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Downloaded from
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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[cheering]
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Can I say something?
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I know y'all think-- And turn my mic up.
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[Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins narrating]
The show of love, I'll never forget it.
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[on-screen] A lot of people right now,
the people in the Barack Obama campaign,
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[on TV] just everybody
who helped get everything.
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Everybody who was out in the street
getting votes and all that shit.
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[crowd cheering]
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[announcer] Yeah!
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It was so much energy.
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You would've thought we all won.
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It was electrifying.
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- [indistinct rapping]
- [audience cheering and rapping along]
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This our moment, we, you know,
our guy's in the White House
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and I do my verse,
you know, club goes crazy
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and then I pass the mic to Jay-Z.
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♪ Anybody feel me? ♪
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♪ My president is Black,
in fact he's half white ♪
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♪ So even in a racist mind,
he's half right ♪
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♪ So if you got a racist mind,
it's alright ♪
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♪ My president is Black,
but his house is all white ♪
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[cheering]
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[Jeezy] I feel like it helped him
become the first Black president
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because when you connect hip-hop culture
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and our movement to that movement he had,
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I feel like it was, it was set up to win.
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You know what I'm saying?
It was already written.
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Hip-hop speaks truth to power.
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The President of
the United States of America is the power.
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This is the story
of how hip-hop got the power.
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We know Donald Trump did heard it.
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You know what I'm saying? [chuckles]
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Well, Reagan's the father of crack cocaine
as far as we're concerned.
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President Obama said,
"Wow, we really keeping it real here."
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To tell you the truth,
I believe that Clinton liked hip-hop.
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Little Bush? Little Bush was around.
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Call me racist.
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In 2020, Obama put me
on his summer playlist.
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I'm still the only president
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to listen to Jay-Z's music
in the Oval Office.
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Donald Trump, like he's a real nigga
'cause he's unapologetic.
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We got Kanye in the White House saying,
"Free Larry Hoover."
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Can we affect policy?
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There's a lot of people come in that room
and do nothing in that room.
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The letter from the White House
is mo' crazy to me
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than Donald Trump hearing the song.
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[Jeezy] This is
Hip-Hop and The White House.
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Let's get it.
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And now, to present
the excitement of youth, the sights,
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and the sounds of a big city,
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here are New York City Breakers.
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[♪ hip-hop music playing]
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[Jeezy] Hip-hop has been connected
to presidents from the jump.
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The culture was created
50 years ago by DJs, breakers,
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graffiti artists, and rappers
responding to a life of oppression.
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This environment
was the result of policies
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that came straight out of the White House.
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So I lived in different sections
of the Bronx growing up all of my life,
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playing in empty lots,
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you know, just with rubble all around,
bouncing on mattresses and...
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I mean, it was what it was.
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We didn't know what was behind us
being there until later on.
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[Dave "Davey D" Cook] I remember
when Jimmy Carter came to the Bronx,
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it was a big deal.
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What preceded it?
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That was Gerald Ford who was the president
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who basically told
New York City to kick rocks
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when we were going through
our financial hardships in the '70s
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and he said, "We're not
gonna bail out New York."
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That had a direct correlation
to the conditions
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that would lead rise to hip-hop.
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Prior to that was Richard Nixon
who started a war on drugs.
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So those conditions of oppression
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that was coming in
from the highest office of the land.
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But real hip-hop was always
about doing our own thing
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within our own community.
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You're gonna give us garbage,
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we're gonna turn it into
a billion dollar something.
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That was always the attitude.
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Hip-hop has always been political
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because of the context
in which it was created.
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[Jeezy] When President Reagan
took office in January 1981,
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I was just a baby growing up in Georgia.
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I didn't know anything about Reaganomics.
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That was Reagan's budget policy
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that slashed funding
in the poor neighborhoods
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and gave tax breaks to the wealthy.
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[KRS-One] When President Reagan
would come on television
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and say things like, "We're gonna
cut this budget and cut that budget,"
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people don't realize
that the very next day something happened,
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meaning something
was missing from your community
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and we could see it
happening in real time.
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My fellow citizens,
[clears throat]
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the matter that brings me
before you today is a grave one
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and concerns
my most solemn duty as president.
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It is the cause of freedom
in Central America
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and the national security
of the United States.
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There was a storm brewing.
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It was a political storm and I just didn't
have any idea what it was gonna be
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until I saw the effects of it.
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We was expecting for it to be rain,
but crack rained down,
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and that was the storm that was coming.
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[Jeezy] The crack cocaine epidemic
hit America during Reagan's presidency,
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but there was some things
none of us understood at the time.
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Reagan administration officials knew
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Central American drug traffickers
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were importing cocaine
into our neighborhoods.
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Why didn't Reagan's government
stop these drugs from coming in?
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Because the sales
were funding military conflicts
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that the Reagan administration
was supporting.
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Imagine that.
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♪ Oliver North introduced us to cocaine ♪
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♪ In the '80s when them bricks
came on military planes ♪
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What I discovered was that
some of this was known about,
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uh, by the CIA
and maybe the DA and others.
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Now, all of a sudden there was this,
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this new thing
running around called crack.
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It would be for years
that we actually got it confirmed
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that Reagan and the CIA
and his war to, to fund the war
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was the reason why that happened.
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Well, Reagan's the father of crack cocaine
as far as we're concerned,
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the whole Iran Contra, Oliver North,
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the whole weapons,
the coke, the whole thing.
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Crack blew up and so did hip-hop
at the same exact time.
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They actually grew up together.
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Hip-hop grew out of the crack era.
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All of that is a part of
hip-hop's real and actual history,
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which makes Ronald Reagan part of
hip-hop's real and natural history.
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The way I see Reagan connected to hip-hop
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is giving us something to rap about.
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Because of the influx of these drugs,
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because of what's going on
in those communities.
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You know, you get records like The Message
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[KRS-One] "Rats in the front room,
roaches in the back,
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junkies in the alley
with that baseball bat."
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"I have a bum education,
double-digit inflation,
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can't take the train to the job,
there's a strike at the station."
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"Don't push me 'cause I'm clo--"
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This is describing oppression,
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straight up and down.
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Somebody speaking our plight,
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somebody's giving us our existence,
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somebody understands
what we going through.
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♪ It's like a jungle sometimes ♪
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♪ It makes me wonder
how I keep from going under ♪
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Life is hard.
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I mean, for the average person,
life is extra hard
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and Message tapped into that emotion
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and I think that's the politic behind it,
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you know, it was a real-life emotion.
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Even, you know, throughout my whole life
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you could see
where something is wrong in politics.
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You know, you could figure out where the,
where the scam is, you know what I mean?
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[Jeezy] After his reelection,
Reagan brought the New York City Breakers
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to perform at his inauguration,
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the first official contact
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between hip-hop and the White House.
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It's not Reagan loving hip-hop,
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you can't tell me
it's Reagan loving hip-hop,
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but it's a political move.
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The fact that it's being used or exploited
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in a way, it's like a give-and-take.
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Alright. You use me, I use you.
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[Jeezy] Our neighborhoods
continued to suffer
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through Reagan's second term
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and hip-hop narrated the whole drama.
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Too Short, Ice-T, Toddy Tee, Public Enemy.
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Those are just a few rappers who reveal
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what Reagan's so-called war on drugs did
to the places where hip-hop lived.
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Then came a record
that changed the whole game.
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I was 11 when I heard it,
it went a little something like this...
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♪ Searching my car,
looking for the product ♪
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♪ Thinking every nigga
is selling narcotics ♪
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[Jeezy] The year was 1988.
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The group was N.W.A.
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Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, DJ Yella,
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and a dope dealer named Eazy-E.
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♪ While I'm driving off laughing,
this is what I'll say ♪
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♪ Fuck the police ♪
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- [record scratches]
- ♪ Fuck, fuck ♪
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♪ Fuck the police ♪
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- [record scratches]
- ♪ Fuck, fuck ♪
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[Jeezy] Hip-hop and its relationship
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with the White House
would never be the same.
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When I heard it and then
there was so much talk about it,
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I just thought it was a revelation
that had taken place
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and that's what
a lot of people were thinking.
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They just didn't have the nerve to say it.
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It was political
because the police have been thought of
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as the saviors that keep
the communities safe and secure
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and they were untouchable
in terms of criticism.
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For him to have the courage
to say F the police,
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uh, was new, different, and exciting.
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[Jeezy] It wasn't exciting
to the federal government.
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Reagan's vice president
George H.W. Bush was elected
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to replace him in the White House.
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The FBI sent the group
a threatening letter
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and then Eazy-E
pulled a real gangster move.
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He's not a presidential advisor yet,
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but his rap has gained him entry
to the Republican elite.
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[newscaster] You might not have guessed
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that Eazy-E, Eric Wright is his real name,
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would be among this group of
well-off Republicans who paid $1,250
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00:10:56,865 --> 00:11:00,369
to become members of something
called the Republican Inner Circle
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00:11:00,369 --> 00:11:04,039
who were waiting in line today to hear
law-and-order man George Bush
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00:11:04,039 --> 00:11:06,166
at a private, members only reception.
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00:11:06,166 --> 00:11:08,585
In the scheme of presidential politics,
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00:11:08,585 --> 00:11:13,006
I think Eazy-E rests in a place of, um...
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He's a precedent.
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He is, uh, an early stage
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00:11:18,053 --> 00:11:20,055
of our political awareness.
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He does hold the title
of being one of the first,
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00:11:23,725 --> 00:11:28,397
if not the first, a major rap figure, uh,
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00:11:28,397 --> 00:11:33,694
to engage with the White House
in this kind of meaningful way.
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00:11:33,694 --> 00:11:35,112
That means that we are in there.
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00:11:35,112 --> 00:11:37,531
That means that we have definitely
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00:11:37,531 --> 00:11:39,533
broken down barriers and walls.
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00:11:39,533 --> 00:11:42,619
You're only placed in certain rooms
by the influence that you hold.
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00:11:42,619 --> 00:11:45,873
It's not you, the one person
that's in the room that they're allowing.
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00:11:45,873 --> 00:11:48,417
They're allowing everyone
that's associated with you,
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00:11:48,417 --> 00:11:51,837
that listens to you, that follows you
in the room at that point.
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00:11:51,837 --> 00:11:56,258
But you gotta also ask
what did he get out of it?
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Did hip-hop win with anything with that?
226
00:11:58,385 --> 00:11:59,469
Did we gain anything?
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00:11:59,469 --> 00:12:01,513
[Jeezy] That's a fair question.
228
00:12:01,513 --> 00:12:04,766
There's one thing
that hip-hop gained for sure,
229
00:12:05,058 --> 00:12:10,063
the attention of a young governor
with his eyes on the White House.
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00:12:11,231 --> 00:12:13,567
Some Americans were
completely shocked at the verdict
231
00:12:13,567 --> 00:12:16,612
in the Rodney King case
and the violence which followed.
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00:12:16,612 --> 00:12:18,947
At least nine people dead,
more than 400 injured,
233
00:12:18,947 --> 00:12:21,158
nearly a thousand in jail.
234
00:12:21,158 --> 00:12:23,785
There was no justice in America today,
235
00:12:23,785 --> 00:12:25,746
and I'm glad they showed it to the world.
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00:12:25,746 --> 00:12:29,124
[clamoring]
237
00:12:30,501 --> 00:12:31,502
[glass shatters]
238
00:12:32,878 --> 00:12:34,630
[Jeezy] Let me set the scene.
239
00:12:34,630 --> 00:12:36,673
It was 1992,
240
00:12:37,090 --> 00:12:40,093
Bill Clinton was running
for president as a Democrat.
241
00:12:40,511 --> 00:12:43,222
He wanted to send a message
to moderate white voters
242
00:12:43,222 --> 00:12:44,890
that he was a safe choice.
243
00:12:45,224 --> 00:12:49,269
So he went to Reverend Jesse Jackson
and his Rainbow Coalition Conference
244
00:12:49,269 --> 00:12:53,440
and decided to criticize
a young Black rapper and activist.
