Politics | ProHipHop

June 17, 2011

This Is My Rifle: Lupe’s Uzi Weighs a Pound

Rapper Lupe Fiasco comes out fearlessly when he stated, “In my fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama in the United States of America”, during an interview appearance on “What’s Trending”, a CBS program hosted by Shira Lazar.

Fiasco was responding to a question from Lazar about political content in his popular rap albums. His extreme political views are partly what fuels his rap and intrigues his hundreds of thousands Twitter followers. The rapper also revealed that he doesn’t vote and he does not involve in politics, and that voting is meaningless. “If I’m going to say I stand behind this person and write on a piece of paper that says, ‘yeah I stand for this person,’ then I have to take responsibility for everything he does cause that’s just who I am as a human being. So politicians aren’t going to do that because I don’t want you to bomb some village in the middle of nowhere”, he added.

With Lupe Fiasco’s blunt feelings about the first African American US President, he expects no more invitation in the White House plus more critics condemning his statement, but will all these impede him from producing more political-themed rap songs?

Posted by yodee on June 17, 2011 in Barack Obama, Politics | Permalink

August 20, 2010

Wyclef Jean Disqualified from Haiti Run for President

Wyclef can’t run for President of Haiti due to not having lived there enough:

“[Electoral] Council spokesman Richard Dumel said election officials have accepted 19 candidacies and rejected 15 others. The Haitian-born singer’s candidacy was turned down because he did not meet the residency requirement of having lived in Haiti for five years before the Nov. 28 election.”

And that’s probably for the best.

Posted by Clyde Smith on August 20, 2010 in Community, Politics | Permalink

August 05, 2010

Disaster for Haiti: Wyclef Jean to Announce Candidacy for Haitian Presidency on Larry King Live Tonight

In a press release issued by Wyclef's camp, Wyclef Jean is expected to announce his candidacy for President of Haiti in a live broadcast of Larry King Live with Wolf Blitzer from Haiti's Le Plaza Haiti Hotel in Port-au-Prince tonight at 9 pm.

Wyclef is said to have resigned from Yele Haiti, an organization which has been associated with fiscal mismanagement and related disasters, and will go into campaign mode in preparation for the forthcoming elections in Haiti on November 28th.

Update:
It's official: Wyclef Jean To Run for President of Haiti

Posted by Clyde Smith on August 05, 2010 in Bad Looks, Business News, Community, Politics | Permalink

July 29, 2010

Wyclef Jean for President of Haiti?

As 26 year-old Haitian Marie Lacrete told the Christian Science Monitor:

“I don’t have a problem with Wyclef, but he’s not the right person to be president. He’s a musician, not a politician,” says Ms. Lacrete, adding that the singer didn’t graduate from college.

Lacrete, who has a degree in agronomy but works as a secretary, said that Haiti’s problem is that the right person is never in the right place. “Still, people will vote for him, because he has money and he’s popular and because they don’t know what they are doing.”

Given the history of our presidential elections, not knowing what they are doing seems to be a common flaw of the electorate.

Without even referring to his Yele Haiti Foundation scandal, Lacrete later states:

“He can’t even manage an enterprise properly,” Lacrete shuddered, talking about the Haitian TV company Telemax, which she charges has been “going down” since the singer became a shareholder. “How is he going to manage Haiti?”

How indeed?

Posted by Clyde Smith on July 29, 2010 in Bad Looks, Community, Politics | Permalink

July 14, 2010

Amiri Starr Uses YouTube to Vie for Role as Tupac Shakur

Amiri Starr: 2Pac Biopic Audition Tape

Though I don't think he's the only one taking this route, Amiri Starr is using YouTube to pitch himself for the role of Tupac Shakur in an upcoming movie to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. But he is the only one to have put out a press release that I received:

"In a recent interview, Fuqua stated he is looking to find a new face to fill the role. "I want to discover someone new. I want to go to the streets and find him anywhere he might be in the world," stated Fuqua."

"Amiri Starr wants to take advantage of the once in a lifetime opportunity, and has launched a grassroots, online campaign to attract Fuqua's attention. In a riveting and realistic YouTube video performance, posted on his Facebook page, he passionately portrays the famous rap star."

Update: I previously differed with Starr over a quote in the press release that he now says was incorrect. I don't have the corrected version but was speaking of Tupac as ONE OF THE greatest revolutionaries of the 20th Century as opposed to THE greatest. So I've retracted my statement.

Over at Hip Hop Press:
Actor Amiri Starr Launches Online Campaign in Bid for Role as Tupac Shakur

Posted by Clyde Smith on July 14, 2010 in Arts Fashion Film, Film/DVD, Marketing, Online Marketing, Politics | Permalink

July 14, 2010

Sara Mestas aka Rapper Mo Wiley Runs for Mayor of San Leandro

Sara Mestas For Mayor of San Leandro, CA

Back in May, rapper Mo Wiley announced her candidacy for Mayor of San Leandro, CA running as Sara Mestas. She says she was inspired to run, in part, because of police reactions to her desire to support positive relations between cops and citizens:

“What prompted me to run for mayor,” she says, “I got resistance from the San Leandro Police Department and City Manager when I tried to start a San Leandro Police Activities League. They were uncomfortable with me being the face of the organization because the video for my single ‘You Can’t Touch It’ they say is provocative and they also said my music promotes gangsterism and sex.”

