Hip hoppers say Dennis no menace
Originally published in The Hill
Hip hoppers say Dennis no menace
By Jonathan E. Kaplan and Hans Nichols
“Go, go Dennis; he ain’t no menace. Run, run Dennis; he ain’t no menace,” raps Joel Tyner, a hip-hop activist who is backing Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) for president.
Kucinich, a Midwestern vegan who has already pocketed the endorsement of country singer Willie Nelson, is looking for a little street cred among hip-hop’s urban minority youths, who are largely overlooked by mainstream candidates.
Tonight, Kucinich will team up with 2000 Green Party nominee Ralph Nader and hip-hop artists and D.C. activists Head-Roc and Noyeek the Grizzly Bear at the African Methodist Episcopal Church along M Street. The event will promote D.C. statehood, affordable housing and healthcare for all, among other issues.
thomas butler
Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)
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Nader’s group Democracy Rising is sponsoring the event, marking the first time he will appear on stage with any of the challengers to President Bush, whose victory in 2000 many Democrats attribute to Nader drawing votes away from former Vice President Al Gore.
Nader had “invited all of the other candidates, even President Bush, but Kucinich is the first to accept the invitation,” said Matthew Zawisky, national organizer for Democracy Rising. “Mr. Nader and Congressman Kucinich are much closer than he was with Vice President Gore.”
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus praised Kucinich’s effort to connect with a constituency that they said is often overlooked.
“I hope that Kucinich and candidates like him can energize the hip-hop generation. I am all for it,” said Rep. William “Lacey” Clay (D-Mo.). “Being from St. Louis, I know a little bit about hip-hop — you know Nelly worked on my first campaign — and I hope he can connect with them. I think he can.”
“I truly believe that Kucinich is making a contribution to the debate, as I do with Al Sharpton,” said Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.).
But like Warren Beatty’s character in the 1998 film “Bulworth” there may be a steep learning curve for a rap parvenu such as Kucinich, whose favorite song is John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
In addition to Nader, Kucinich has enlisted the Rev. Osagyefo Sekou, a minister from St. Louis, to introduce Kucinich to hip-hop artists and fans.
Sekou told The Hill that hip-hop includes rap, break dancing, slamming, poetry and the business side of those activities; the strategy is to target the “black and brown version of Generation X” who grew up with hip-hop.
Davey D, a radio deejay and columnist in San Francisco, said: “It’s a lifestyle for people under 40, who are part of the first generation of Americans” to earn less money than their parents and to live in an age of technological advancement without the family interconnectedness that existed a generation ago.
Last week, Kucinich participated in a panel titled, “So you want to be my president,” at the Oakland Box Theatre. In front of an audience of 200 potential hip-hop voters, Kucinich took questions from independent filmmaker Kevin Epps, a Japanese-American rapper called Shingo2, hip-hop bishop Adisa Banjoko, writer Aeeshah Clottey (Beyond Fear: 12 Spiritual Steps to Racial Healing), managing editor of Youth Outlook magazine Neela Banerjee, Bay Area disc jockey Sake1, The Delingquents’ G-Stack and political consultant Rebecca Kaplan.
Davey D moderated the discussion in which Kucinich was asked about the disproportionate percentage of African Americans in prisons, the Patriot Act and gay and lesbian issues.
In November, Kucinich plans a “Representin’ Tour” to reach hip-hop communities in 75 cultural hot spots in 200 cities, according to Sekou.
Several attendees said Kucinich received an enthusiastic reception. “Yo, I love this fool,’” Sekou reported some clubbers saying.
G-Stack told Kucinich: “Dog, I hope you become president and I am votin’ for you.’”
David Swanson, Kucinich’s spokesman, said it is not unusual for Kucinich to reach out to a largely minority constituency. He grew up poor, moving from house to house and even living out of cars in poor neighborhoods, where his neighbors were black and Hispanic.
Davey D said that Calif. Gov. Gray Davis never appeared on his top-rated radio show, whereas San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Oakland-area Rep. Barbara Lee (D) participated frequently.
Democratic pollster Celinda Lake praised Kucinich’s strategy for its saliency among white voters. “If you are trying to get under-35 white liberals, there’s a tremendous crossover with hip-hop.”
“That’s one of their defining characteristics,” Lake said. She added: “Of course, the average age of caucus-goers in Iowa is 66, so it may not have that much impact there.”
Although the Rev. Al Sharpton would seem to be the natural Democrat to tap into this community, given his outspoken support for repealing the death penalty and opposition to police brutality, Davey D said that Sharpton is not as well-organized as Kucinich.
Davey said that Sharpton is more likely to visit a church than a hip-hop club.
Ex-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who has made many trips to California, has not reached out to the hip-hop radio stations or clubs. This week, Dean is reaching out to another demographic of Generation X. He is visiting college campuses in Iowa, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.
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