The White House held a Hip-Hop, star-studded outdoor bash on Sept. 9, courtesy of Vice President Kamala Harris. While the event was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the genre, some are wondering if it was another tactic by President Joe Biden’s administration to win Black votes. 

In attendance for the Front Lawn house party was a Who’s Who of Hip-Hop, such as Lil Wayne, who in 2020 endorsed Donald Trump for reelection, Common, Too Short, Jeezy, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, MC Lyte, Wale, and others.  

Lil Wayne raps “Mrs. Officer” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hip at Kamala Harris’ DC residence pic.twitter.com/hx5yi9lJxF

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 9, 2023

Harris, in collaboration with the Recording Academy’s Black Music Coalition and Live Nation Urban, honored the cultural movement’s impact on the world.

“And I will tell you as a daughter of Oakland, California, Hip Hop has been a part of my life since its very beginning,” said Harris, HipHopDX reported. 

For Biden’s entire term, we haven’t seen one serious town hall or press conference, focused on Black America. Not 1.

I’m talking about w/real questions. Once you are done w/ hip-hop concerts, holidays, & symbolism, you’re going to have to talk policy business, to win vs Trump. https://t.co/8VrQUthHM4 pic.twitter.com/93xmIooRBo

— The Moguldom Nation (@Moguldom) September 9, 2023

While it seemed like a fun time was had by all, including Harris, who was caught on video dancing, some wonder if it was a ploy to get Black voters to support Biden for reelection. Observers cite such gestures as this and Biden’s enacting the Juneteenth federal holiday order in 2021 as a sign he wants to appease Black voters.

After all, his support is slipping in the Black community.

They are at the US government hip-hop concert at Kamala’s home.

Some will say if you can do a hip-hop concert, you can do a policy-focused town hall, with real, unsanitized questions. https://t.co/HIEZCXBccJ pic.twitter.com/3Xqdcy1CLM

— The Moguldom Nation (@Moguldom) September 9, 2023

On average, Biden leads Trump by just 53 percent to 28 percent among registered nonwhite voters in a compilation of Times/Siena polls from 2022 and 2023, which includes over 1,500 nonwhite respondents, The New York Times reported.

I wonder how many Black votes will Lil Wayne garner for them?

— Dr. Deborah Jenkins (@DvineExpression) September 10, 2023

In an MSNBC opinion piece written by Zeeshan Aleem, he noted Biden has a problem with voters of color with Black voters jumping to the GOP, even though the Republicans has adopted more of a white nationalist stance.

I wonder how many people at the event caught what Lil Wayne did by performing this specific song at the residence of this specific Vice President. 😂 https://t.co/ynB5Xy5jG7

— Darvio Morrow (@DTheKingpin) September 10, 2023

“The Trump era ushered in a new mode of white nationalism within the Republican Party and helped trigger a more resolute commitment to anti-bigotry in the Democratic Party,” he wrote.

Aleem added, “Theoretically, such an ideological shift could have increased Black and Latino voter support for Democrats, as that party became a more vocal champion of marginalized communities. Instead, the trend is heading in the opposite direction.”

Lil Wayne meets Kamala Harris in DC pic.twitter.com/gKYWtsf12i

— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) September 9, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris dancing at White House Hip-Hop celebration, Sept. 9 on the Front Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Twitter screenshot, https://twitter.com/ANTHONYBLOGAN/status/1700636304340390350?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1700636304340390350%7Ctwgr%5E93a76c7972a3402263e1e73d411711e0869a3068%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndtv.com%2Fworld-news%2Fvideo-of-kamala-harris-dancing-to-hip-hop-at-white-house-party-is-viral-4379813)