Last night, Donald Trump was (inexplicably) elected to be the president of The United States and a lot of hip hop musicians are understandably angry.
Trump triumphed over Hillary Clinton last night after securing enough electoral college votes to earn the Republican nominee the presidency, despite losing the popular vote and overwhelmingly losing the vote among the poor and middle classes, as well as minorities. In the weeks leading up to the election, Trump earned the ire of many black celebrities for claiming that African-Americans owed him a vote because "they have nothing to lose." Trump further earned the ire of the hip hop community when he criticized Beyonce and Jay Z for publicly voicing support for his opponent and for Jay Z's supposedly offensive lyrics.
Obviously, Trump isn't the most popular person in the hip hop community, and his election success was met with a mix of anger, bewilderment, and resigned depression from a variety of the genre's biggest artists.
"Aye, what y'all wearing to the slave auction tomorrow?," The Game tweeted sarcastically.
"One last time," Young Jeezy defiantly reacted, "My president is black."
"I was wrong. I thought America couldn't possibly disappoint me more than it already had. But, I was wrong. RIP America," said Black Star rapper Talib Kweli.
YG and Nipsey Hustle, who scored a hit this year with their single "FDT" (Fuck Donald Trump,) promised they will continue to promote the song despite Trump's victory. "Can't believe this motherfucker won," YG tweeted late last night.
Chuck D of socially conscious golden age rap group Public Enemy was predictably more eloquent in his criticism of Trump, saying "After [President] Obama now many will see what a Prez who don't give a fuck about you.Prisons & carnage await if folk don't unite with orgs, & brain up now," adding "Even I knew the Eisenhower Nixon years & it was before I was born. No excuse for excuses of not knowing HISTORY of these government Devils."
Chance the Rapper, who held a free concert the previous day in order to motivate his fans to vote, expressed equal disappointment. "If you wanna cry watch Van Jones give the first cognizant minority understanding of the election on CNN tonight. He just made it real," the Chicago rapper said on Twitter. You can watch the statement by political commentator Van Jones, in which he expresses his shock that Trump won after running a campaign built on on bigotry and bullying, that Chance is referencing here.
Kanye West has yet to comment on the election but there has been a renewed call for the Chicago rap and fashion mogul to run for President in 2020. While Kanye's political aspirations seemed like a joke at first, after last night it seems like anyone can become president with enough fame and money, so suddenly a Yeezy presidency doesn't sound so impossible.
By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation.com