245
00:12:54,274 --> 00:12:56,693
You had a, a rap singer here last night
246
00:12:57,611 --> 00:12:59,029
named Sister Souljah.
247
00:12:59,613 --> 00:13:02,491
I defend her right
to express herself through music.
248
00:13:03,617 --> 00:13:05,827
But her comments
before and after Los Angeles
249
00:13:05,827 --> 00:13:10,040
were filled with the kind of hatred
that you do not honor today and tonight.
250
00:13:10,541 --> 00:13:14,962
[Jeezy] Many people believe Clinton took
Souljah's statements out of context.
251
00:13:14,962 --> 00:13:18,799
[Maxine Waters] He too wanted to capture
some of those people
252
00:13:18,799 --> 00:13:22,928
who thought that there was some danger,
uh, in the hip-hop community,
253
00:13:22,928 --> 00:13:25,931
uh, with rappers,
uh, with young Black people
254
00:13:25,931 --> 00:13:27,307
who were denouncing them.
255
00:13:27,307 --> 00:13:30,185
He was a brilliant politician
256
00:13:30,185 --> 00:13:32,938
in understanding the need to triangulate
257
00:13:32,938 --> 00:13:35,315
among the different
constituencies in America.
258
00:13:35,315 --> 00:13:38,443
So he was more than willing
259
00:13:38,443 --> 00:13:42,072
to throw young Black folks under the bus
260
00:13:42,447 --> 00:13:45,909
in order to make people feel more secure
261
00:13:45,909 --> 00:13:48,453
who already had a bias
against young Black people.
262
00:13:48,453 --> 00:13:52,791
The rap singer Governor Clinton
had criticized last weekend rapped back.
263
00:13:53,208 --> 00:13:57,087
Considerable time has been spent
debating whether America
264
00:13:57,087 --> 00:14:00,841
should take seriously
the words of a rap artist
265
00:14:00,841 --> 00:14:03,093
or so-called entertainers.
266
00:14:03,093 --> 00:14:07,431
Let me clarify for the press now
who I am.
267
00:14:08,140 --> 00:14:12,978
I am Sister Souljah, Sony, epic, rapper,
268
00:14:12,978 --> 00:14:15,981
activist, organizer, and lecturer.
269
00:14:15,981 --> 00:14:19,443
I have spoken on the same platform
with Jesse Jackson,
270
00:14:19,443 --> 00:14:22,237
Minister Louis Farrakhan,
Reverend Ben Chavis,
271
00:14:22,237 --> 00:14:25,282
Reverend Dr. Calvin Butts
and Nelson Mandela.
272
00:14:25,282 --> 00:14:30,662
As you can see, I am no newcomer
to the world of politics and movements.
273
00:14:30,662 --> 00:14:35,417
I met Sister Souljah
at Howard University, '88, '89.
274
00:14:35,417 --> 00:14:38,587
Around that time,
I traveled around the country with her,
275
00:14:38,587 --> 00:14:43,133
uh, and spoke at schools and jails
and other things like that.
276
00:14:43,133 --> 00:14:44,801
So we became really close.
277
00:14:44,801 --> 00:14:48,013
Obviously, she was incensed by this,
278
00:14:48,013 --> 00:14:51,225
uh, but she also was,
like, smart and strategic enough
279
00:14:51,225 --> 00:14:53,060
to understand what this was about
280
00:14:53,685 --> 00:14:56,730
and wanted to respond to it in a way, uh,
281
00:14:56,730 --> 00:15:01,109
that she thought, uh,
would, would have impact.
282
00:15:01,109 --> 00:15:05,155
I stand before you today
feeling very confident,
283
00:15:05,155 --> 00:15:08,075
steadfast, and powerful.
284
00:15:08,075 --> 00:15:10,994
At the same time, I am surprised
285
00:15:10,994 --> 00:15:13,956
that as a young African woman
286
00:15:13,956 --> 00:15:17,835
I have impacted and affected
the development
287
00:15:17,835 --> 00:15:23,090
of not only national politics,
but international politics as well.
288
00:15:23,090 --> 00:15:25,634
[Ras J. Baraka] Just really articulating
289
00:15:25,634 --> 00:15:30,180
how powerful we had become
as a hip-hop community
290
00:15:30,180 --> 00:15:34,810
that the president of the United States
would feel that he could gain something
291
00:15:34,810 --> 00:15:37,646
by attacking,
uh, this movement at that time.
292
00:15:38,021 --> 00:15:39,398
Like, she just, boom.
293
00:15:39,898 --> 00:15:41,608
And she's smarter than him.
294
00:15:41,608 --> 00:15:44,319
You not gonna be able
to come back from this, bro.
295
00:15:44,319 --> 00:15:45,571
Not with her.
296
00:15:46,405 --> 00:15:48,115
[Jeezy] But Clinton did come back.
297
00:15:48,115 --> 00:15:51,535
His tactics helped him
get elected president five months later.
298
00:15:52,035 --> 00:15:56,832
Then he invited LL Cool J
to perform at his inauguration.
299
00:15:58,542 --> 00:16:01,128
I remember all the girls
having a crush on LL
300
00:16:01,128 --> 00:16:02,504
when I was in middle school,
301
00:16:02,504 --> 00:16:06,800
and he was smart, sexy, and ambitious.
302
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,678
And I think when he took the stage, um,
303
00:16:09,678 --> 00:16:12,181
he understood that this was
gonna broaden his audience.
304
00:16:12,681 --> 00:16:14,600
So instead of Clinton triangulating him,
305
00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:16,768
he was triangulating on the Clintons.
306
00:16:16,768 --> 00:16:19,813
That was an incredible transition for us.
307
00:16:19,813 --> 00:16:21,815
Not only are we in the White House,
308
00:16:21,815 --> 00:16:24,193
but now we are part of the White House,
309
00:16:24,193 --> 00:16:26,403
especially on its biggest day,
310
00:16:26,403 --> 00:16:29,239
on its biggest stage
on the hugest platform.
311
00:16:32,075 --> 00:16:35,204
[interviewer]
1992, Bill Clinton is elected.
312
00:16:35,204 --> 00:16:40,209
Young Jeezy is literally young Jeezy,
15, 16 years old.
313
00:16:40,626 --> 00:16:44,004
What is your life like
and what hip-hop are you listening to?
314
00:16:44,838 --> 00:16:47,716
[Jeezy] I think I'm playing Bun B, um,
315
00:16:48,383 --> 00:16:50,260
a lot of West Coast music at the time.
316
00:16:50,260 --> 00:16:51,929
A lot of West Coast music.
317
00:16:52,513 --> 00:16:54,139
Uh, N.W.A for sure.
318
00:16:54,139 --> 00:16:58,352
I'm living with my grandmother,
and music is my life.
319
00:16:58,352 --> 00:17:00,437
That's, that's how
I'm navigating through things
320
00:17:00,437 --> 00:17:03,440
because I'm basically
learning through the music.
321
00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:07,819
Tupac was my first introduction
into politics.
322
00:17:07,819 --> 00:17:09,321
Pac was naming out senators,
323
00:17:09,321 --> 00:17:11,782
he was talking about district attorneys
324
00:17:11,782 --> 00:17:15,077
and, you know, it's like
I didn't even know what this stuff was.
325
00:17:15,077 --> 00:17:18,288
It made me go ask the questions,
"What is a senator?"
326
00:17:18,830 --> 00:17:20,749
You know, "What makes
the president the president?"
327
00:17:21,917 --> 00:17:24,545
[Farai Chideya]
The Clinton years were an era
328
00:17:24,545 --> 00:17:26,964
where we saw the growth of hip-hop
329
00:17:26,964 --> 00:17:29,842
towards the global industry
it has now become.
330
00:17:29,842 --> 00:17:32,344
You got New Orleans entering the game,
331
00:17:32,344 --> 00:17:34,638
you got Houston being a big factor.
332
00:17:34,638 --> 00:17:36,890
A lot of the content is changing.
333
00:17:36,890 --> 00:17:38,851
[Jeezy] Goodbye, Sister Souljah.
334
00:17:39,393 --> 00:17:40,894
Hello, Lil' Kim.
335
00:17:40,894 --> 00:17:43,522
This was before
music moved to the Internet.
336
00:17:43,522 --> 00:17:47,401
Hip-hop fans
bought hundreds of millions of CDs.
337
00:17:47,401 --> 00:17:50,153
The hood made more money than ever,
338
00:17:50,153 --> 00:17:53,282
selling records and selling dope.
339
00:17:53,282 --> 00:17:56,159
The music industry is starting to push
340
00:17:56,159 --> 00:17:58,328
a lot of the more political artists out.
341
00:17:58,328 --> 00:18:00,122
You still have political artists,
342
00:18:00,122 --> 00:18:03,166
but they're not within the mainstream.
343
00:18:03,166 --> 00:18:04,835
The superstructure itself
344
00:18:05,502 --> 00:18:10,048
decide to make a very conscious shift,
to not play certain things,
345
00:18:10,048 --> 00:18:12,759
to not talk about certain music, right?
346
00:18:12,759 --> 00:18:14,595
They would put on the radio,
347
00:18:14,595 --> 00:18:16,263
somebody talking about shooting you
348
00:18:16,263 --> 00:18:19,850
or degrading your character
as opposed to Public Enemy.
349
00:18:26,148 --> 00:18:28,025
[♪ upbeat music playing]
350
00:18:30,068 --> 00:18:31,069
[explosion]
351
00:18:31,069 --> 00:18:34,406
[Jeezy] After Clinton,
came George W. Bush.
352
00:18:34,406 --> 00:18:36,783
When Bush started dropping bombs on Iraq,
353
00:18:37,034 --> 00:18:39,786
rap music was hustling
and popping champagne
354
00:18:39,786 --> 00:18:41,747
but underneath all that,
355
00:18:41,747 --> 00:18:45,459
the hip-hop generation
was gathering political power.
356
00:18:47,002 --> 00:18:49,880
By the time you get to the early 2000s,
357
00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,841
there is a generation
of young people who saw
358
00:18:52,841 --> 00:18:54,384
the power and influence of hip-hop
359
00:18:54,718 --> 00:18:59,515
could be used to transform
the country and our communities.
360
00:18:59,515 --> 00:19:03,852
And so they began to organize
under the banner of hip-hop.
361
00:19:04,561 --> 00:19:08,232
[Jeezy] We had Rap the Vote,
the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network,
362
00:19:08,232 --> 00:19:10,150
the League of Young Voters.
363
00:19:10,776 --> 00:19:12,569
As Bush ran for reelection,
364
00:19:12,569 --> 00:19:15,656
Bakari Kitwana and Ras Baraka
365
00:19:15,656 --> 00:19:19,201
cofounded the National Hip-Hop Political Convention.
366
00:19:19,576 --> 00:19:22,037
Three thousand people
from across the country
367
00:19:22,037 --> 00:19:24,706
attended in the summer of 2004.
368
00:19:25,582 --> 00:19:27,251
[Baraka] All over the country,
all over the world,
369
00:19:27,251 --> 00:19:30,045
people were listening to hip-hop music
370
00:19:30,045 --> 00:19:32,589
and we influenced the way
people dressed, what they drink,
371
00:19:32,589 --> 00:19:34,675
what they thought,
the words they said.
372
00:19:34,675 --> 00:19:36,426
Right? We influenced so much stuff.
373
00:19:36,426 --> 00:19:40,055
So we thought that we could,
like, bottle that influence,
374
00:19:40,055 --> 00:19:41,890
if you will, like package it
375
00:19:41,890 --> 00:19:46,687
and begin to use it specifically
to help us in our community
376
00:19:46,979 --> 00:19:48,564
to, to change our conditions.
377
00:19:48,564 --> 00:19:52,359
[Bakari Kitwana] There hadn't been
a concerted effort to bring this power
378
00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:54,486
of hip-hop to the national level.
379
00:19:54,486 --> 00:19:57,865
What if we can turn this same type
380
00:19:57,865 --> 00:20:00,617
of influence onto electoral policy?
381
00:20:00,617 --> 00:20:02,703
It would completely change the game.
