Recently, LL Cool J made a stunning move and decided to decline his invitation to perform at the Wawa Welcome America concert, stating that he would not cross the picket line and would support the ongoing Philadelphia sanitation workers’ strike. Singer Jazmine Sullivan followed suit shortly thereafter. The reason this is so stunning is because, well, most rappers aren’t as principled as they’d like you to believe, and even worse, the words they say that are merely entertainment (*cough cough Young Thug) are truer than we think.
Rap is pervasive; it’s ubiquitous. It’s a genre that is Black AF. Unfortunately, some of the best rappers are extremely problematic, and because mainstream rap is as catchy and addictive as it is, it also comes with some habitual issues. Because they are such large representatives of the community culturally, there is this expectation that they will be good representatives of the community politically, and they quite often fall short.
There is also this expectation that because they are rich, they will give back to the community. Hell, Frank Lucas handed out turkeys…and heroin, so what is really giving back to a community that you’ve stolen more from? Many rappers get to look like good people because they have a thesaurus and have opened up restaurants, all the while overcharging their clientele, not paying their workers and not denouncing Cop City. That was specifically about T.I. and Killer Mike, if it wasn’t obvious, who also opened up a now-“temporarily closed” restaurant together. Killer Mike may have music that’s a bit more enlightened than that of his peer, T.I., but his desire to ingratiate himself with Republican lawmakers and his pro-cop stance are indicative of how he does business—most specifically in Atlanta.
As Sean “Diddy” Combs faces some very few of the consequences of his actions, it is important to note that he flaunted who he was right in front of us for decades.
“All About the Benjamins,” wasn’t just a song; it was a mantra. This man fucked over everyone he could to get to the top. Many rappers talk about getting money at all costs, and yet when they become rich, they still maintain this ideology. Many actually did sell drugs to get ahead. Hell, both Biggie and Young Thug, according to the movie Notorious and Young Thug himself, have sold crack to pregnant women. There was no boundary when they were poor, there is no boundary now that they are not. If the majority of your music is about demeaning women, selling crack and getting money, then of course, that is who you are going to be when you get even more money and power. Hell, they don’t even stop selling crack (hey, what’s up, hello, Fetty Wap).
People get up in arms when so many rappers like Snoop, 50 Cent, Nelly, Soulja Boy, Rod Wave, Waka Flocka Flame, Kodak Black and Rick Ross, just to name a few, support Trump. Even after all the things that Trump has done to dismantle support systems in Black communities, these hungry leeches suckled right up to Trump’s genitals so they could have more money to spend on strippers, because they did the same things, too. They are millionaires and many of them sold drugs or a persona to get there. Of course, they are going to support someone who lets them hide their money, so they don’t have to pay taxes and support the same communities they pretend to give a fuck about. Some of them can blame the coke but many of them have always been ain’t-shit individuals, who have only ever been about bucks and bitches, because that’s the extent of their intellectual prowess. Many of them owe their success not to actual genius but to canned beats, A/B rhyme scheme, and luck.
The expectation that these people will be politically correct in the most literal sense is futile.
Many of them have always shown an utter disregard for other Black people; they’ve just done so behind a catchy melody. They are fun to work out to, but they are not thought leaders and are not politically sound; they are just, unfortunately, some of the biggest voices in the Black community. LL Cool J’s rap isn’t about disrespecting women; I mean, the LL stands for “Ladies Love,” for God’s sake. You didn’t hear him doing anything but giving the ladies some pleasure, and that has a lot to do with the stance he took.
Let’s stop giving a fuck about what people who have sold crack feel politically, because a good beat does not a good person, make.
