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Meet the Republican Rapper
The Conservative Political Action Conference always produces a breakout star. This year’s winner: a hip-hop artist whose artistic inspirations include Nancy Pelosi.
I met the world's first self-proclaimed "Republican rapper" on the second day of the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference. He is Hi-Caliber, a former construction worker from New Jersey who told me that after just 10 minutes of listening to right-wing radio shock jock Michael Savage ranting about "Islamofascism" and illegal immigration, his "whole views on the world changed." Now Hi-Caliber records inspired battle anthems against President Barack Obama, who he denounces as a "socialist in the White House;" he attacks Nancy Pelosi as "phony baloney;" assails the liberal media; calls for a border fence; and warns darkly of the Fairness Doctrine.
In this Daily Beast exclusive video, Hi-Caliber kicked some of the most novel rhymes I have ever heard. Hear him for yourself.
Click below to watch the video.
Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for The Daily Beast and writing fellow at The Nation Institute, whose book, Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books), is forthcoming in Spring 2009. Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.
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Now if we can just get the 13 year old conservative (Robin, boy wonder) Joe the Plumber (Martian Manhunter) and of course Sarah Palin (Wonder Woman) together we'll have sort of a retarded Justice League. Steele and Jindal can be the wonder twins. Or Shaggy and Scooby. But basically it's a bad cartoon.
I lost count of how many times I cringed during this video. I don't know what's worse, the idiot rapping or Blumenthal's head bobbing.
You Have got to be kidding is this joker for real?
He should a handed you a barf bag with the lame 'spit' he offered now everyone's a rapper this is just the same knee jerk GOP strategy that cultivated Palin, Steele, & Jindal , yeah you clowns can be down like democrats or independents
HA ,,, Never your rap suks 'homey'
What's next GOP...you've been so disconnected from the people of this country for so long that your desperation is becoming painfully clear. Rappin' are you serious? Can't wait to B'boy Bohner spits his CD.
I see him as the opener for the next Chuck D show
hahahahahahah
An uneducated guy accidently listens to Savage one day and becomes "conservative." At this point at just feel sorry for them
I can't tell if Blumenthal's praise for these "novel rhymes" was meant to be cheeky, or if it was designed to appease conservative readers looking to be represented on the Daily Beast, but I cannot believe he meant such plaudits in earnest. The rapping captured in the video comes across like a scene in an ironic documentary, in which the subject can't know how sad and misguided he appears to the audience. Blumenthal's collegial nodding appears to be of the same category unless it is meant as ironic encouragement, a la Sasha Baron Cohen -- but Blumenthal gives no hint to the camera that this is his intention.
Back to the rapping, I thought it worth looking up the origins of the word hackney, and it didn't disappoint:
"A horse or pony of a light breed with a high-stepping trot, used in harness."
Oh wow. Look out, Zack De La Rocha. You've got competition.
Wait, no you don't. Nevermind.
Really, this guy makes Eminem look like Boots Reilly. His fake eubonics do him no favors, and his "spitting" sounds sleepy.
Why is right-wing music so lame?
Okay, Mr. Blumenthal, so I know that you don't like this guy, but this is one of your most neutral pieces yet. Please go more in this direction.
Yeah, I can just see Mitt, Rush, and Joe The Plumber with the Newtster at the wheel low-ridin' through the streets of the hood jammin' to this cat.
I feel like I just entered an alternate universe! Now all we need is an uneducated Black country-western singer writing songs about how happy he is to be a dirty flag burning liberal ever since he "accidentally" stumbled onto Olbermann.
You know the conservatives would love his ethnic confusion. I wonder if kids will ever just try to be themselves again instead acting like they're from South Central LA(black and white). Really? You got your education on the streets? But you sound so informed? You had me fooled. Worst flow I've heard all week. He'll make money just because he's an oddity. It's a shame because he has no serious poetic talent and his ideas are just parroted from the worst kind of haterz.
That was beyond awesome. Max, did we mention you have no balls? Why didn't you rap battle him? Where was Max-B, AKA, Liberal Lyin'? See what I did there? Balls Max. Get some.
I heard a group of conservative rappers in a club in Canada last year. They are very popular there, and about the same talent as this guy. Someone will like it, at least I could understand wth he was saying, which is better than some rap. LOL.
Good Lord. I'm 71, a registered Republican (but not for long), and even I expelled my cappuccino from my nose when I heard how totally stupid this looked and sounded.
It even approaches Michelle Bachmann telling Michael Steele, "You be da man, Michael, you be da man." Except the rapper is a tad less inappropriate.
I mean, how frigging uncool can you get?
I've always hated rap. It's a cheap way of getting the attention of dim minds. It's definitely not music, and it's a far cry from poetry. To me, it's sort of in the same category as some idiot driving by in his car with the windows down, fancy speakers, and some senseless bit of modern "music" playing at full volume and the bass all the way up.
I suppose next, we'll be having a rap version of the Star Spangled Banner forced upon us at the beginning of sporting events.
wow guy, you have no idea how stupid and ignorant that is. it's a genre of music, and to condemn an entire musical medium based upon the obviously minute portion of it you've heard is pretty ridiculous. there is, of course, good rap and bad rap - and unfortunately it's the crappy stuff that's clogging the airways these days - but to then conclude that rap as a genre is "cheap" and for "dim minds"? let me tell you, you've clearly never heard any good rap. and that doesn't mean it's not out there, because i've heard it, and it's beautiful. you've probably just heard bits of some idiotic 50 cent track or self-absorbed eminem song. try listening to nas, binary star, the gza, ghostface killah, digable planets, a tribe called quest, or anything else that's actually worth listening to, and anyone who produces music for a purpose other than to make quick cash by harnessing the stupidity of the masses... and if you STILL don't like it, fine-- it's clearly a matter of taste, but don't try to argue that it's "cheap" just because your ignorant octogenarian mind can't wrap your head around the changing face of music.
rap is a genre that praises prosaic elegance and meaning as opposed to melody, and stems from the african practice of oral poetry as a means of telling stories - it was brought over to the US on slave ships when blacks had no means of connecting to their cultural past except for their oral traditions.
now i've never heard a country music song that didn't make me want to rip my eardrums out, but it would be stupid of me to denounce the entire genre. it's the musicians' fault, not the fault of the music itself.
What a couple of dorks.
Well that was surreal. Is this he the new guy not named [Joe] the unlicensed [Plumber]? He should go on a hip hop tour with Mike Steele so they can bring in all of those new minority voters to the GOP.
I am just at a loss for words.
Great. Now rap isn't cool anymore, because Republicans have finally discovered it.
Camfield, you are totally wrong about rap. Completely wrong.
P.S. My remark was in jest; rap will always be awesome.
At least they werent wearing the white hoods.
And we Republicans wonder why we have only 28% support from the American people. This is an embarrassment.
Just when I wondered what would be next, I get a racist rapper. An ill informed racist rapper. The GOP fringe is dangerous.
Good luck, Mr. Caliber!
There's a huge market out there for conservative Republican white rappers just waiting to be tapped, as it were.
Max Blumenthal trying to bob his head to the beat is the funniest thing I have ever seen!
Whoever this guys is, he basically stole everything he knows from Immortal Technique but replaced the far-left lyrics with far-right ones. Plus, he's from Jersey. And, at the 1:22 mark he slips up and lets his real, non-patronizing accent take over. ("WhatevER")
Thank you.
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