Hip-hop has now entered the presidential realm as the leader of the free world, President Joe Biden, has decided to use ‘Euphoria’ by Kendrick Lamar as the backing track to one of his campaign videos aimed at his opposition, Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The President has decided to use Lamar’s track instead of a creation from Drake, which has led many to believe that the politician is currently on the side of the Compton native and not Drizzy.
Biden and his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, have evidently made a conscious decision to use rap music as a way to appeal to young voters in the lead-up to the Presidential election in November. However, they are up against some tough competition.
This tactic is nothing new, Trump previously teamed up with Kanye West, who he invited to the White House, as well as A$AP Rocky, who he helped get released from a Swedish prison.
On May 7th, the President and Vice President released a promotional video with the K.Dot bars, “It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater / I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct.”
Although this comes as a surprise to many, this isn’t the first time politicians have attempted to embrace hip-hop as a ploy to attract voters. Last year, for the Republican primaries, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy used Eminem’s track ‘Lose Yourself’ on the campaign trail, which angered the Detroit emcee.
Furthermore, as hip-hop celebrated its 50th anniversary, Kamala Harris threw a private party at her residence in Washington DC that saw the likes of Lil Wayne, Common, and MC Lyte perform. She also called the genre the “ultimate American art form.”
This latest political broadcast saw Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics visually doctored to attack Donald Trump with lines reading, “I hate the way that you walk over women’s rights, the way that you talk about immigrants […] I hate the way that you sneak diss on truth social.”
Each line plays over images of the Republican candidate, with the clip’s text altered to condemn the 77-year-old’s conduct. Watch below.