Free Republic

Late-night-host Seth Meyers followed in Eminem’s footsteps Wednesday night, giving his viewers an ultimatum to choose him or President Trump. “I was inspired by that, so tonight I say to any fans of this show who are also big fans of Donald Trump, it’s time to make a decision guys, get off the fence,” Meyers joked. “Do you support him? Or do you support this show, that constantly mocks and denigrates anything about him? I know it’s a tough call, but the time has come to make a decision.” Eminem, in a viral rap slamming the president, told his fans...

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick expressed his appreciation for Eminem's fiery four-and-a-half-minute freestyle takedown of President Trump. "I appreciate you," Kaepernick said in a tweet that also had the video, which aired at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards on Tuesday. Kaepernick led a movement beginning last season when he took a knee during the national anthem to protest the treatment of African Americans and other minorities in the U.S. Eminem dedicated a portion of his freestyle to supporting Kaepernick and other NFL players who have recently come under attack by the president for those demonstrations. "Now, if...

Las Vegas mass killer Stephen Paddock booked two hotel rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago this summer, according to a report Thursday. Paddock specifically requested both rooms to have a sweeping view of Grant Park — about 500 yards away — but never showed up, sources told TMZ. Among the 400,000 people who packed the venue in the Windy City was Malia Obama, 19, the former president’s older daughter.

Rapper Eminem released a brand-new track ahead of the final presidential debate titled “Campaign Speech.” The seven-minute freestyle rap covers a wide range of controversial news events that have surfaced during this election season — from the killing of Trayvon Martin, to Charleston church gunman Dylann Roof, to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his anti-cop demonstrations. Given the rap’s title, it’s no surprise that Donald Trump gets a mention. What is surprising, however, is the fact that Eminem of all people chose to bash Trump and his supporters, considering how much he and the Republican nominee have in common.

David Brooks took a brief break on Friday from politics and Bruce Springsteen idol worship today in his New York Times column to take on the role of rap reviewer. His subject was Chance the Rapper (authentic birth name Chancellor Johnathan Bennett) as he expounded at length on the subject of sincerity vs authenticity. In the process he slammed both Taylor Swift and, of course, the one who continues to inhabit his mind 24/7...President Donald Trump. Brooks starts off his rap review gig with a microanalysis of the recent debut of Chance the Rapper's unnamed song and quickly proceeds to talking...

What do the Las Vegas massacre, the Charleston church shooting and last weekend’s Islamist stabbing of two Frenchwomen have in common? The murderers’ sense of inadequate recognition, and the primal lure of the ecstasy of killing. Acts of deadly terror are in fashion, the default position for a wide range of frustrated egotists. From lone-wolf Islamists enabled by faith, through punk racists, to a high-stakes gambler who craved casino perks — slum-dweller, misfit or property owner — these terrorists shared a sense that their societies wouldn’t give them their due. Too much has been made of the measure of wealth...

50 Cent, who recently took XXL exclusively behind the scenes of his new variety show, 50 Central, is known for offering his forever-unfiltered commentary, even when it comes to certain controversial topics such as Donald Trump. During a conversation on The View, the music-mogul-turned-entertainer spoke as candidly as ever, explaining that if he got elected president “by accident,” he might be making similar mistakes. “I think if I was the president by accident, I would be doing things like that,” 50 Cent says with a smile when asked by co-host Whoopi Goldberg his thoughts on Trump’s recent “sons of bitches”...

President Donald Trump continues to prove that he might be one of the most petty politicians in history. After making controversial comments about the NFL, POTUS recently rescinded the offer for Steph Curry and the NBA champion, Golden State Warriors to visit the White House after Curry said he didn’t want to go in a recent interview. Going on one of his seemingly weekly Twitter tirades, Trump snapped, “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!” LeBron James quickly came to the defense of his fellow NBA All-Star...

2017 has been a dynamic year for UK music scene. No matter where you are in the world it’s hard to ignore the vast progression and recognition that UK rap artists have been receiving globally, not only by music lovers but also by fellow musicians. One of the undeniably most progressive artists’ flourishing in the music scene is South London rapper, Dave, also known as Santandave, who has been acknowledged by the likes of acclaimed artists such as Drake and Hans Zimmer, alongside major brands such as Footlocker and Nike.

I wish I wasn’t the one to bring this tragedy to these vaulted pages amidst the litany of bad news we’ve huddled together against. I’m only the messenger of this giant’s downfall, who no doubt touched us all. Rapper Shawty Lo has died in a car accident in Atlanta. The 40-year-old rapper, born Carlos Walker, was ejected from his vehicle after he crashed into two trees on his way home from an Atlanta strip club. Walker leaves behind 11 children from 10 different mothers. He made headlines in 2013 when the television network Oxygen announced a special about the rapper...

