Obama Let His 3-year-old Daughter Listen to Rap

In response to the vile rap song hip-hop star Ludacris recently made in support of  Barack Obama, the senator's campaign issued the following statement:

"As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn't want his daughters or any children exposed to."

Yet, in this 2004 video, he talks about how his little daughter was enamored of a certain rap song, and it's obvious that he thought nothing of exposing her to such influences.

If Barack Obama would expose his 3-year-old daughter to this corruptive trash, what does this tell us about his judgment?

Comments

[Larry G.]

Uh, oh. I think we know what is coming next.

"That's not the daughter that I knew...."

[Vivienne]

Unbelievable this is the music being played in the Obama household - prostitution, crime, n-word, marijuana.

Who encourages their children to sing along to this music? What happened to Sesame Street and Barney for three year olds?

Chorus from Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams, "Drop It Like It's Hot" - other verses too filthy for reprint.

When the pimp's in the crib ma
Drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot
When the pigs try to get at ya
Park it like it's hot
Park it like it's hot
Park it like it's hot
And if a nigga get a attitude
Pop it like it's hot
Pop it like it's hot
Pop it like it's hot
I got the rolly on my arm and I'm pouring Chandon
And I roll the best weed cause I got it going on

[obama-is-a-muslim]

Obama is a bad man. Very bad. His judgement is questionable. We should elect someone with better judgement. Too bad George W. Bush can't run again. But wait, maybe we can get him back. We have McCain after all. And he doesn't like rap either. He likes good music. Come on... Sing it with me...

"We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all"

Yup, That's just what America needs right now!

[Lucas Heisserer]

I didn't hear him say that he plays it in his household nor that he condones it, just that she likes the song. Unless there's more than what I've seen that is about rap in his household. She thinks it says sock which obviously isn't what it says. He's bringing up a cute experience in which his daughter, not able to understand the meaning of the song, came up with something innocent in nature. If thats bad then well shucks.

[Frank]

Lucas, you need a little help with your thinking. The girl is THREE YEARS OLD. If she heard the song at all it means that her parents allowed her to be exposed to it in some way. That's irresponsibility. If he was any kind of good father he would be ashamed and embarrassed that he allowed his THREE YEAR OLD daughter to be exposed to something like that and wouldn't want to reveal it. But the way he related the story tells us that he had no problem with such exposure.

Also, what does misunderstanding the lyrics have to do with it? Toddlers misunderstand all sorts of things. If she had watched porn she would have misunderstood that too I'm sure. She might have said that she saw two people wrestling on TV in a funny way. Would you say that's okay too?

Pretty dumb reasoning buddy.

[Christopher]

Not all rap is full of bad language, violence, sex, etc. most probably.

From what I've head of Will Smith's rap, it is more wholesome than the majority of music on the market.

[jason]

I think that you are scared of something you don't know. What you don't know is purely cultural and to sit back and judge rap or a certain song as anything more than entertaining is silly. You speculate on characterizations that in fact are none of your business. If you are disturbed by the small video clip you are either a racist or just scared of the unfamiliar. I am white and not a democrat, but I am encouraged by the thought that eventually your uninformed point of view will die with you and the ability to see oneself as equal to others, regardless of external circumstance, is not a specialty but a normalcy.

I think until you know exactly what the song is, you can keep your mouth shut and stop acting like you know something others don't.

[Vivienne]

To Jason: It is not fear but rather common "child rearing" sense that generates these reactions.

What other rap lullabyes do you recommend we indoctrinate our children with? Maybe sumpin' with with a "lil mo thug or lil mo ho" so our toddlers will have more street cred when they enter preschool.

No, thank you - I don't care for any part of your version of "equality".

[democrat]

For those of you who have closed minds and just can't comprehend that there are rappers and rap songs with substance, here's a little education for you....

Kool Mo Dee-rapper in the late 1980's and early 1990's who had a Ph.D while in his musical prime. Considered a legend in the hip-hop community. No "ho" reference, no n-word, etc. He spoke about politics and government and positive relationships between the sexes.

Public Enemy--group of rappers who spoke about politics, government, etc. No curse words of any kind.

Boogie Down Productions-educated men who rapped about politics, etc.

A Tribe Called Quest-educated men who spoke about everything from A to Z with very positive songs.

I could continue, but there are just too many to count. The thing to remember is that most of these artists that are out today are only making what their record companys will allow. Everything is about profit, and that's what the parent companies want. They know that negativity and sex sells, and the funny thing is, blacks and hispanics aren't the ones buying most of it, but instead, it's the white kids. So now, we have a problem.

[W. Tieff]

As it is today, dumb, white suburban kids and Gen Yers are assisting the criminal gangs with their money laundering by patronizing the ThugRap industry, while at the same time supporting terrorism and brutal border violence by spending their allowance to purchase illegal narcotics, as long as their parents' psychotropic drugs are well-hidden, that is.. ..
feh!

[Andy]

Frank,

So you think parents are able to hide the entire world from their children and shelter them from any negativity whatsoever?

I know a few kids whose parents grew up with this mentality. Parents kept the kids from TV, internet, music, homeschooled them so they wouldn't be influenced with negative peer pressure -- so when they get to their teenage years and naturally rebel, they are a mess. And they don't know how to develop healthy relationships with other kids.

I think parents should educate their kids on right and wrong, but hiding society from them is not the answer.

[Vivienne]

Democrat,

Our minds and ears are open. But your kind of "substantive" music doesn't require an education to know it carries inappropriate content for young children.

