For three decades rappers have been name-dropping Donald Trump. In a recent Washington Post article, writer Chris Richards dissected what the current U.S. President being mentioned in over 300 hip-hop songs really means.
Naming examples ranging from Ice-T, Scarface, E-40, Raekwon, Nas to Nelly, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Nipsey Hussle and YG, Trump has been a topic of discussion. However, Richards makes the case that since hip-hop evolved over time, the way Trump was rhymed about did too.
Trump went from being described as a standard of wealth in earlier rap lyrics to a racist and detriment to the country, Richards pointed out. He’s careful to note that a rapper’s mention of Trump isn’t necessarily an “ode to Trump.” Rather, mentioning Trump underscored a Black person being able to attain luxury things, with “Black” being the main attribute praised.
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“’Black’ was still the operative word here, but the meaning of ‘Trump’ felt different. This was no longer Donald Trump, celebrity millionaire and low-hanging rich-guy metaphor. This was Donald Trump the reality television star, the ratings hound, the attention freak, the bully-boss,” Richards wrote.
In addition to rising to notoriety on a parallel trajectory to that of hip-hop, it’s also worth noting, Richards said, that Trump rhymes with a lot of stuff. He concludes his article with saying unlike hip-hop, Trump isn’t willing to change with the times. For that, he surmises the current commander-in-chief won’t
Walter Kimbrough is the president of HBCU Dillard university. He also teaches a course on hip-hop, sex and gender. He tweeted the article and said they will discuss the topic in his class during the upcoming Spring term.
Social media is already weighing in. One user questioned whether it was necessary to “deep dive” into the topic,. Others thanked Richards for an “amazing” piece.