382
00:20:04,955 --> 00:20:08,125
Early 2000s,
straight up out the trunk, you know,
383
00:20:08,125 --> 00:20:12,296
paying for my own music,
uh, printing up CDs,
384
00:20:12,296 --> 00:20:17,176
you know, doing shows and, and, uh,
venues that didn't have stages.
385
00:20:17,176 --> 00:20:18,719
It was like I was on my grind
386
00:20:18,719 --> 00:20:20,888
and I was just trying
to figure out my voice
387
00:20:20,888 --> 00:20:24,308
and my identity like,
and, and a lot of what I was doing
388
00:20:24,308 --> 00:20:26,560
was coming from a lot
of the influence that I got from Pac.
389
00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,062
I was like, "Yo, you know,
I'm gonna motivate myself
390
00:20:29,521 --> 00:20:31,023
and others in the process."
391
00:20:31,023 --> 00:20:32,691
And that was like my mindset,
392
00:20:33,233 --> 00:20:36,069
um, and also watching
what was going on with the world.
393
00:20:36,528 --> 00:20:39,740
I remember seeing, uh, Hillary Clinton
394
00:20:39,740 --> 00:20:44,161
in 2004 sitting next to Diddy
at the Democratic Convention.
395
00:20:44,161 --> 00:20:47,539
MTV had Diddy interview her there.
396
00:20:47,539 --> 00:20:50,501
He had his own,
you know, Vote or Die.
397
00:20:50,501 --> 00:20:53,086
And-and Clinton kept talking about
how much that, you know,
398
00:20:53,086 --> 00:20:55,631
he hit the nail on the head
with the phrase, "Vote or Die."
399
00:20:55,631 --> 00:20:57,424
And I saw some people
walking across the street
400
00:20:57,424 --> 00:21:00,427
with the Vote or Die shirt
and it didn't register then.
401
00:21:00,427 --> 00:21:04,014
And when I started to make this project
I was working on, uh,
402
00:21:04,014 --> 00:21:06,225
the first record I came up with,
403
00:21:06,225 --> 00:21:09,394
I was like, I want this to be
like a national anthem for the streets.
404
00:21:09,394 --> 00:21:12,773
I was like, "Yo, trap or die,"
it's gonna be a movement
405
00:21:12,773 --> 00:21:14,149
because I saw what they was doing,
406
00:21:14,149 --> 00:21:15,859
but I was like, how can this,
407
00:21:15,859 --> 00:21:17,945
how can I have my movement in the streets?
408
00:21:17,945 --> 00:21:20,364
And it's like I really ran
that whole campaign,
409
00:21:20,364 --> 00:21:23,158
like a presidential, uh, campaign
410
00:21:23,158 --> 00:21:26,119
because what I saw them doing,
I just went and emulated that.
411
00:21:26,620 --> 00:21:27,704
♪ ...die, nigga ♪
412
00:21:27,704 --> 00:21:28,830
♪ Yeah ♪
413
00:21:28,830 --> 00:21:30,791
♪ We trap or die, nigga ♪
414
00:21:30,791 --> 00:21:33,293
♪ Mix the flake with the soda,
you got Young Jeezy ♪
415
00:21:33,293 --> 00:21:34,378
♪ Damn ♪
416
00:21:34,378 --> 00:21:36,672
♪ You still wanna talk blow man ♪
417
00:21:36,672 --> 00:21:39,258
♪ Soft white like Alaska,
call me snowman ♪
418
00:21:39,258 --> 00:21:41,468
[Jeezy] Even though
most of hip-hop lined up
419
00:21:41,468 --> 00:21:45,597
against Bush in the 2004 election,
he still won.
420
00:21:46,098 --> 00:21:48,517
But the power of hip-hop was felt.
421
00:21:49,101 --> 00:21:51,979
In 2004, youth voter participation
422
00:21:51,979 --> 00:21:55,107
increased nine percent from the year 2000.
423
00:21:55,107 --> 00:21:57,818
It represents Black people
424
00:21:57,818 --> 00:22:01,530
and hip-hop mobilizing for power, right?
425
00:22:01,530 --> 00:22:04,783
Hip-hop continues to speak truth to power.
426
00:22:06,910 --> 00:22:09,705
- [wind blowing]
- [palms thrashing]
427
00:22:09,705 --> 00:22:11,748
[thundering]
428
00:22:17,212 --> 00:22:20,883
[Bun B] We bear witness
to so much trauma and abuse.
429
00:22:20,883 --> 00:22:23,760
There's so many people that we know
430
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,598
and that we've come across
and walk through life with
431
00:22:27,598 --> 00:22:30,017
and care for and love deeply,
432
00:22:30,642 --> 00:22:33,020
who simply, no one
will ever know their struggle,
433
00:22:33,020 --> 00:22:34,438
and no one speaks for them.
434
00:22:35,689 --> 00:22:38,400
And that's where that comes from,
from a lot of hip-hop records.
435
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,153
It's not even about
their own personal experience,
436
00:22:41,153 --> 00:22:42,487
but they're speaking for the person
437
00:22:42,487 --> 00:22:45,532
that they know
cannot speak for themselves.
438
00:22:45,949 --> 00:22:48,660
And if you don't say something,
these people will have gone
439
00:22:48,660 --> 00:22:51,914
through this life with no one ever
really even knowing they existed.
440
00:22:51,914 --> 00:22:53,916
[♪ vocalizing]
441
00:22:53,916 --> 00:22:57,294
The population of New Orleans
is 67% Black.
442
00:22:57,294 --> 00:23:00,047
So it's not surprising
that the face of suffering
443
00:23:00,047 --> 00:23:04,051
in that city this week has been
largely African American.
444
00:23:04,676 --> 00:23:08,180
The slow response to the victims
of Hurricane Katrina
445
00:23:08,180 --> 00:23:13,519
has led to questions about race, poverty,
and a seemingly indifferent government.
446
00:23:13,519 --> 00:23:18,148
I noticed that especially in New Orleans,
that the response is greater
447
00:23:18,148 --> 00:23:20,859
when it's white compared
to when it's Black.
448
00:23:20,859 --> 00:23:22,444
And if those areas that are named
449
00:23:22,444 --> 00:23:25,072
where people are not having food and water
450
00:23:25,072 --> 00:23:27,157
is generally the Black population.
451
00:23:27,783 --> 00:23:30,661
[Jeezy] Enter Kanye West.
452
00:23:30,661 --> 00:23:34,581
Ye was on a telethon
raising money for hurricane victims
453
00:23:34,873 --> 00:23:36,708
with millions of people watching.
454
00:23:38,043 --> 00:23:43,549
Kanye did what Melle Mel,
Eazy-E and Public Enemy had done before.
455
00:23:43,841 --> 00:23:48,720
Ye gave us a bar that captured
exactly how hip-hop felt.
456
00:23:49,096 --> 00:23:52,140
"George Bush doesn't care
about Black people."
457
00:23:53,517 --> 00:23:56,228
When Ye said, "George Bush
doesn't care about Black people,"
458
00:23:56,228 --> 00:23:58,146
that was supremely important.
459
00:23:58,146 --> 00:24:01,900
It needed to be said like,
"No, we know what's up.
460
00:24:02,526 --> 00:24:04,194
"We know who you are.
461
00:24:04,611 --> 00:24:07,197
You ain't fooling us
and we gonna expose you."
462
00:24:07,656 --> 00:24:11,618
Kanye really hit a nerve,
463
00:24:11,618 --> 00:24:14,746
and not just Black people,
but white people
464
00:24:14,746 --> 00:24:17,875
and people of every race saw the failure
465
00:24:17,875 --> 00:24:20,836
of the US government
to protect its own citizens.
466
00:24:20,836 --> 00:24:22,504
[Curren$y] My mom's house, wiped out.
467
00:24:22,504 --> 00:24:25,007
A few of my homeys died in that shit,
468
00:24:25,549 --> 00:24:28,260
and, um, one of my, one of my partners,
469
00:24:28,260 --> 00:24:30,262
his cousin, like,
drowned right behind him.
470
00:24:30,262 --> 00:24:33,223
He just got tired
and told him like, just fuck it.
471
00:24:33,223 --> 00:24:36,059
Like, like, go ahead.
I'm too tired for this shit.
472
00:24:36,059 --> 00:24:37,519
And just went under the water.
473
00:24:37,519 --> 00:24:40,647
Black people were seen
on television begging for help.
474
00:24:40,647 --> 00:24:45,027
There had been no real plans
in the New Orleans area
475
00:24:45,027 --> 00:24:47,696
to deal with such a disaster.
476
00:24:47,696 --> 00:24:50,157
And nobody came for a long time.
477
00:24:50,157 --> 00:24:52,284
It was a horrible situation.
478
00:24:52,284 --> 00:24:54,870
Who was the state representatives
in Louisiana?
479
00:24:54,870 --> 00:24:57,289
We argue with the things
our president should do,
480
00:24:57,289 --> 00:24:59,833
when the people that actually
are head of our state should be doing.
481
00:25:05,255 --> 00:25:06,632
No, they didn't. They didn't.
482
00:25:07,257 --> 00:25:08,634
Why do we even look for help
483
00:25:09,134 --> 00:25:11,720
if we knew it was help--
wasn't help in the very beginning?
484
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:13,972
George Bush took a plane
485
00:25:13,972 --> 00:25:18,060
and, um, you know,
did a tour over the area
486
00:25:18,060 --> 00:25:21,772
and he said something about
the FEMA director was doing a good job.
487
00:25:21,772 --> 00:25:23,607
Again, I wanna thank you all for--
488
00:25:23,607 --> 00:25:25,484
And, Brownie,
you're doing a heck of a job.
489
00:25:26,026 --> 00:25:28,028
The FEMA director's working 24--
490
00:25:29,571 --> 00:25:30,906
He must be crazy.
491
00:25:30,906 --> 00:25:33,951
They're not doing a good job.
These people are suffering.
492
00:25:33,951 --> 00:25:36,745
When Kanye said that, it hit home.
493
00:25:36,745 --> 00:25:40,415
[Jeezy] The quote, "George Bush
doesn't care about Black people"
494
00:25:40,916 --> 00:25:44,503
is one of the most memorable lines
in hip-hop history.
495
00:25:44,878 --> 00:25:47,422
It landed on the White House like a bomb.
496
00:25:47,714 --> 00:25:51,218
Trust and believe,
the president felt the blast.
497
00:25:51,218 --> 00:25:53,178
Called me a racist
and I didn't appreciate it then
498
00:25:53,178 --> 00:25:55,138
and I don't, I don't appreciate it now.
499
00:25:55,514 --> 00:25:56,765
It's one thing to say, you know,
500
00:25:56,765 --> 00:25:59,101
I don't appreciate the way
he's handled his business.
501
00:25:59,726 --> 00:26:01,854
It's another thing to say,
this man's a racist.
502
00:26:02,396 --> 00:26:05,148
I resent it. It's not true.
503
00:26:05,148 --> 00:26:07,693
And it's one of the most
disgusting moments of my presidency.
504
00:26:08,193 --> 00:26:10,070
George Bush needed to hear that,
and he... [chuckles]
505
00:26:10,070 --> 00:26:11,154
and he heard it.
506
00:26:11,154 --> 00:26:12,573
It had a powerful effect
507
00:26:12,573 --> 00:26:15,534
and that's how powerful
hip-hop had become.
508
00:26:15,534 --> 00:26:17,828
Bush's response was fascinating.
509
00:26:17,828 --> 00:26:21,164
The question was,
what was the most, uh,
510
00:26:21,164 --> 00:26:23,625
controversial moment of your presidency
or something like that.
511
00:26:23,625 --> 00:26:25,043
He asked him, right?
512
00:26:25,043 --> 00:26:29,548
And so it's deep that he's sitting there
and that's what he thinks of.
513
00:26:29,548 --> 00:26:31,508
You know what I thought of
when he's in Egypt
514
00:26:31,508 --> 00:26:32,968
or somewhere in the Middle East
515
00:26:32,968 --> 00:26:35,179
and somebody throws a shoe at him, right?
