You’d think conservatives would be somewhere rejoicing over Osama but now they’ve found something else to bitch about!
Socio-conscious rapper Common was recently invited to the White House for a star-studded poetry event hosted by President Obama and Michelle Obama and when conservatives caught wave of the news, they made sure they’re opposition was well known, with Fox News going so far as to call him a “vile rapper.”
New Hampshire Journal: “Some of Common’s poetry could … raise some eyebrows among those who might find cop-killing and racially-tinged or misogynist language beneath the Office of the Presidency.”
Though Fox News has joined forces with the New Hampshire Journal, the Daily Caller and even Sarah Palin to speak out against having Common appear for the poetry event, they were singing a different tune 7 months ago when they interviewed him. They referred to him as a “rap legend,” and even Fox News reporter Jason Robinson asked Common during that interview:
Fox News: “Your music is very positive. And you’re known as the conscious rapper. How important is that to you, and how important do you think that is to our kids?”
Common: “[It's a] significant role. I just try to show who we are as well-rounded people and I’m happy to be known as the conscious artist.”
People familiar with Common’s music have found the conservatives claims to be outrageous with Jason Linkins from The Huffington Post saying:
“[Common is] not what I consider to be a ‘gangsta rapper’ or particularly prone to any of hip-hop’s legendary excesses. In fact, it was these excesses – ‘poppin glocks servin rocks and hittin switches’ — that Common famously criticized in perhaps his most famous song, ‘I Used To Love H.E.R.’”
Meanwhile, The American Prospect gave their opinion on why such an invite would gain national attention:
“Rappers are often conflated with the content of their material in a way other artists aren’t because the narratives almost always take place in first person as part of an emcees’ effort to create a literary persona. That’s part of why William Shakespeare has never been accused of endorsing rape or domestic violence. Mix that with a black president whose spent the last few years facing accusations of covert black militancy from Republicans, and you’ve got yourself a faux-scandal.”
I’m placing bets that they somehow stumbled across this video of Common from years ago as he performed the powerful piece “Letter To The Law” on Def Poetry Jam
Common Performs Poetry at the White House
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