Some of the biggest names in the rap game are backing former President Trump’s 2024 presidential run, with some pledging their allegiance — and their skin — to the GOPer in the wake of his glaring mugshot.
Chicago rapper Badman Kevo did his best to give Trump a leg-up this week — by tattooing the former president’s mug SHOT on his leg and sharing the moment on Instagram with his 3 million followers.
“Make America rich Again or Sleepy Joe,” he said, teasing the spot which showed him inking Trump’s mugshot.
“Biden … actually got me paying a lot of taxes,” Kevo griped on the We in Miami podcast. “Actually, this is my second Trump tattoo.”
The rapper additionally credited Trump for springing him from jail “six months early” where he had been serving time for bank fraud.
In an Instagram story posted after prisoner No. PO1135809 was fingerprinted and had his mugshot taken in Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail on charges of illegally conspiring to overturn the state’s 2020 election result, Rapper Chief Keef hailed Trump to his 8.8 million followers.
Rapper Bandman Kevo said he was backing Trump so he could have lower taxes. Twitter @bandman_kevo
On August 12, days before Georgia prosecutors leveled the latest charges, Buffalo rapper Benny the Butcher tweeted “I’m voting Trump 2024” in a viral notice that generated a million views on X, formerly known as Twitter.
I’m votin Trump 2024
— BENNY THE BUTCHER (@BennyBsf) August 12, 2023
“Now rappers are back to where they were with him pre-running for president which was as a cool rich guy. He spends money like rappers spend money. he has gold toilets. I think they saw a kindred spirit in him,” said one person close to Trump, who said he expected the musicians to be deployed in some capacity in a general election to tout Trump’s street cred to black voters.
Kevo put Trump’s mugshot on his leg in homage. Twitter @bandman_kevo
Trump has held onto past support from rappers such as Lil’ Pump — who famously appeared on stage with him shortly before the 2020 presidential election, he has won converts too.
YG — a rapper famous for his anti-Trump protest anthem “F—k Donald Trump,” — said in an interview earlier this month that the “black community” had had a change of heart.
“I ain’t going to lie, bro, the black community is not f–king with Trump, but when this PPP s—t and all that s—t came out, black people forgave him,” YG said during an August 1 taping of the YouTube show This Past Weekend. “I’m speaking about these mothf—kers in the hood. I am speaking on their behalf. This is what they say. ‘s—t, Biden ain’t did nothing for us, that n—a Trump is passing out money.”
Polls have consistently shown President Biden underperforming with non-white voters.
In a Sienna College poll last month, he failed to win a majority of non-white voters without a college degree — besting Trump among these former Dem die-hards (49%–33%).
Lil Pump was busted three times in 2018 alone for shooting a gun at his home in California, driving without a license in Miami, and possessing marijuana in Denmark.
Trump faces 91 separate felony counts across four state and federal jurisdictions.
He’s vowed to fight all the charges and vigorously insists he’s the victim of a weaponized justice system.
“In the urban black community, a mug shot can be an iconic symbol, both of victimization and of greatness. It’s a defiant UP YOURS to “the man.” Think Tupac Shakur. Trump is now the ultimate gangsta in our culture,” conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza noted in a viral posting to X.
In the urban black community, a mug shot can be an iconic symbol, both of victimization and of greatness. It’s a defiant UP YOURS to “the man.” Think Tupac Shakur. Trump is now the ultimate gangsta in our culture pic.twitter.com/IwEzoEvggI
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 25, 2023
The support has only grown since 2016 when Trump was backed by a number of the most famous rappers in the country including Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West.
Trump had long been popular among rap artists who dropped his name in lyrics frequently before he entered politics. Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Young Jeezy, and Nas are just a few of the rappers “who worshipped Donald Trump in the past,” according to BET.
Rapper Lil Pump is with Trump again in 2024 after campaigning with him in 2020. Getty Images
“I think there is something between Trump’s ideology and the whole gangsta vibe of being an American that a lot of rappers can connect with,” said aspiring rapper Jordan Coleman — the 28-year-old son of Mayor Adams.
There is “something about Trump’s’ swagger and something about his confidence that people resonated with.”
Coleman said he isn’t enchanted with either Trump or Biden.
“I think we need more options out there if we are speaking truth to people,” he said. “I am waiting for someone new — like myself.”