516
00:26:35,179 --> 00:26:37,556
I was like, "Well, damn,
what about the shoe?"
517
00:26:37,556 --> 00:26:40,976
You had a shoe thrown at you
during a press conference
518
00:26:40,976 --> 00:26:43,061
and you still talking about Kanye?
519
00:26:43,395 --> 00:26:47,274
Kanye was, in a moment, um,
just a catalyst for a truth
520
00:26:47,274 --> 00:26:49,776
that needed to be screamed
the way that it was.
521
00:26:49,776 --> 00:26:54,448
Very influential, legendary moment
that I don't think you forget.
522
00:26:55,616 --> 00:26:57,117
[interviewer] Bush is in his second term.
523
00:26:57,117 --> 00:26:59,036
Tell me about
where you were in your career.
524
00:26:59,369 --> 00:27:00,454
I was thuggin'.
525
00:27:00,454 --> 00:27:01,622
[chuckles] Shit.
526
00:27:01,622 --> 00:27:04,958
I was, uh, relentlessly in the streets,
you know what I'm saying?
527
00:27:04,958 --> 00:27:06,793
I was a totally different individual
528
00:27:07,294 --> 00:27:09,213
and I was trying
to get out of the struggle
529
00:27:09,213 --> 00:27:11,757
and also, like,
taking the music thing seriously.
530
00:27:11,757 --> 00:27:16,261
I was... getting outside of my circle,
you know what I'm saying?
531
00:27:16,261 --> 00:27:19,890
Just outside of just the street politics.
532
00:27:19,890 --> 00:27:23,393
So I got credit cards and things
so I can move around to some nice places.
533
00:27:23,393 --> 00:27:26,897
Once I got in the rooms,
I started asking the questions, right?
534
00:27:26,897 --> 00:27:29,900
I always like to consider myself
the people's champ, right?
535
00:27:30,317 --> 00:27:34,154
And my job is to get
the information back to the culture.
536
00:27:34,154 --> 00:27:38,325
I connected it in a way that I would say
537
00:27:38,951 --> 00:27:43,622
when I was listening to music
that Pac and N.W.A,
538
00:27:44,414 --> 00:27:45,707
and those guys connected me
539
00:27:45,707 --> 00:27:49,336
because it was
in the language that I speak
540
00:27:49,336 --> 00:27:52,506
for people who have been
following my movement.
541
00:27:52,506 --> 00:27:54,591
They're like, "Hold up,
if he's concerned about this
542
00:27:54,591 --> 00:27:56,426
"and if he's feeling like
this is important,
543
00:27:56,885 --> 00:27:59,721
um, then maybe I should check into it."
544
00:27:59,721 --> 00:28:01,598
And that's when I wrote The Recession.
545
00:28:01,598 --> 00:28:04,518
What an extraordinary weekend
on the campaign trail
546
00:28:04,518 --> 00:28:08,605
with two leading candidates
for the Democratic presidential nomination
547
00:28:08,605 --> 00:28:10,274
campaigning full-bore,
548
00:28:10,274 --> 00:28:14,027
even though the general election
is more than a year and a half away.
549
00:28:14,027 --> 00:28:16,947
Barack Obama,
who formally announced on Saturday
550
00:28:16,947 --> 00:28:19,867
and Hillary Clinton
are pulling no punches.
551
00:28:19,867 --> 00:28:23,662
[newscaster] Senator Barack Obama
is watching Black political leaders
552
00:28:23,662 --> 00:28:26,498
throw support to Hillary Clinton, and why?
553
00:28:26,498 --> 00:28:29,084
They have said publicly
they don't think America
554
00:28:29,084 --> 00:28:31,545
is ready to elect a Black candidate.
555
00:28:32,045 --> 00:28:35,591
[Chideya] He was on the struggle bus
for the first part
556
00:28:35,591 --> 00:28:39,428
of the 2008 campaign
and he did need hip-hop.
557
00:28:39,428 --> 00:28:42,806
He did need a validation of his Blackness
558
00:28:42,806 --> 00:28:45,184
and his viability with Black voters.
559
00:28:45,184 --> 00:28:47,477
And Black voters
were very slow to warm to him.
560
00:28:47,477 --> 00:28:49,605
Lately, I've been listening
to a lot of Jay-Z.
561
00:28:49,605 --> 00:28:51,815
I mean this, this new American Gangster,
562
00:28:51,815 --> 00:28:55,527
it tells a story and, uh,
and, you know,
563
00:28:55,527 --> 00:28:57,070
uh, you know, he's...
564
00:28:57,070 --> 00:28:59,740
as Jay would say, "He got flow."
565
00:28:59,740 --> 00:29:03,744
Honestly, I love the art of hip-hop.
566
00:29:04,203 --> 00:29:05,787
I don't always love
the message of hip-hop,
567
00:29:05,787 --> 00:29:07,623
sometimes degrading to women,
568
00:29:08,540 --> 00:29:11,502
not only uses the N-word
a little too frequently,
569
00:29:11,502 --> 00:29:14,213
but also something
I'm really concerned about
570
00:29:14,755 --> 00:29:16,673
is always talking about material things.
571
00:29:16,673 --> 00:29:19,593
We organize a fundraiser for Obama.
572
00:29:19,593 --> 00:29:21,803
I think we raised $250,000 or something
573
00:29:21,803 --> 00:29:23,430
with the thinking
that we were gonna be able
574
00:29:23,430 --> 00:29:26,517
to meet and bring the issues
of the hip-hop community
575
00:29:26,517 --> 00:29:28,894
before the would-be next president.
576
00:29:28,894 --> 00:29:30,521
But he wouldn't meet with us.
577
00:29:30,521 --> 00:29:32,147
So we didn't give him the money.
578
00:29:32,147 --> 00:29:35,776
[Jeezy] Obama was being careful
not to offend certain voters
579
00:29:35,776 --> 00:29:37,194
by getting too close to hip-hop,
580
00:29:38,070 --> 00:29:40,197
but he knew how to send us a message.
581
00:29:40,197 --> 00:29:42,407
When you're running for the presidency,
582
00:29:42,824 --> 00:29:44,451
then you've gotta expect it.
583
00:29:45,035 --> 00:29:47,454
Uh, and, you know,
you've just gotta kinda let it...
584
00:29:47,454 --> 00:29:50,207
- [♪ hip-hop music playing]
- [crowd cheering]
585
00:29:50,207 --> 00:29:51,291
You know.
586
00:29:52,793 --> 00:29:55,796
That was him telling us like,
"Go to the polls
587
00:29:55,796 --> 00:29:58,340
"because I am, I am totally in tune.
588
00:29:58,340 --> 00:29:59,633
"I'm in the car with you,
589
00:29:59,633 --> 00:30:01,134
so I need you to be in the car with me."
590
00:30:01,134 --> 00:30:03,554
He's a real nigga! [laughs]
591
00:30:06,348 --> 00:30:08,475
Yeah, bro, that's what I thought, bro.
592
00:30:08,475 --> 00:30:11,019
If you know, you know,
some people might have saw him do that
593
00:30:11,019 --> 00:30:13,355
and thought, "Oh, okay,"
they might not have known 'cause...
594
00:30:13,355 --> 00:30:16,316
♪ You better get
that dirt off your shoulders ♪
595
00:30:16,316 --> 00:30:17,985
Like, they don't know
that that was an anthem.
596
00:30:17,985 --> 00:30:22,489
Obama really did need
some shine from, from the streets.
597
00:30:23,031 --> 00:30:24,992
How did I become aware of Barack Obama?
598
00:30:25,826 --> 00:30:30,289
Uh, I was sitting in this, um, restaurant
we love in Atlanta...
599
00:30:30,956 --> 00:30:32,708
um, called Spondivits.
600
00:30:32,708 --> 00:30:37,296
And he was on the news channel
601
00:30:37,296 --> 00:30:39,840
and when I heard him speak
it, it, it felt like
602
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,217
he was talking to and for me.
603
00:30:42,926 --> 00:30:43,969
And I was like, "Damn."
604
00:30:43,969 --> 00:30:45,345
Like, I've never...
605
00:30:47,431 --> 00:30:49,641
felt like I can connect with somebody
606
00:30:49,641 --> 00:30:51,351
that could possibly be the president
607
00:30:51,810 --> 00:30:54,646
and I would find myself, like,
catching stuff he said online
608
00:30:54,646 --> 00:30:57,566
or catching stuff that he was saying
on the news channels.
609
00:30:57,566 --> 00:31:01,153
Like, I'm just like, "Man,
like, I really believe in his heart,
610
00:31:01,153 --> 00:31:02,988
like, he really wants to make a change."
611
00:31:03,322 --> 00:31:05,991
[Bun B]
I think with Obama, I saw myself.
612
00:31:05,991 --> 00:31:10,037
It was very clear
that he identified in a Black man
613
00:31:10,037 --> 00:31:12,789
and he was very deeply entrenched
in Black culture.
614
00:31:12,789 --> 00:31:17,211
I definitely wanted to make sure
I'm not only on the right side of history,
615
00:31:17,211 --> 00:31:19,296
but I was active in the moment.
616
00:31:19,922 --> 00:31:22,174
We felt like Obama had spoken to us
617
00:31:22,174 --> 00:31:23,759
and we wanted to make sure that the people
618
00:31:23,759 --> 00:31:26,803
who maybe were not tuned in politically
619
00:31:26,803 --> 00:31:29,389
like we were understood the message.
620
00:31:29,389 --> 00:31:31,808
Like, hey, you must not know.
621
00:31:31,808 --> 00:31:34,061
Like, this is a new time,
this is a new age.
622
00:31:34,061 --> 00:31:37,105
This the man right here.
Y'all need to come on in.
623
00:31:37,105 --> 00:31:38,815
Barack Obama for me,
624
00:31:39,399 --> 00:31:41,944
this is respectfully,
I say this about the president.
625
00:31:41,944 --> 00:31:44,404
I never, I never had a-a feeling
626
00:31:44,404 --> 00:31:45,781
that he would change nothing.
627
00:31:46,532 --> 00:31:49,159
I-I just, I-I literally just knew like,
628
00:31:49,159 --> 00:31:51,119
bro, this man is not about to change shit.
629
00:31:51,119 --> 00:31:54,498
One of my first art projects
is literally a portrait of Barack Obama,
630
00:31:54,498 --> 00:31:55,666
and I did it in sixth grade.
631
00:31:55,666 --> 00:31:59,044
The idea of a Black president
to an 11-year-old kid,
632
00:31:59,044 --> 00:32:02,548
an 11-year-old Black kid
who lives in Montgomery, Alabama.
633
00:32:02,548 --> 00:32:05,300
Um... We were ready.
634
00:32:05,300 --> 00:32:08,887
It was like, I, I was aware,
hyperaware of racism
635
00:32:08,887 --> 00:32:12,266
and, and, um... segregation
636
00:32:12,266 --> 00:32:16,436
and, and things that had
plagued my hometown
637
00:32:16,436 --> 00:32:19,106
and also our history as a people.
638
00:32:19,106 --> 00:32:23,527
Uh, so the idea that we were gonna
have one in the White House,
639
00:32:23,527 --> 00:32:26,196
it was like, oh, like, y'all finna--
640
00:32:26,196 --> 00:32:27,364
Everything's about to change.
641
00:32:28,198 --> 00:32:29,992
The Recession album was done.
642
00:32:30,492 --> 00:32:31,994
And I hear this, this beat
643
00:32:32,995 --> 00:32:35,163
and I'm just walking around the house
644
00:32:36,373 --> 00:32:38,959
and I keep singing in my head,
"My president is Black,"
645
00:32:38,959 --> 00:32:40,043
and I look at my man, I say,
646
00:32:40,043 --> 00:32:42,713
"Yo, I'ma go to the studio
and drop this."
647
00:32:42,713 --> 00:32:44,965
And he was like,
"Man, the album's done. You know the..."
648
00:32:44,965 --> 00:32:47,050
I said, "No, I'm just gonna cut it
'cause I, 'cause I feel it."
