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‘Reagan gave us something to rap about’: how hip-hop has interacted with US politics

New documentary Hip-Hop and the White House looks back at how presidents have rejected or embraced those within the genre, from Reagan to Trump

Soon thereafter the political ruling class realized that hip-hop was a useful tool, one that could be used to scare up white votes, through formal protest and policies targeting explicit artists and lyrics and firebrand activists like Sister Soulja, and stir up the scores of young voters who connected with the music. In a world where top personality Stephen A Smith goes on Hannity to say Black Americans could relate to Donald Trump “”, a straight political documentary from the self-styled worldwide leader in sports isn’t as far-fetched an idea as it would’ve been even four years ago. Kanye West meets Donald Trump Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThe many experts Washington parades through his film – Newark mayor Ras Baraka, rap legend KRS-One (who slams Reagan as “the father of crack cocaine”), the aforementioned Daddy-O, a sampling pioneer – appreciate that hip-hop has reached the executive branch, and that it could also do a lot more to affect change in their audiences’ daily lives.

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