“The whole point of launching my music career with an album about the streets is to tell people about the hard places I came from in my youth that listeners could relate to—and then show them with later recordings just how I have matured and evolved since then. There would be a huge disconnect if I did that first without showing the sequence of events that brought me to where I am now.”

Mestas has now released a promotional video, embedded above, that describes her platform and reasons for running.

MySpace:
Mo Wiley

Available on iTunes:
Mo Wiley

Over at Hip Hop Press:
SARA MESTAS (AKA ‘MO WILEY’) CONTINUES FUNDRAISING EFFORTS FOR HER CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR OF SAN LEANDRO, CALIF.
BAY AREA RAPPER SARA MESTAS (‘MO WILEY’) SWITCHES BEATS AND PREPARES TO ANNOUNCE HER CANDIDACY FOR MAYOR OF SAN LEANDRO, CALIFORNIA

Posted by Clyde Smith on July 14, 2010 in Community, Politics | Permalink

June 30, 2010

Cake-Eating Contest News: U.S. vs Syria in the Works?

NY Times: Twitter Musings in Syria Elicit Groans in Washington

A young State Department official recently "challenged a Syrian communications minister to a cake-eating contest." And then twittered about it and got spanked.

ProHipHop wants to go on record as officially supporting all cake-eating contests designed to make the world a more peaceful place.

No word yet on whether a Cake Eaters Party will be formed in opposition to America's beloved Tea Bagger Party.

Posted by Clyde Smith on June 30, 2010 in Community, Politics | Permalink

March 21, 2010

Tea Bag Scumbags Resort to the Language of Rap: N-Words & Homophobic Slurs

Huffington Post:
Tea Party Protests: 'Ni**er,' 'Fa**ot' Shouted At Members Of Congress

On the one hand, since I generally avoid a-holes, I usually only hear this kind of language on rap records.

That said, these fools need a beatdown.

Posted by Clyde Smith on March 21, 2010 in Community, Politics, Race | Permalink

February 23, 2010

Trailers/Teasers for Paul Hardcastle’s 19 Update

Paul Hardcastle – 19 Trailer 25th Anniversary

Not hip hop but a nice project from Paul Hardcastle connecting his Vietnam-related hit from 1985, 19, to the current situation in Afghanistan.

The Vision

From the press release:

"On The 19th April 2010 Paul Hardcastle will release a new version of the 80s hit classic 19. This iconic track sold over 3 million copies worldwide and highlighted the plight of the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. Now, 25 years on Paul has been compelled to write another Chapter."

Available on iTunes:
Paul Hardcastle

Over at Hip Hop Press:
"Godfather of Sampling", Paul Hardcastle, to Release a New Version of 80's classic, 19 in Response to Plight of Soldiers in Afghanistan

Posted by Clyde Smith on February 23, 2010 in Community, DJs/Producers, Politics | Permalink

February 09, 2010

Iran Tells U.S. & Israel: Check (& Mate?)

Defiant Iran Accelerates Nuclear Program

So where do you think this is going and how do you think it will end?

Let's think back:

U.S. supports Israel for many years, despite their abusive treatment of the Palestinian people, and uses Israel as a cutout for military-related supplies to countries like South Africa and Guatemala when Congress periodically cut off direct aid.

Thus: U.S. is not only hated throughout Middle East but loses any perception of moral high ground among those nations and their supporters.

Ronald Reagan & Co. cuts an arms for hostage deal with Iran (Iran/Contra Affair) to embarass Jimmy Carter & Co. and kickstarts the Reagan/Bush/Bush II years.

Thus: Iran knows that many powerful forces in the U.S. are willing to cut a deal when its seems to be in the best interests of those forces no matter who we're dealing with or what the long-term implications

U.S. stages series of wars with Iraq, first in support of a monarchy, later with false claims of weapons of mass destruction using 9/11 as an emotional front.

Thus: Sadaam's Iraq, one of Iran's biggest enemies, is removed from the game.

U.S. remains in Iraq and kicks it up in Afghanistan drawing in as many international players as possible and spreading U.S. military (and the f*cking National Guard!) so thinly that we can't start or survive another front.

Thus: Iran is not worried about immediate deployment of U.S. military capabilities because we can't do anything right now that requires any sustained action.

Obama viewed internationally as potential peacemaker, despite war mongering, and then endorses nuclear power.

Thus: Our beloved wild card removes any basis for the U.S. advocating against nuclear power and the production of uranium for theoretically peaceful purposes.

Iran steps up uranium enrichment as Israel discusses direct strikes and international politicians chatter away.

Thus: Iran has set the stage for the possible, if not likely or even inevitable, destruction of Israel and the hastened decline of the U.S. with the direct complicity of the United States' political/military system and world "peacekeepers".

Nice work, guys!

Iran now has the West in check as we wait to see who blinks first.

Posted by Clyde Smith on February 09, 2010 in Community, Politics | Permalink