649
00:32:47,050 --> 00:32:50,429
So later on that day
we go to the studio, knock it out
650
00:32:50,429 --> 00:32:51,638
and I'm like, "Yo, this is it.
651
00:32:51,638 --> 00:32:52,973
This is how I'ma end the album."
652
00:32:52,973 --> 00:32:54,183
♪ My president is Black ♪
653
00:32:54,183 --> 00:32:55,893
♪ My Lambo's blue ♪
654
00:32:55,893 --> 00:32:59,062
♪ And I be... if my rims ain't too ♪
655
00:32:59,062 --> 00:33:02,191
♪ My mama ain't at home
and daddy's still in jail ♪
656
00:33:02,191 --> 00:33:04,902
♪ Tryin' to make a plate,
ain't nobody seen the... ♪
657
00:33:04,902 --> 00:33:06,153
♪ My president is... ♪
658
00:33:06,153 --> 00:33:08,780
Everybody that was in the studio
was like, "It sounds good,
659
00:33:08,780 --> 00:33:11,575
"but, uh, if he doesn't win,
you gonna look crazy
660
00:33:11,575 --> 00:33:13,702
"'cause the album comes out now
661
00:33:13,702 --> 00:33:15,746
"and, and, and, and it's gonna
be like, you know,
662
00:33:15,746 --> 00:33:18,498
almost five months away
from the, um, from the election."
663
00:33:18,498 --> 00:33:20,292
You know, I was like,
"No, he's gonna win."
664
00:33:20,292 --> 00:33:21,543
[chuckles] You know what I'm saying?
665
00:33:21,543 --> 00:33:22,920
Like, he's-he's gonna win the election.
666
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:26,548
Young Jeezy fuckin' elected
President Obama.
667
00:33:27,007 --> 00:33:30,844
He definitely, like,
got more people to the polls with a song.
668
00:33:30,844 --> 00:33:33,764
People who never planned
on going to the polls.
669
00:33:33,764 --> 00:33:36,308
I'm like, "Oh, you're here
because of Jeezy." Like, this...
670
00:33:36,308 --> 00:33:38,560
"You've never,
you've never done this before.
671
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,229
I got you, but we're glad to have you."
672
00:33:40,229 --> 00:33:42,940
When he won,
I jumped in my Lamborghini,
673
00:33:43,941 --> 00:33:47,694
I drove through the city,
I went on Peachtree, let my doors up.
674
00:33:48,487 --> 00:33:49,947
I was playing My President is Black.
675
00:33:49,947 --> 00:33:52,407
Everybody was, you know,
just, it was like a parade.
676
00:33:52,407 --> 00:33:54,660
Everybody's like,
"We did it, Jeezy, we did it."
677
00:33:54,660 --> 00:33:55,911
I'm like, "Yeah, we did it."
678
00:33:56,495 --> 00:34:01,250
Every car, every house, every apartment.
679
00:34:02,584 --> 00:34:04,253
It's, it's like, that's all you heard.
680
00:34:04,878 --> 00:34:06,046
That's all you heard.
681
00:34:06,171 --> 00:34:08,882
[♪ "My President Is Black"
remix by Jay-Z playing]
682
00:34:10,384 --> 00:34:11,468
The show of love,
683
00:34:11,468 --> 00:34:13,136
they knew who I was in that room,
684
00:34:13,762 --> 00:34:14,972
the man of the hour.
685
00:34:14,972 --> 00:34:17,266
And mind you,
nobody know Jay-Z did the remix.
686
00:34:17,266 --> 00:34:19,017
I had been, you know, celebration.
687
00:34:19,017 --> 00:34:20,477
I, I was lit, you know what I'm saying?
688
00:34:20,477 --> 00:34:22,771
I was, you know, about five bottles in.
689
00:34:22,771 --> 00:34:26,024
So I might have said
some things that was, uh, on my heart.
690
00:34:26,024 --> 00:34:27,234
[Jeezy laughs]
691
00:34:27,234 --> 00:34:31,238
My president is
motherfucking Black, nigga!
692
00:34:31,238 --> 00:34:32,447
[cheering]
693
00:34:32,447 --> 00:34:35,534
It was bigger than just
the song, uh, you know,
694
00:34:35,534 --> 00:34:37,244
this was a moment in time for us
695
00:34:37,244 --> 00:34:39,580
and I felt like, you know,
696
00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:41,707
this, this was the one time
I could do some good.
697
00:34:41,707 --> 00:34:42,916
You know what I'm saying?
698
00:34:42,916 --> 00:34:44,168
And, and we did. We did good.
699
00:34:45,252 --> 00:34:49,131
It's an honor, uh, to be here
in the White House Library
700
00:34:49,131 --> 00:34:51,508
NPR Music presents Common.
701
00:34:51,508 --> 00:34:52,676
[Common] Thank you.
702
00:34:52,676 --> 00:34:54,011
- Beautiful.
- Thank you so much.
703
00:34:54,970 --> 00:34:56,471
♪ Freedom ♪
704
00:34:57,181 --> 00:34:59,183
♪ Freedom come ♪
705
00:34:59,933 --> 00:35:04,771
♪ Hold on, won't be long ♪
706
00:35:05,314 --> 00:35:07,482
♪ Freedom ♪
707
00:35:08,108 --> 00:35:10,319
♪ Freedom come ♪
708
00:35:10,944 --> 00:35:15,866
♪ Hold on, won't be long ♪
709
00:35:16,658 --> 00:35:18,243
Man, the emotions...
710
00:35:18,952 --> 00:35:21,496
and feelings I had
walking into the White House
711
00:35:22,414 --> 00:35:25,959
to greet President Barack Obama
712
00:35:26,293 --> 00:35:28,212
and First Lady Michelle Obama.
713
00:35:28,712 --> 00:35:30,756
I was overwhelmed and,
714
00:35:30,756 --> 00:35:35,511
and I had this
spiritual feeling that like...
715
00:35:37,095 --> 00:35:40,516
"What did I do to be able to get here?"
716
00:35:42,559 --> 00:35:45,229
[rapping] ♪ We let go to free them
so we could free us ♪
717
00:35:45,229 --> 00:35:47,439
♪ America's moment
to come to Jesus, come on ♪
718
00:35:47,439 --> 00:35:50,526
The journey hip-hop has taken
from the back house to the White House.
719
00:35:51,443 --> 00:35:54,029
It makes me think about our ancestors.
720
00:35:54,029 --> 00:35:56,031
They helped build that White House
721
00:35:56,031 --> 00:35:58,283
and at a time where we were enslaved.
722
00:35:58,784 --> 00:36:02,538
The progress that we've made
as Black people
723
00:36:02,538 --> 00:36:04,790
in, in this country,
724
00:36:05,290 --> 00:36:07,376
Black and brown
when it comes to hip-hop,
725
00:36:07,376 --> 00:36:08,794
it's one of the greatest gifts.
726
00:36:08,794 --> 00:36:11,088
And we did it, like, we did it.
727
00:36:11,088 --> 00:36:13,841
It was life-blowing, mind-blowing.
728
00:36:14,299 --> 00:36:16,134
It shook my soul in a good way.
729
00:36:19,221 --> 00:36:20,931
Obama was the first hip-hop president.
730
00:36:20,931 --> 00:36:24,434
He understood
that the hip-hop culture was here
731
00:36:24,434 --> 00:36:26,687
and that it was having great influence.
732
00:36:26,687 --> 00:36:28,230
And he identified with that.
733
00:36:28,230 --> 00:36:30,899
Obama just swagged out, dawg.
You know what I'm saying?
734
00:36:30,899 --> 00:36:34,444
Obama just, he be hooping,
you know what I'm saying?
735
00:36:34,444 --> 00:36:36,113
Athletes and hip-hop, we go together.
736
00:36:36,113 --> 00:36:39,366
The struggle that,
that artists talk about in their music,
737
00:36:39,366 --> 00:36:41,869
we have that same struggle,
we have that same grind.
738
00:36:41,869 --> 00:36:44,997
You use your life and what you've
been through and your struggles
739
00:36:44,997 --> 00:36:46,456
and you try to make that your future.
740
00:36:46,456 --> 00:36:49,376
My first trip to the White House was crazy
741
00:36:49,376 --> 00:36:52,462
because, you know,
this was his first term.
742
00:36:52,462 --> 00:36:55,674
He's a hooper. And so, we were like,
"Hey, you trying to hoop?"
743
00:36:55,674 --> 00:36:57,759
So we played HORSE with him
at the White House.
744
00:36:57,759 --> 00:36:59,845
I'm not gonna lie, he got a little J.
745
00:36:59,845 --> 00:37:01,096
He has a little J on him.
746
00:37:01,096 --> 00:37:02,723
He be doing all this like... [chuckles]
747
00:37:02,723 --> 00:37:04,558
Like, he like a, uh,
748
00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:06,643
like Obama, like a uncle.
749
00:37:07,561 --> 00:37:09,229
Uncle Obama. What up, dawg?
750
00:37:09,730 --> 00:37:11,607
How you doing today, man? You good?
751
00:37:12,441 --> 00:37:14,109
Obama was tapped in, bro.
752
00:37:14,109 --> 00:37:17,029
[Jeezy] Obama did
what any smart brother would do.
753
00:37:17,029 --> 00:37:19,239
Hip-hop helped him get elected.
754
00:37:19,615 --> 00:37:21,200
So he returned the favor.
755
00:37:21,950 --> 00:37:23,869
Obama became the first president
756
00:37:23,869 --> 00:37:27,664
to invite multiple rappers
into the White House.
757
00:37:27,664 --> 00:37:29,625
You have a Black man in the White House,
758
00:37:29,625 --> 00:37:31,335
you have hip-hop as a global force
759
00:37:31,752 --> 00:37:34,922
and you have it all together
in perfect configuration.
760
00:37:34,922 --> 00:37:37,799
They formed this incredible phalanx
761
00:37:37,799 --> 00:37:41,553
of institutional arts
and culture and politics.
762
00:37:41,553 --> 00:37:46,141
There was this mutual admiration
of powerful forces
763
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,310
and I think it really
stunned a lot of people.
764
00:37:48,310 --> 00:37:53,482
That's how you knew
that he was your brother
765
00:37:53,941 --> 00:37:57,653
because he did what your brother would do
if he got into a good position.
766
00:37:58,111 --> 00:37:59,112
Your homey gonna call you.
767
00:37:59,112 --> 00:38:01,907
"Yo, I'm in this big ass house,
and they got TV there,
768
00:38:01,907 --> 00:38:03,075
I think you could just pull up."
769
00:38:03,075 --> 00:38:04,368
I'm gonna keep it a book, you know?
770
00:38:04,368 --> 00:38:06,203
'Cause I ain't gonna do nothing
that ain't a hundred.
771
00:38:06,537 --> 00:38:09,081
When I saw Obama
inviting all those rappers,
772
00:38:09,081 --> 00:38:11,834
I was a little offended,
you know what I'm saying?
773
00:38:11,834 --> 00:38:14,086
Because I'm like, "Hey, how you
not gonna invite your man?"
774
00:38:14,086 --> 00:38:17,130
My team gets a call
from somebody from Obama's camp,
775
00:38:17,297 --> 00:38:20,551
um, and they just wanted to thank us
for all the work we've done.
776
00:38:21,218 --> 00:38:24,596
And there was a correspondence dinner
that happened in New York,
777
00:38:25,264 --> 00:38:26,431
and I'm like, "Yeah, when I see him,
778
00:38:26,431 --> 00:38:28,809
we gonna dap like this
and we gonna hug like that."
779
00:38:28,809 --> 00:38:31,812
And, and I remember
my security talking to Secret Service
780
00:38:31,812 --> 00:38:34,356
and I just, the whole time
they were just shaking their head.
781
00:38:34,356 --> 00:38:36,942
They're saying, "You can't be even here.
782
00:38:36,942 --> 00:38:38,360
Like, you gotta get off the premises."
783
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:40,445
And I'm like, "Off the premises"?
784
00:38:40,904 --> 00:38:42,781
They did a thorough
background check on me.
