Ben Carson and the Very Bad, No Good, Absolutely Terrible Rap Campaign Ad
November 6th, 2015 | By Sonnie Johnson
Ben, don’t do it. Please don’t do it. Cause one of us goes in and we all go through it. Unless you plan on doing it right.
GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson just released a rap video in his campaign’s attempt to win the black vote. Doug Watts, Carson’s campaign spokesman said the goal of the video was to “reach them on a level they appreciate and follow and see if we can attract their consciousness about the election.”
Oh, the Carson campaign garnered some attention from the consciousness of black America. Here are a few headlines…
Oh Good Lord, Ben Carson Has a Rap Song Now
Ben Carson’s Rap Ad is here to ruin your day
Ben Carson made a rap song for the Blacks
As an advocate of mixing conservative principles with the very capitalistic Hip Hop industry, you would think I would cheer Ben Carson’s attempt to widen the base. But if I can be cliché for a moment, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The road to annihilation in Hip Hop is as thin as one bad song. Just ask Cannibus, Ja Rule, or Meek Mill.
If you didn’t catch that last reference, you should not be on Ben Carson’s team giving him advice on how to talk to the black community using Hip Hop as a vehicle. Let me put it in terms Carson’s campaign may understand. It would be like sending Donald Trump into a pediatric brain surgery.
Before I am accused of Ben Carson bashing, he hit the nail on the head…
“reaching out and talking to them in a language that they prefer… and in a cultural format that they appreciate.”
To bring about a renaissance, you need a rebirth of culture and intellect. The Ben Carson ad brought in the culture but it totally forgot the intellect.
Hip Hop is no different than any other capitalist endeavor. A quality product produces greater returns. Ben Carson’s attempt to meld Hip Hop with his campaign would be found in the reduced rack of a Family Dollar. Hell, I’m a conservative and lover of Hip Hop and it made my skin cringe.
There are legitimate ways to accomplish Ben Carson’s goal of using culture and conservative principles to reach the black community. This was not one of them.
WARNING: LISTEN AT YOUR OWN RISK!