The National Park Service staff in Washington, D.C., is bracing for a busy day Sept. 16. That’s when supporters of President Trump will be sharing space on the National Mall with fans of the hip hop act Insane Clown Posse. The Trump supporters plan to hold what they’re calling the “Mother of All Rallies,” while the music fans – known as Juggalos – plan a “Juggalo March on Washington” in response to the FBI labeling them a “loosely organized hybrid gang.” “This is the day that we are asking every single Juggalo to join us in our nation’s capital, Washington,...

On Sunday (03Sep17) TMZ.com editors reported that Legend had placed an advertisement with Los Angeles agency Casting Networks inviting extras who are white and overweight to audition for roles as pro-Trump protesters in a new promo. However, on Monday, John, 38, denied the casting call came from his camp, writing on Twitter, "There's a casting call out there claiming to represent me looking for 'out of shape' Trump supporters. This didn't come from me or my team" He did reiterate his opposition to America's controversial 71-year-old leader though, adding, "still (sic) think Trump is awful and whoever voted for him...

Singer John Legend has reportedly put out a casting call for “preferably out of shape” actors to play supporters of President Trump in a new music video. According to TMZ, the casting call was posted on Los Angeles’s Casting Networks website and uses a photograph of several people wearing Trump shirts as an example. The report notes that the call for actors portraying Trump supporters is the only listing with a specific body type. Legend has criticized Trump in the past and was also an outspoken backer of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign.

Rappers like Trae Tha Truth and Bun B have been helping residents in their city of Houston and its surrounding areas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. While Trae has been on the ground rescuing people from flooded homes and Bun B is organizing a telethon to raise money for victims, much criticism has been directed toward President Trump and his apparent lack of effort. Houston rhymer Lil’ Flip thinks the hate should be turned into help from those criticizing the Commander-in-Chief. The 36-year-old rap veteran, who released his new song “B*tch I’m the Man (B.I.T.M.)” yesterday, is praising Trump...

Those who long for a traditional high school or college curriculum, particularly when they never experienced one, might not appreciate the internal conflicts that plague multicultural education. "Many Hip Hop pedagogies, from Alim's critical Hip Hop language pedagogies (2004) to Emdin's work on Hip Hop and science education (2010), for example, argue for the use of rap battles--improvised verbal duels--in classroom learning," Django Paris and H. Samy Alim write in the book Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies. "Yet few take up the fact that the Hip Hop battle can sometimes be a masculinist space that excludes young women, queer youth, and young...

If Drake looks smug and Dave Grohl looks a little stricken in the photos above, there's a good reason: Nielsen tracking indicates hip-hop and R&B have officially become the most dominant form of popular music in the United States for the first time ever. As HuffPo reports, the reason for hip-hop's supremacy—25 percent of the retail music market over 23 percent for rock—may not be a big surprise. The reason for hip-hop and R&B overtaking rock is simple: online streaming. When it comes to album sales, rock continues to dominate, claiming 43 percent of physical album sales and 37 percent...

Rapper Bow Wow took to Twitter to defend his mentor Snoop Dogg in his public feud with President Donald Trump, but he drew in First Lady Melania Trump and in a way that was derogatory, offensive and sexist. He told the president he should shut his punk (executive) up about Dogg. He then if said the president didn’t stop attacking Dogg, “we” would take an action that suggests turning the First Lady into a prostitute. His tweet crossed several important lines. First it implied a certain attitude among rich, powerful, arrogant and misogynist men. It is that women only exist...

T.I. has issued a stern warning to his celebrity peers meeting with Trump: “Do not accept any invitation to have any meeting... No matter how positive you think the outcome may be.” On Monday, T.I. shared his two cents on the matter in a series of Instagram video posts explaining his theory on the Trump administration’s “strategic plan” to help normalize the president-elect. “They see how adamantly against [Trump] being president the hip-hop community and the young black people was in America,” he said. “So what did they do? They get Kanye West to come in. Well, surely, ‘if you...

Kanye West didn’t participate in the election earlier this month, but he would have voted for President-elect Donald Trump if he had. The 39-year-old rapper and songwriter told concert-goers in San Jose that he supported the business tycoon and future POTUS on Thursday. “I told y’all I didn’t vote, right?” the “Fade” performer asked the crowd during his performance at the SAP Center. “But, if I would have voted, I would have voted on Trump.” The audience responded with a combination of cheers and boos, but that didn’t stop West. “To black people, stop focusing on racism,” he continued. “It’s...

Portland Public Schools officials are rethinking a district ban on rap music on buses after allegations of racism. The district had banished hip-hop from its buses, deeming the genre "inappropriate." Teri Brady, senior director of transportation at Portland Public Schools, sent a directive to bus drivers in March forbidding "religious, rap music, or talk show programs." The memo included a list of acceptable stations, broken down into three genres: pop, country and jazz. Parent Colleen Ryan-Onken obtained a copy and it circulated in August among outraged parents, prompting the district to walk back the directive in statements released Wednesday.