785
00:38:42,781 --> 00:38:44,533
I took it personal a little bit, I did.
786
00:38:44,533 --> 00:38:46,493
I just was like, "Damn, you know, like...
787
00:38:46,493 --> 00:38:48,579
you know, they don't see me."
You know what I'm saying?
788
00:38:48,579 --> 00:38:50,080
He don't see me.
You know what I'm saying?
789
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:52,207
I had to really, like, sit back
790
00:38:52,207 --> 00:38:54,084
and look inward and be like,
"Okay, this is my moment
791
00:38:54,084 --> 00:38:57,129
"to accept that because you know my past
is my past, I can't change that.
792
00:38:57,129 --> 00:38:58,547
I can just work on my future."
793
00:39:00,340 --> 00:39:02,259
In April 2016,
794
00:39:02,676 --> 00:39:06,471
Obama brought artists
to discuss criminal justice reform.
795
00:39:06,471 --> 00:39:10,809
J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, Common, Ludacris,
796
00:39:10,809 --> 00:39:16,106
Wale, Chance the Rapper,
Alicia Keys, DJ Khaled,
797
00:39:16,106 --> 00:39:19,651
Timbaland, Busta, Pusha T and Rick Ross.
798
00:39:19,651 --> 00:39:22,070
So inspiring, so motivational.
799
00:39:22,070 --> 00:39:23,155
White House, baby.
800
00:39:23,155 --> 00:39:25,282
You could see
the, the pictures on the walls
801
00:39:25,282 --> 00:39:26,658
and, and think like,
802
00:39:27,409 --> 00:39:31,371
they never thought
that we would be meeting in here.
803
00:39:31,371 --> 00:39:33,749
They never thought
that we would have the,
804
00:39:33,749 --> 00:39:36,335
the power and the voice that we had and,
805
00:39:36,335 --> 00:39:38,003
and the expression that we had
806
00:39:38,337 --> 00:39:40,255
in that room in the White House.
807
00:39:40,255 --> 00:39:42,174
So the talks were really in depth
808
00:39:42,174 --> 00:39:44,384
and we were getting into it.
809
00:39:44,927 --> 00:39:46,678
And, um, this beeping starts to go off.
810
00:39:46,678 --> 00:39:50,015
President Obama was like,
"Wait, what? What? What's that?
811
00:39:50,015 --> 00:39:51,475
Wait, what is that?"
812
00:39:51,475 --> 00:39:55,062
And then Rick Ross was like, "Yo, that's
my, my ankle monitor," you know.
813
00:39:55,062 --> 00:39:57,940
President Obama said,
"Wow, we really keeping it real here."
814
00:39:57,940 --> 00:39:59,024
[laughs]
815
00:39:59,024 --> 00:40:01,527
I don't know if they had that
in the White House ever.
816
00:40:01,527 --> 00:40:04,279
A bunch of people
went in the White House with Obama.
817
00:40:04,988 --> 00:40:07,866
We don't know what happened.
All we saw is pictures.
818
00:40:09,576 --> 00:40:11,453
I ain't seen no list of demands.
819
00:40:12,746 --> 00:40:14,790
This is supposed to be our guy.
820
00:40:15,290 --> 00:40:18,752
Why are we not privy
to what going on inside?
821
00:40:18,752 --> 00:40:22,172
That is a question that I asked myself
when I saw rappers at the White House.
822
00:40:22,172 --> 00:40:26,635
"What is happening?"
And you never really get an answer.
823
00:40:26,635 --> 00:40:30,264
Are we in the inside
or are we just being shuffled along?
824
00:40:30,264 --> 00:40:32,266
I know what it's doing for Barack.
825
00:40:32,266 --> 00:40:33,851
I know what it's doing for the presidency.
826
00:40:33,851 --> 00:40:37,062
Can we affect the policy?
827
00:40:37,062 --> 00:40:39,773
There's a lot of people come in that room
and do nothing in that room.
828
00:40:39,773 --> 00:40:41,650
How do we affect the change?
829
00:40:41,650 --> 00:40:44,528
Obama kinda has tried to play
both sides of the fence.
830
00:40:44,528 --> 00:40:45,779
He's being a politician.
831
00:40:45,779 --> 00:40:48,699
Sometimes he's fighting for us,
sometimes he's using us.
832
00:40:48,699 --> 00:40:54,121
One of the most controlled examples
really is that Jay-Z and Obama ad.
833
00:40:54,121 --> 00:40:55,289
[cheering]
834
00:40:55,289 --> 00:40:58,166
To me the idea of America
is that no matter who you are,
835
00:40:58,166 --> 00:40:59,960
what you look like or where you come from,
836
00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:01,545
you can make it if you try.
837
00:41:02,171 --> 00:41:03,255
Jay-Z did.
838
00:41:03,255 --> 00:41:05,132
He didn't come from power or privilege.
839
00:41:05,132 --> 00:41:06,758
He got ahead because he worked hard,
840
00:41:06,758 --> 00:41:09,720
learned from his mistakes
and just plain refused to quit.
841
00:41:10,053 --> 00:41:15,601
It's such a tightly structured,
well-thought-through political ad
842
00:41:15,601 --> 00:41:19,479
and it definitely tries to play with
843
00:41:19,897 --> 00:41:23,692
what does hip-hop want
and what are we not gonna give it?
844
00:41:23,692 --> 00:41:26,069
He's talking about the American dream.
845
00:41:26,069 --> 00:41:28,697
Anybody can make it in America.
846
00:41:28,697 --> 00:41:31,825
And that's, that's really not our message
847
00:41:31,825 --> 00:41:33,243
when it comes to hip-hop.
848
00:41:33,785 --> 00:41:36,830
Hip-hop got in common
with President Obama is that...
849
00:41:38,207 --> 00:41:39,416
he got ice in his veins.
850
00:41:39,416 --> 00:41:43,420
Like, you can tell somewhere
down the line he know what's up,
851
00:41:43,420 --> 00:41:45,631
and that's what hip-hop is,
knowing what's up.
852
00:41:46,089 --> 00:41:48,050
And my mom called me and she was like,
853
00:41:48,050 --> 00:41:52,679
"Baby, did you hear the president
shout you out last night?"
854
00:41:52,679 --> 00:41:54,223
And I said, "Well, you know,
855
00:41:54,223 --> 00:41:56,099
I don't really think
he rock with me like that, Mama."
856
00:41:56,099 --> 00:41:57,559
And she's like, "No, he shouted you out."
857
00:41:57,559 --> 00:42:01,104
She sent it to me and I, and I press play.
858
00:42:01,104 --> 00:42:03,232
In my first term, I sang Al Green.
859
00:42:04,191 --> 00:42:07,402
In my second term
I'm going with Young Jeezy.
860
00:42:07,402 --> 00:42:08,695
[laughter]
861
00:42:08,695 --> 00:42:09,780
Obama out.
862
00:42:09,988 --> 00:42:11,990
[laughter and applause]
863
00:42:11,990 --> 00:42:13,075
[mouths] Thank you.
864
00:42:13,075 --> 00:42:14,993
I'm just like, "Oh, wow."
865
00:42:15,452 --> 00:42:18,497
He said, "Michelle likes that
when I sing that to her at night."
866
00:42:18,997 --> 00:42:21,333
That there to me was that salute
867
00:42:21,333 --> 00:42:22,584
and head nod from a distance.
868
00:42:22,584 --> 00:42:26,171
Like, "I see you, I appreciate you,
but you know what it is."
869
00:42:26,171 --> 00:42:27,923
And that's why I said
he got ice in his veins.
870
00:42:27,923 --> 00:42:30,467
Only somebody with ice in their veins
871
00:42:30,467 --> 00:42:34,388
would know to give you a nod
from a distance that, "I see you,
872
00:42:34,388 --> 00:42:36,223
I see you," you know.
873
00:42:38,308 --> 00:42:39,726
Obama was hip-hop.
874
00:42:39,726 --> 00:42:42,062
Obama was incredibly hip-hop.
875
00:42:42,771 --> 00:42:44,773
[Bun B] Meeting Obama was crazy.
876
00:42:44,773 --> 00:42:47,192
So soft spoken, such...
877
00:42:47,860 --> 00:42:50,320
such reverence in his presence,
878
00:42:50,904 --> 00:42:53,115
um, without being imposing,
879
00:42:53,866 --> 00:42:56,660
um, just such
an amazing human being to meet,
880
00:42:56,660 --> 00:42:59,079
if not for 30 seconds, right?
881
00:42:59,079 --> 00:43:02,416
But it was everything
I wanted the moment to be.
882
00:43:02,416 --> 00:43:03,667
I cherish it to this day.
883
00:43:03,667 --> 00:43:05,627
[YG] I mean, the handshakes
he used to give people,
884
00:43:05,627 --> 00:43:07,129
you know what I'm saying?
I'm like, "Yeah!"
885
00:43:07,129 --> 00:43:09,715
Like, like, it was just good to see, like,
886
00:43:10,465 --> 00:43:14,678
to see, like, a Black president
and he acting like us.
887
00:43:14,678 --> 00:43:15,762
You know what I'm saying?
888
00:43:15,762 --> 00:43:18,223
I wouldn't be surprised
if he had, like, a little book
889
00:43:18,223 --> 00:43:19,850
of Obama rhymes somewhere.
890
00:43:20,184 --> 00:43:23,687
Obama was naturally
just a cool motherfucker.
891
00:43:24,021 --> 00:43:26,899
He loves the culture,
he respects the art form.
892
00:43:27,107 --> 00:43:29,902
Um, he cares about his music.
893
00:43:29,902 --> 00:43:32,613
In 2020, Obama put me
on his summer playlist.
894
00:43:32,613 --> 00:43:34,698
I wrote CROWN when I was 19 years old
895
00:43:34,698 --> 00:43:39,161
and I, I just graduated high school
and I did not know
896
00:43:39,161 --> 00:43:43,540
whether or not my dreams
would ever come to fruition.
897
00:43:43,540 --> 00:43:45,667
Literally me being like,
I'm gonna have to--
898
00:43:45,667 --> 00:43:47,961
I, I love this too much to not pursue it.
899
00:43:47,961 --> 00:43:49,922
That's probably why
Obama was listening to it.
900
00:43:49,922 --> 00:43:51,089
I think that's what it is.
901
00:43:51,089 --> 00:43:52,633
He's like, "How can I be president?"
902
00:43:52,633 --> 00:43:54,635
But then he did it. I'm proud of him.
903
00:43:54,635 --> 00:43:56,595
Hi, Obama. [laughs]
904
00:44:00,015 --> 00:44:01,141
When Barack was in the office
905
00:44:01,141 --> 00:44:04,311
and it was like
the second to the last party when,
906
00:44:04,311 --> 00:44:05,562
before he left the White House.
907
00:44:05,562 --> 00:44:07,731
Well, I was like, I'ma play
the hardest record I got now
908
00:44:07,731 --> 00:44:09,149
- to see what you... You know.
- Right.
909
00:44:09,149 --> 00:44:12,110
And I put on M.O.P.'s Ante Up
in the White House and--
910
00:44:12,110 --> 00:44:13,237
No, you did not!
911
00:44:13,237 --> 00:44:15,447
And the floor was like vibrating.
People went crazy.
912
00:44:15,447 --> 00:44:16,990
- And I was like, "Oh, God."
- [exhales deeply]
913
00:44:17,491 --> 00:44:19,952
And that was just incredible
914
00:44:19,952 --> 00:44:24,790
because he was playing Mobb Deep
and, and Mary J. and, like,
915
00:44:25,457 --> 00:44:30,379
and M.O.P. and, like, you know,
Black Moon in the White House
916
00:44:30,379 --> 00:44:33,131
and people were really
dancing and celebrating.
917
00:44:33,131 --> 00:44:35,676
It was like one of those things
where you, you look around
918
00:44:35,676 --> 00:44:39,096
and say, "Do you see
what's going on in this place?"
