Young Jeezy denies endorsing McCain, says Vibe ‘misconstrued’ his words
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008First Congressman John Lewis, now rapper Young Jeezy.
In the August issue of Vibe magazine, Young Jeezy is quoted in the cover story as saying, “No disrespect to Barack, but I fuck with John McCain.”
Turns out, he meant to say the opposite. At least, that’s what he’s saying now in a classic what-had-happened-was moment. He’s even posted a YouTube video statement to clarify his position, saying “somewhere down the line my words got misconstrued.”
In the video, he wears a shirt printed with the words, “My president is black,” and aligns himself with the Democrat party, saying “I represent the streets, the struggle. I represent Democrats.”
In a not-so-ironic twist, his upcoming CD scheduled for release this summer, is titled The Recession. The high cost of gas is just one of the topics he plans to address.
The quote in question came after Jeezy met Senator McCain in May on the set of Saturday Night Live where they briefly shook hands. McCain was hosting the show and Jeezy was there performing “Love in this Club” with Usher. In the YouTube video posted last week, Jeezy disses McCain while addressing Senator Obama with the cool moniker, “Barack-O.”
Whether it’s a pure publicity stunt or a genuine flub Young Jeezy wanted to correct, it shows how much of a pop phenomenon Obama has become that a rapper of Jeezy’s commercial caliber would go so far to align himself with a presidential candidate.
But here’s something I can’t help but wonder: Can the support of a rapper like Young Jeezy — who’s been alleged to have ties to the BMF drug syndicate and nicknamed himself ‘the Snowman’ (hint, hint) earlier in his career — do more harm to Obama’s campaign than good? Or will the dope boy constituency be politically ignited to vote en masse, thereby countering those who might otherwise be offended?
