Witness the negative media reaction to Ludacris's Hillary/McCain/Bush-bashing "Politics as Usual," which caused the Obama campaign to distance itself from the overzealous rapper. Really, isn't there something to be said for keeping this particularly trigger-happy faction of the Democratic Party under wraps, much like the right does with their lock-and-load lunatics?
In any case, after the jump we've selected a handful of rapper endorsements - along with some other remarkable Obama tributes - and graded them on a scale of one to five McCain heads. The more McCain mugs, the worse the damage to Obama's campaign. - Ben Westhoff
Ludacris, “Politics as Usual”:
In this now-infamous track, Luda calls Hillary a bitch (or a “beh-zup” in the edited version), asks for a pardon if he's ever in prison, calls Bush mentally handicapped and says, oddly, "McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed." Right out of the Ben Affleck and Barbra Streisand's "How to Lose Votes for Your Candidate" playbook. Damage: 5 McCain heads
Kidz In The Hall, “Work To Do”:
"Work To Do" is vaguely soulful and non-threatening in a Sunday-barbecue/Fuddruckers-soundtrack sort of way. While the track may not be particularly memorable, it's certainly non-offensive. Interesting side note: a YouTube version of the "Work To Do" remix features Bun B temporarily withholding his support for Obama. "And believe me," he adds. "I got the power to move things. I can swing the vote in any state." Send that man to New Mexico! Damage: 1 McCain head
East Coast Avengers, “Kill Bill O’Reilly”
While this track isn't technically supporting Barack Obama, it's a fairly obnoxious piece of red-state-baiting, even taking knuckleheaded swipes at O'Reilly like "I wanna hurt you/ Immerse you in torture," whatever that means. This song - along with those hippie double dutchers protesting the RNC - is exactly the kind of stuff that rallies the right in an election year. Damage: 5 McCain heads
Nas, “Black President”:
In a bit of reverse psychology, Nas samples Tupac, saying, "Although it seems heaven sent/ We ain't ready to have a black president." Pretty nifty! This may have the effect of causing bigots in West Virginia to vote for Obama simply to spite Nas. Damage: 1 McCain head
Barack Obama and Rick Astley, “Barack Rolled”:
This viral video has surely done more for Obama's campaign than all those other songs combined. If Rick Astley would just get it over with and endorse Barack, this campaign would be over. Damage: 1 McCain head
John Rich, “Raisin’ McCain”:
McCain would seem to have the country/redneck vote sewn up, but this ditty, performed by Big & Rich's John Rich at the Republican National Convention, could actually hurt the campaign. After all, drawing parallels among the septuagenarian candidate and a fruit laxative is probably not a good idea. Damage: 1 McCain head