919
00:44:39,096 --> 00:44:42,307
I know it's like always used, but you just
920
00:44:42,307 --> 00:44:46,770
can't help but think like, "Never thought
that hip-hop would take it this far."
921
00:44:47,563 --> 00:44:48,730
♪ Ante up ♪
922
00:44:48,730 --> 00:44:49,982
♪ Yap that fool ♪
923
00:44:49,982 --> 00:44:51,233
♪ Ante up ♪
924
00:44:51,233 --> 00:44:52,693
♪ Kidnap that fool ♪
925
00:44:52,693 --> 00:44:54,903
♪ It's the perfect timing,
you see the man shining ♪
926
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:57,573
♪ Get up off them goddamn diamonds ♪
927
00:44:59,575 --> 00:45:02,035
[♪ hip-hop music playing]
928
00:45:03,495 --> 00:45:05,247
I'm not a political rapper.
929
00:45:05,247 --> 00:45:08,417
Like, my music is not about
the politics of the world.
930
00:45:08,917 --> 00:45:12,254
Me and Nipsey, we was
in the studio working on a, a project,
931
00:45:12,254 --> 00:45:15,549
we two gang members
making it out the city.
932
00:45:15,549 --> 00:45:18,010
You know what I'm saying?
From different sides.
933
00:45:18,010 --> 00:45:20,721
We in the studio and the TV on.
934
00:45:20,721 --> 00:45:23,182
This when Donald Trump announced,
you know what I'm saying,
935
00:45:23,182 --> 00:45:24,850
he was running for president.
936
00:45:24,850 --> 00:45:27,144
It's like at the beginning
of his campaign,
937
00:45:27,144 --> 00:45:30,731
we just started seeing
Donald Trump on the TV a lot.
938
00:45:30,731 --> 00:45:32,983
Like, you could tell,
like, Obama was a good person,
939
00:45:32,983 --> 00:45:34,067
you know what I'm saying?
940
00:45:34,067 --> 00:45:36,486
How he carried himself, how he talked
941
00:45:36,486 --> 00:45:38,864
and then it go to, like,
somebody like Donald Trump
942
00:45:38,864 --> 00:45:41,950
who is just like reckless
and talking out the side of his neck,
943
00:45:41,950 --> 00:45:43,577
racist than a motherfucker.
944
00:45:43,577 --> 00:45:45,954
You know, we gotta say something.
945
00:45:45,954 --> 00:45:49,166
Nobody trying to get they shows canceled
and be going through--
946
00:45:49,166 --> 00:45:50,584
We already going through that.
947
00:45:50,584 --> 00:45:52,169
So how worse could it be?
948
00:45:52,169 --> 00:45:53,545
Let's do this.
949
00:45:53,545 --> 00:45:55,172
♪ Fuck Donald Trump ♪
950
00:45:56,048 --> 00:45:57,591
♪ Fuck Donald Trump ♪
951
00:45:57,925 --> 00:46:00,344
♪ Yeah, nigga, fuck Donald Trump ♪
952
00:46:00,344 --> 00:46:02,846
♪ Yeah, yeah, fuck Donald Trump ♪
953
00:46:02,846 --> 00:46:05,057
♪ Yeah, fuck Donald Trump ♪
954
00:46:05,641 --> 00:46:07,267
♪ Yeah, fuck Donald Trump ♪
955
00:46:07,976 --> 00:46:10,395
I love them saying it
956
00:46:10,395 --> 00:46:13,440
because sometimes I felt like
I was out there by myself.
957
00:46:13,774 --> 00:46:15,943
I respected it, you know what I'm saying?
958
00:46:15,943 --> 00:46:17,319
Because you know, for the,
959
00:46:17,319 --> 00:46:20,197
for the younger hip-hop generation,
he took a stance.
960
00:46:21,323 --> 00:46:23,158
You know what I'm saying?
He took a real stance.
961
00:46:23,158 --> 00:46:25,244
It was too catchy too. I'm like, "Damn."
962
00:46:25,661 --> 00:46:27,871
It was like just as easy
as "Fuck tha Police."
963
00:46:27,871 --> 00:46:30,707
It was timely. It was unexpected.
964
00:46:30,707 --> 00:46:33,293
And I think that's one of
the powerful things about hip-hop.
965
00:46:33,293 --> 00:46:36,463
America politicizes Black people
966
00:46:36,463 --> 00:46:38,757
by its public policy towards Black people.
967
00:46:38,757 --> 00:46:41,301
So you don't have to be
a political hip-hop artist
968
00:46:41,301 --> 00:46:42,886
to make a political statement.
969
00:46:43,679 --> 00:46:46,807
[YG] Somebody got a letter
from, like, Secret Service, FBI,
970
00:46:46,807 --> 00:46:48,517
like, the White House and shit.
971
00:46:48,517 --> 00:46:50,477
And, like, me and Nip was all in papers,
972
00:46:50,477 --> 00:46:52,229
like, talking about the song,
973
00:46:52,229 --> 00:46:55,440
me and Nip was getting banned
from performances
974
00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:57,150
from college campuses.
975
00:46:57,651 --> 00:46:59,152
It was all type of shit going on.
976
00:46:59,152 --> 00:47:01,864
I'm like, "Yeah, I knew this was
gonna happen," and you feel me?
977
00:47:01,864 --> 00:47:04,032
We like, "Fuck it,
'cause it's like we stood up."
978
00:47:04,032 --> 00:47:05,450
I believe Trump heard the song.
979
00:47:05,450 --> 00:47:07,327
He had to hear the song
if the White House,
980
00:47:07,327 --> 00:47:09,371
if they sending letters out and shit.
981
00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:13,041
They was probably like, "Hey, hey, hey,
Mr. Trump, you gotta hear this."
982
00:47:13,041 --> 00:47:14,459
[laughs]
983
00:47:18,755 --> 00:47:21,216
You gotta realize around that time,
it was a get money time
984
00:47:21,216 --> 00:47:23,051
and we liked the fact
that Trump was getting money.
985
00:47:23,051 --> 00:47:24,261
We loved that.
986
00:47:24,261 --> 00:47:25,429
I had a song called Donald Trump,
987
00:47:25,429 --> 00:47:26,805
and this is the thing
you gotta understand,
988
00:47:26,805 --> 00:47:30,017
he was the person we equated with money.
989
00:47:30,017 --> 00:47:33,020
That's all we ever heard
about him being tied to,
990
00:47:33,020 --> 00:47:34,271
you know, billions of dollars.
991
00:47:34,271 --> 00:47:35,939
And when I made my song, you know,
992
00:47:35,939 --> 00:47:38,567
I never made that song from the stance
of him being the president,
993
00:47:38,567 --> 00:47:40,611
nor did I ever think
he would be the president.
994
00:47:40,611 --> 00:47:43,071
That was because I was
relating it to the money, right?
995
00:47:43,071 --> 00:47:46,158
And I think, um, in the beginning
everybody was doing that.
996
00:47:46,158 --> 00:47:49,661
The Trump presidency as a whole
did not have time to blossom.
997
00:47:50,662 --> 00:47:53,207
I think we were onto something
at the very end
998
00:47:53,207 --> 00:47:56,835
and I don't think
that there was time enough
999
00:47:56,835 --> 00:47:59,880
to kind of get the thing going.
1000
00:47:59,880 --> 00:48:02,382
People say he polarized the country.
1001
00:48:02,382 --> 00:48:03,467
I don't believe that.
1002
00:48:03,467 --> 00:48:07,429
We got Kanye in the White House
saying, "Free Larry Hoover."
1003
00:48:07,429 --> 00:48:08,597
That's powerful to me.
1004
00:48:08,597 --> 00:48:10,724
You know, they tried to scare me
1005
00:48:10,724 --> 00:48:12,976
to not wear this hat, my own friends.
1006
00:48:12,976 --> 00:48:15,103
But this hat, it gives me,
1007
00:48:15,103 --> 00:48:16,647
it gives me power in a way.
1008
00:48:16,647 --> 00:48:18,649
Let me give this guy a hug right here.
1009
00:48:18,649 --> 00:48:20,067
- [laughter]
- [shutters snapping]
1010
00:48:20,067 --> 00:48:21,985
- I love this guy right here. Yeah.
- That's really...
1011
00:48:22,611 --> 00:48:26,573
There are definitely aspects
of Trump's personality and actions
1012
00:48:26,573 --> 00:48:30,244
that call to the baser nature of hip-hop.
1013
00:48:30,244 --> 00:48:32,371
You know, hip-hop is a whole range.
1014
00:48:32,371 --> 00:48:36,166
You have, uh, hip-hop
that's explicitly misogynistic.
1015
00:48:36,166 --> 00:48:39,336
Some people in hip-hop who were
used to demeaning women
1016
00:48:39,336 --> 00:48:41,255
may have looked at Donald Trump
1017
00:48:41,255 --> 00:48:44,883
and the, "Grab them by the pussy,"
and all that
1018
00:48:44,883 --> 00:48:47,135
as a feature, not a bug as they say,
1019
00:48:47,135 --> 00:48:49,721
as something to be sought after.
1020
00:48:49,721 --> 00:48:52,724
To have that level of impunity,
which a Black man will never have.
1021
00:49:08,574 --> 00:49:09,616
It is the same line that,
1022
00:49:09,616 --> 00:49:12,953
it is, uh, two different
artists' interpretation
1023
00:49:12,953 --> 00:49:14,288
of the same view.
1024
00:49:15,038 --> 00:49:18,333
There's no respect for women
from either one of those men.
1025
00:49:18,750 --> 00:49:22,838
And, also the fields that they work in
1026
00:49:22,838 --> 00:49:28,051
have historically worked against women.
1027
00:49:28,051 --> 00:49:31,221
I think we're doing ourselves a disservice
if we don't ask why that is.
1028
00:49:31,471 --> 00:49:35,893
Um, the root of it all honestly
is misogyny and misogynoir.
1029
00:49:35,893 --> 00:49:40,480
And there's... the, the Venn diagram
1030
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:43,817
that's happening here
is really something to be noted.
1031
00:49:44,443 --> 00:49:47,487
You said I ran over to the Trump team
1032
00:49:47,487 --> 00:49:49,031
instead of the Biden team.
1033
00:49:49,031 --> 00:49:50,115
That's just not true.
1034
00:49:50,115 --> 00:49:51,867
- They both contacted me.
- Well, but you are working
1035
00:49:51,867 --> 00:49:53,452
with the Trump team instead
of the Biden team
1036
00:49:53,452 --> 00:49:54,912
and people giving you heat for it.
1037
00:49:54,912 --> 00:49:56,205
What do you say to them?
1038
00:49:56,830 --> 00:49:58,373
Well, I'm willing
to work with both teams,
1039
00:49:58,373 --> 00:50:01,668
but I'm just working with
whoever is willing to work with me.
1040
00:50:01,668 --> 00:50:04,630
[Tom Llamas] President Trump is
stepping up for a major recording artist.
1041
00:50:04,630 --> 00:50:07,966
A$AP Rocky, a rapper from Harlem
imprisoned in Sweden.
1042
00:50:07,966 --> 00:50:11,386
President Trump has issued his final list
of presidential pardons.
1043
00:50:11,386 --> 00:50:14,056
Other notable names
on the list include rappers,
1044
00:50:14,056 --> 00:50:16,016
Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.
1045
00:50:29,863 --> 00:50:32,032
I knew Wayne had-had a gun case.
1046
00:50:32,032 --> 00:50:34,117
[laughs]
1047
00:50:34,451 --> 00:50:37,120
So I seen that and I was like,
"Oh, yeah, he politicking.
1048
00:50:37,746 --> 00:50:39,831
He politicking, he get a pass."
1049
00:50:45,128 --> 00:50:48,090
[interviewer] So growing up, who was
the first president of the United States
1050
00:50:48,090 --> 00:50:49,675
that you remember being aware of?
1051
00:50:50,342 --> 00:50:52,469
Uh, Benjamin Franklin.
1052
00:50:52,469 --> 00:50:55,848
[interviewer] Do you remember when N.W.A
Fuck tha Police song came out?
