Last month, TV personality, model, and part-time rapper Amber Rose, known for her relationships with Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa, took the stage at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Despite her seemingly liberal image, marked by a fitted black turtleneck, multiple piercings and forehead tattoos reading “Bash” and “Slash,” Rose addressed the conservative, mostly white MAGA crowd with relative ease.
Rose’s support for Trump is ironic given her role as a women’s rights activist and organizer of SlutWalks, which aims to empower women and combat sexual violence. Yet, she backs Trump—a man found liable for sexual assault and she supports a party that proudly struck down Roe v. Wade and has restricted abortion access nationwide.
At the RNC, she said, “I realized Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, white, gay or straight. It’s all love… These are my people. This is where I belong.”
The clash in Rose’s advocacy is glaring and deeply disappointing, though perhaps not surprising.
Amber Rose is among several Black celebrities in or adjacent to the hip-hop scene who have publicly supported Trump. Artists such as Azealia Banks, Waka Flocka Flame and Chief Keef have all supported the former president, raising the question: Why are rappers so drawn to Trump?
During the 1980s to the early 2000s, Trump was the pinnacle of wealth and power, frequently name-dropped in rap lyrics and tied to rap tycoons like P. Diddy and Russell Simmons. In Ice Cube’s record “Three Strikes You In” (1998), he raps, “I’m just tryin’ to get rich like Trump,” and in “211” (1994), Master P raps, “Put more cash in my pockets than Donald Trump.”
This trend continued with artists like Nas, Jay-Z, and Lil’ Kim referencing Trump long before he became the polarizing politician he is today.
During that era, the hip-hop community’s fascination with Trump’s opulent lifestyle, and his enjoyment of the spotlight, created an unlikely bond between the business mogul and the genre—a relationship Trump weaponized for his own gain.
At a time when Black people were excluded from most private Palm Beach clubs in Florida, Trump opened Mar-A-Lago to them. Rappers who might not have otherwise experienced such opulence began to view Trump favorably, almost as an ally.
However, it is imperative to understand that while Trump and his supporters claim the decision was an act of kindness unto the Black community, Tom Kertscher of Politifact, wrote that his actions were “a business move, not a crusade” to expand his patronage and increase his profits.
As the decades passed, Trump continued to ingratiate himself with the hip-hop scene, but more recently for political gain. In 2020, he pardoned rap stars Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, as well as Michael “Harry-O” Harris, co-founder of Death Row Records and Roc Nation executive—a move clearly aimed at pandering to the Black community. Following these pardons, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black endorsed the former president.
Additionally, in October 2023, St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red appeared on a conservative-leaning podcast, expressing her admiration for Trump by saying, “Aww baby, we love Trump. We need him back in office.” She went on to claim that the hood “loves” the former president and praised him for the 2020 stimulus checks, seemingly believing that Trump would issue more checks if reelected.
Trump’s efforts to cozy up to the Black community extend even further. In May, he invited Bronx drill rappers Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow to his campaign rally in New York City, all a part of his ploys to appeal to African Americans and draw Black voters away from the Democratic Party.
When hip-hop celebrities like Amber Rose, Lil Wayne, and Kodak Black, endorse Trump it signifies more than just a political disagreement—it reflects a troubling cultural betrayal and a fragile loyalty to the Black community.
Is receiving social capital, a pardon or simply a stimulus check truly enough for them to turn their backs on their community?
The willingness to overlook Trump’s racism is deeply troubling. This includes ignoring the ads he ran calling for the death penalty for the Black and Brown teenagers in the Central Park Five case, the 1970s lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice for refusing to rent apartments to Black people, the “birther” movement he led falsely claiming President Obama was not born in the United States and his recent accusations and denial of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Black identity.
Trump’s efforts to align himself with hip-hop and by extension, the Black community are not only strategic– but are a bid to co-opt Black culture and use it against Black people.
Nevertheless, his efforts have found some success among Black voters, as Sexyy Red’s sentiment claiming that “the hood supports Donald Trump” holds some truth.
It’s not just rappers that support the former president either. Trump’s presidency when Black voters witnessed money from the stimulus checks with Trump’s signature hit their accounts, and their favorite celebrities receiving clemency from the president they were satisfied with. They had grievances and received tangible change.
However, these actions were merely ‘Bread and circuses’– short-term measures designed to distract and placate the Black community.
This strategy has effectively secured support from some Black voters, demonstrating that immediate relief can overshadow the broader implications of Trump policies like when Trump’s tax cuts disproportionately left out Black Americans, and when the Trump administration rolled back Obama’s policy that aimed to protect Black students from being punished more harshly in schools.
It’s important to critically assess Trump’s true motives behind his aid, ensuring the long-term interests of the Black community and humanity as a whole are protected.
