27,392 that he got some automatic juice with that, 1133 00:54:27,476 --> 00:54:28,560 that he really didn't get. 1134 00:54:32,064 --> 00:54:34,983 [Waters] Hip-hop has not realized 1135 00:54:35,067 --> 00:54:38,987 its full potential and influence with presidential politics. 1136 00:54:39,071 --> 00:54:42,491 I'm telling you, they could register more people, 1137 00:54:42,574 --> 00:54:44,576 turn out more people to vote, 1138 00:54:44,660 --> 00:54:46,078 get more people involved 1139 00:54:46,161 --> 00:54:50,290 than any other sector of our society that I can think of. 1140 00:54:50,374 --> 00:54:54,211 If they ever use the full force of their influence, 1141 00:54:54,294 --> 00:54:56,755 I think it will make a significant difference. 1142 00:54:56,839 --> 00:54:59,967 We should be asking for a little bit more 1143 00:55:00,050 --> 00:55:02,052 of a return on our investment. 1144 00:55:02,135 --> 00:55:05,597 [chuckles] I feel like if people are gonna want to use our voices, 1145 00:55:05,681 --> 00:55:07,891 if they're gonna want to hear from us 1146 00:55:07,975 --> 00:55:10,227 and want us to be figures that support 1147 00:55:10,310 --> 00:55:12,604 or do not support certain things, 1148 00:55:12,688 --> 00:55:14,731 we need to get something in return. 1149 00:55:14,815 --> 00:55:15,858 What do we want? 1150 00:55:15,941 --> 00:55:17,651 I think that's one of the most important things. 1151 00:55:17,734 --> 00:55:19,194 What do you want? 1152 00:55:19,278 --> 00:55:20,904 That has to be on the table 1153 00:55:20,988 --> 00:55:22,990 before they start shuffling you around 1154 00:55:23,073 --> 00:55:25,367 and putting you in videos and quoting you 1155 00:55:25,450 --> 00:55:27,911 and all of this nonsense. 1156 00:55:27,995 --> 00:55:31,665 Because it's just a show at that point in which we are getting played. 1157 00:55:31,748 --> 00:55:34,084 [Chika] Hip-hop was born from rebellion. 1158 00:55:34,168 --> 00:55:37,796 If we wanted to find any kind of truth, 1159 00:55:37,880 --> 00:55:42,259 find any kind of meaning, purpose in hip-hop 1160 00:55:42,342 --> 00:55:43,927 and this election season, 1161 00:55:44,011 --> 00:55:47,097 we would need to examine the roots of what hip-hop came from. 1162 00:55:47,181 --> 00:55:49,558 [YG] N.W.A, Eazy-E, you know what I'm saying? 1163 00:55:49,641 --> 00:55:52,144 Ice Cube, Tupac. You know what I'm saying? 1164 00:55:52,227 --> 00:55:54,688 We grew up, everything they did 1165 00:55:54,771 --> 00:55:58,609 and what they came from and the marks they left. 1166 00:55:58,692 --> 00:55:59,776 You feel me? 1167 00:56:00,402 --> 00:56:02,613 On a hip-hop culture in the community, 1168 00:56:02,696 --> 00:56:07,576 once you realize, like, the situation and position you in, 1169 00:56:07,659 --> 00:56:09,745 I start feeling like I got a duty. 1170 00:56:10,204 --> 00:56:11,246 You know what I'm saying? 1171 00:56:11,330 --> 00:56:13,457 We gonna take on whatever motto, 1172 00:56:14,416 --> 00:56:18,420 whatever's motherfucking in front of us, whatever the size. 1173 00:56:18,504 --> 00:56:21,298 Like, come on, let's do it. Fuck it, let's go. 1174 00:56:21,381 --> 00:56:22,674 They cannot be stopped. 1175 00:56:22,758 --> 00:56:26,803 New ideas, new language. You know what I'm saying? 1176 00:56:26,887 --> 00:56:29,348 You can get any president, you can line 'em up, 1177 00:56:29,431 --> 00:56:31,183 and put 'em in an arena. 1178 00:56:31,266 --> 00:56:36,104 Nobody's gonna recite any words he said for 45 minutes straight. 1179 00:56:36,605 --> 00:56:38,440 And when you look at people like us, 1180 00:56:38,857 --> 00:56:42,277 people know each and every word 'cause that's what we mean to them. 1181 00:56:42,361 --> 00:56:43,529 We are the voice of the people. 1182 00:56:44,279 --> 00:56:45,697 Hip-hop is the power. 1183 00:56:47,366 --> 00:56:50,369 [♪ hip-hop music playing] 1184 00:57:24,319 --> 00:57:27,155 [♪ music continues]