1053
00:50:56,390 --> 00:50:58,517
Yeah, but that ain't my vibe, though
1054
00:50:58,517 --> 00:51:00,602
because I'm-- it's too, it's too blatant.
1055
00:51:00,602 --> 00:51:02,187
Like, I'm not that kinda person.
1056
00:51:02,187 --> 00:51:06,024
I stand for love, peace, growth,
evolving, never change.
1057
00:51:06,024 --> 00:51:07,526
Barack Obama...
1058
00:51:09,278 --> 00:51:11,405
- Alright, I gotta say this.
- [interviewer] Yeah.
1059
00:51:11,405 --> 00:51:12,948
It's a lot of people, right...
1060
00:51:14,241 --> 00:51:16,326
respectfully, that's not Black.
1061
00:51:16,952 --> 00:51:19,037
Barack Obama's
not from the hood of America.
1062
00:51:19,037 --> 00:51:23,792
People want... a Tupac kind of real nigga,
1063
00:51:24,334 --> 00:51:25,502
that's like a Donald Trump.
1064
00:51:25,502 --> 00:51:28,088
Like he's a real nigga
'cause he's unapologetic.
1065
00:51:28,255 --> 00:51:29,256
Black Lives Matter.
1066
00:51:29,256 --> 00:51:31,717
I just, I just didn't like
the narrative, my boy.
1067
00:51:32,384 --> 00:51:35,429
I just didn't like who invested
in that movement. Right?
1068
00:51:35,429 --> 00:51:37,014
Because what the fuck you talking about?
1069
00:51:37,014 --> 00:51:38,265
I'm 'bout-- We do matter.
1070
00:51:38,265 --> 00:51:40,100
Why are we saying like--
We know we matter.
1071
00:51:40,100 --> 00:51:41,560
Why are we pushing that agenda?
1072
00:51:41,894 --> 00:51:42,895
That's dumb.
1073
00:51:46,732 --> 00:51:47,733
Bro, it was.
1074
00:51:47,733 --> 00:51:49,359
[interviewer] When Trump says, quote,
1075
00:51:49,359 --> 00:51:51,361
"Grab them by the..."
1076
00:51:51,528 --> 00:51:53,155
that's, that's sexual assault.
1077
00:51:53,155 --> 00:51:55,032
- I'm not fucking with that at all.
- [interviewer laughs]
1078
00:51:55,032 --> 00:51:56,283
I have a mother, I have a daughter,
1079
00:51:56,283 --> 00:51:57,951
and that shit ain't nowhere
near fucking funny.
1080
00:51:57,951 --> 00:52:01,663
I don't even think that shit should be
in fucking headlines, right?
1081
00:52:01,663 --> 00:52:03,582
So that, that ain't nothing I play with.
1082
00:52:03,582 --> 00:52:04,875
So if you know me, you know me.
1083
00:52:04,875 --> 00:52:06,460
Nigga, I don't play
by women at all. At all.
1084
00:52:08,712 --> 00:52:10,255
Man, I ain't-- I, I rock with policies.
1085
00:52:10,255 --> 00:52:13,634
I rock with him being
a better president than the last guy.
1086
00:52:13,634 --> 00:52:14,718
That's all it is.
1087
00:52:14,718 --> 00:52:15,802
Why I like Trump?
1088
00:52:15,802 --> 00:52:17,554
'Cause he's better than Biden.
1089
00:52:17,971 --> 00:52:20,599
And who in this fucking room
gonna tell me I'm lying?
1090
00:52:21,433 --> 00:52:23,101
[interviewer] So why did you
decide to come out
1091
00:52:23,101 --> 00:52:26,355
and publicly endorse Trump 2024?
1092
00:52:26,355 --> 00:52:28,524
That's what people call endor--
Like, endorsing?
1093
00:52:28,524 --> 00:52:31,652
I don't know that. I swear to God, bro,
on my right hand to--
1094
00:52:31,652 --> 00:52:33,445
On my right hand to God,
I did not look at that
1095
00:52:33,445 --> 00:52:35,572
as being endorsing Trump.
1096
00:52:35,572 --> 00:52:37,741
[interviewer] What do you
wanna say to, to hip-hop,
1097
00:52:37,741 --> 00:52:40,744
to the people about
this election in the fall?
1098
00:52:41,662 --> 00:52:42,913
Uh...
1099
00:52:47,584 --> 00:52:48,585
What I'm gonna say?
1100
00:52:49,795 --> 00:52:52,089
Only thing I could
possibly tell you is, man,
1101
00:52:53,257 --> 00:52:55,092
don't make a last-minute decision.
1102
00:52:55,092 --> 00:52:58,262
It's a lot of people
afraid to be frowned upon
1103
00:52:58,262 --> 00:53:01,682
for living they truth
or speaking they truth.
1104
00:53:06,311 --> 00:53:08,272
Man... hell, no.
1105
00:53:09,898 --> 00:53:11,900
- [John Roberts] So help you God?
- So help me God.
1106
00:53:11,900 --> 00:53:13,735
- [Roberts] Congratulations Mr. President.
- Thank you.
1107
00:53:13,735 --> 00:53:15,487
[cheering]
1108
00:53:16,405 --> 00:53:19,157
[♪ band music playing]
1109
00:53:20,617 --> 00:53:22,995
Over the past 50 years,
hip-hop has become
1110
00:53:22,995 --> 00:53:25,205
as an unstoppable force in America.
1111
00:53:25,205 --> 00:53:29,168
It caught the ear of a,
a child from Newark, New Jersey.
1112
00:53:29,168 --> 00:53:32,963
I think we didn't see more hip-hop
in the Biden White House,
1113
00:53:32,963 --> 00:53:35,966
um, because of
some very apparent reasons.
1114
00:53:35,966 --> 00:53:37,843
Two of the great artists of our time
1115
00:53:37,843 --> 00:53:39,553
representing the groundbreaking legacy
1116
00:53:39,553 --> 00:53:41,722
of hip-hop in America,
1117
00:53:41,722 --> 00:53:45,642
- LL J Cool J. Uh...
- [laughter]
1118
00:53:46,643 --> 00:53:49,104
By the way, that boy's got,
1119
00:53:49,104 --> 00:53:51,732
that man's got biceps
bigger than my thighs.
1120
00:53:51,732 --> 00:53:53,066
I think he's spent...
1121
00:53:54,193 --> 00:53:56,737
And an MC Lyte. Both of you, thank you.
1122
00:53:57,070 --> 00:53:59,198
One of the most glaring... [laughs]
1123
00:53:59,198 --> 00:54:02,534
...was, uh, Biden talking
with the Breakfast Club.
1124
00:54:02,534 --> 00:54:04,703
If you have a problem
figuring out whether you're for me
1125
00:54:04,703 --> 00:54:06,788
or Trump, then you ain't Black.
1126
00:54:06,788 --> 00:54:08,790
Biden is old.
1127
00:54:08,790 --> 00:54:10,042
[laughs] He's, he's tired.
1128
00:54:10,042 --> 00:54:11,752
That man is exhausted.
1129
00:54:11,752 --> 00:54:14,296
We can't expect him to be out here
1130
00:54:14,296 --> 00:54:15,506
hanging out with Ice Spice.
1131
00:54:15,506 --> 00:54:17,925
It's, it's not, it's not in his contract.
1132
00:54:17,925 --> 00:54:21,803
You've been the vice president
for a Black president
1133
00:54:21,803 --> 00:54:24,014
and I think he just made
a lot of assumptions
1134
00:54:24,014 --> 00:54:27,392
that he got
some automatic juice with that,
1135
00:54:27,392 --> 00:54:28,560
that he really didn't get.
1136
00:54:32,064 --> 00:54:34,983
[Waters] Hip-hop has not realized
1137
00:54:34,983 --> 00:54:38,987
its full potential and influence
with presidential politics.
1138
00:54:38,987 --> 00:54:42,491
I'm telling you,
they could register more people,
1139
00:54:42,491 --> 00:54:44,576
turn out more people to vote,
1140
00:54:44,576 --> 00:54:46,078
get more people involved
1141
00:54:46,078 --> 00:54:50,290
than any other sector of our society
that I can think of.
1142
00:54:50,290 --> 00:54:54,211
If they ever use
the full force of their influence,
1143
00:54:54,211 --> 00:54:56,755
I think it will make
a significant difference.
1144
00:54:56,755 --> 00:54:59,967
We should be asking for a little bit more
1145
00:54:59,967 --> 00:55:02,052
of a return on our investment.
1146
00:55:02,052 --> 00:55:05,597
[chuckles] I feel like if people
are gonna want to use our voices,
1147
00:55:05,597 --> 00:55:07,891
if they're gonna want to hear from us
1148
00:55:07,891 --> 00:55:10,227
and want us to be figures that support
1149
00:55:10,227 --> 00:55:12,604
or do not support certain things,
1150
00:55:12,604 --> 00:55:14,731
we need to get something in return.
1151
00:55:14,731 --> 00:55:15,858
What do we want?
1152
00:55:15,858 --> 00:55:17,651
I think that's one of
the most important things.
1153
00:55:17,651 --> 00:55:19,194
What do you want?
1154
00:55:19,194 --> 00:55:20,904
That has to be on the table
1155
00:55:20,904 --> 00:55:22,990
before they start shuffling you around
1156
00:55:22,990 --> 00:55:25,367
and putting you in videos and quoting you
1157
00:55:25,367 --> 00:55:27,911
and all of this nonsense.
1158
00:55:27,911 --> 00:55:31,665
Because it's just a show at that point
in which we are getting played.
1159
00:55:31,665 --> 00:55:34,084
[Chika] Hip-hop was born from rebellion.
1160
00:55:34,084 --> 00:55:37,796
If we wanted to find any kind of truth,
1161
00:55:37,796 --> 00:55:42,259
find any kind of meaning,
purpose in hip-hop
1162
00:55:42,259 --> 00:55:43,927
and this election season,
1163
00:55:43,927 --> 00:55:47,097
we would need to examine the roots
of what hip-hop came from.
1164
00:55:47,097 --> 00:55:49,558
[YG] N.W.A, Eazy-E,
you know what I'm saying?
1165
00:55:49,558 --> 00:55:52,144
Ice Cube, Tupac. You know what I'm saying?
1166
00:55:52,144 --> 00:55:54,688
We grew up, everything they did
1167
00:55:54,688 --> 00:55:58,609
and what they came from
and the marks they left.
1168
00:55:58,609 --> 00:55:59,776
You feel me?
1169
00:56:00,402 --> 00:56:02,613
On a hip-hop culture in the community,
1170
00:56:02,613 --> 00:56:07,576
once you realize, like, the situation
and position you in,
1171
00:56:07,576 --> 00:56:09,745
I start feeling like I got a duty.
1172
00:56:10,204 --> 00:56:11,246
You know what I'm saying?
1173
00:56:11,246 --> 00:56:13,457
We gonna take on whatever motto,
1174
00:56:14,416 --> 00:56:18,420
whatever's motherfucking in front of us,
whatever the size.
1175
00:56:18,420 --> 00:56:21,298
Like, come on, let's do it.
Fuck it, let's go.
1176
00:56:21,298 --> 00:56:22,674
They cannot be stopped.
1177
00:56:22,674 --> 00:56:26,803
New ideas, new language.
You know what I'm saying?
1178
00:56:26,803 --> 00:56:29,348
You can get any president,
you can line 'em up,
1179
00:56:29,348 --> 00:56:31,183
and put 'em in an arena.
1180
00:56:31,183 --> 00:56:36,104
Nobody's gonna recite any words
he said for 45 minutes straight.
1181
00:56:36,605 --> 00:56:38,440
And when you look at people like us,
1182
00:56:38,857 --> 00:56:42,277
people know each and every word
'cause that's what we mean to them.
1183
00:56:42,277 --> 00:56:43,529
We are the voice of the people.
1184
00:56:44,279 --> 00:56:45,697
Hip-hop is the power.
1185
00:56:47,366 --> 00:56:50,369
[♪ hip-hop music playing]
1186
00:57:24,319 --> 00:57:27,155
[♪ music continues]