Why do you overlook Public Enemy's most popular song, "Fight the Power" - The theme song of Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing.

Lyrics such as, "Elvis was a hero to most/But he never meant shi* to me/You see, straight-up racist that sucker was simple and plain/Motherf*** him and John Wayne." are hardly exemplary!

Or how about their song, "# I Don't Wanna be Called Yo Nigga."

FYI: Public Enemy also are strong endorsers of Nation of Islam Supreme Minister Louis Farrakhan. Another model organization.

[democrat]

Actually Vivienne, those are political songs for the time period that they were in, which is really what racists are teaching their children to begin with in the first place. I see that you are a fan of theirs, and you would be happy to know that they don't endorse The Nation, but in fact, a sect of an underground branch of Islam. And if Elvis and John Wayne were in fact racists, which they probably were being that no one of color was in any of their movies and especially in a meaningful role, this would indicate a fact and not some lie. And it still doesn't ignore the fact that these men are educated, nor does it excuse the fact that the negative rap out now is still encouraged by profit only, and not meaningful content.

Sympathetic Democrat,

Justifying the music doesn't excuse the offensive language; language which you had previously represented didn't exist.

This is Barack's dilemma as well - wanting it both ways; enjoying Ludacris in his ipod then denouncing the offensive lyrics. That's ludicrous.

Profiteering should never preempt common sense. Tobacco is also a for profit industry but that doesn't mean it's good for you. The rap music industry, like the cigarette industry, is dependent upon glamorizing its use - a good way to get our youth hooked as young as possible.

There is no benefit to introducing this divisive, offensive trash to toddlers and hopefully, this is not the change you or Barack believe in.

[John]

Let me explain something to everyone. Democrat is a kool-aid drinker and a racist. He defends rap because he associates it with black people. So he sees this as a battle between whites and blacks. He sees white people attacking this 'black music' and his racist brain thinks it has to defend the music. What he ignores is that this trash is doing much to corrupt black youth - and white ones too. Also I don't care who's responsible for the rap garbage. If it's white corporate types or black rap thugs, as far as I'm concerned they should all be in jail.

[democrat]

Let me explain something to you John. You don't know what I am, and I'm not so narrow-minded to think that a dispute about music is a white-on-black racist thing, however, it does have a small ring of truth to it. I suppose you don't believe that the Ted Nuggent-types don't encourage just as much trash as you say rap does, but in fact, speaking about racist things and drug-dealing are still trash topics, however, rappers make more money than the other forms because more white teens are purchasing it. And besides, don't make assumptions about something you don't know about. Just because I happen to know different forms of music doesn't make me either sympathetic to one group or a part of a particular group.
And what's wrong with kool-aid? After all, it's better than the hard stuff you drink that influenced you to write such nonsense in the first place.

[democrat]

Idiot "no-name,"

I never said that offensive language never existed. I said that not all artists participate in the nonsense. Had you read my statement carefully instead of jumping to conclusions, you would have comprehended that. Unless you're just too stupid to do so. And I forgot, English is probably your second language based on your previous posts on other topics. So do us all a favor, learn our language first, and then respond.

[Vivieene]

symPathetic Democrat:

Let's review together what you wrote, "Public Enemy--group of rappers who spoke about politics, government, etc. No curse words of any kind."

I, then included some of their lyrics which do indeed contain curse words. It seems you would prefer to argue semantics. But the original article was about Barack and his views on rap music.

Remember his campaign issued the following statement, "As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn't want his daughters or any children exposed to."

So you can continue to swat away every poster who acknowledges rap music is offensive but perhaps you should also carefully consider your presidential vote or, at least change your moniker. According to you, Barack's views on rap music make him either a racist or very closed-minded.

He just might not be The One.

[Brandon Kirkpatrick]

These are only symptoms to a deeper problem. Art imitates life, not the other way around.
By the way, please, when referencing drugs, do not refer to marijuana. All your doing is taking to disimilar objects and effectively lumping them into one category. Its a plant that grows in the ground, and is not inheritly evil. But people like you demonize it, and call it dope, and say its in the same vein as heroine, or methamphetamines. Really its just an un-educated D.A.R.E kid mentality. I wont argue with you over health effects, or anything like that. I will say this, people of my kind arent evil, or sinister, we dont hate everyone, we aren't druggies, and we dont sell crack to your kids. Forget what you think you know it and take the time to educate yourself. Marijuana is an herb, it is healing. Its like relegion, it makes our days brighter because we have a deeper understanding of ourselves and our surroundings. Thanks for reading.

[Xander]

Hey Brandon, poison oak is also a "plant that grows in the ground," so why not go rub some all over your body? After all, its just a harmless herb right? Nothing that grows in the ground can be harmful, after all. While we're at it, heroin is a derivative of poppy seeds, and cocaine is made from the coca plant, and we both know how healthy those particular substances are.

[democrat]

Stupid Vivieene,

I don't know why I entertain the thoughts of insignificant smart-asses such as yourself who wouldn't understand a concept if it came out of your own behind, but, here goes...

If you want to discuss the factual nature of this very article, his daughter isn't three years old. As you can see, she's about 6 or 7. And, like I said, there are good rappers out there who don't make a living out of curse words, liquor, weed, and misogyny. And like I said before, these are usually political rappers who have some form of substance in their lyrics and who possess BA's and Ph.D's.

Secondly, if you support John McCain and his policies and you see where all his "experience" has gotten you as far as gas prices, the economy, the unnecessary war, the housing crisis that probably never would have happened if the executives weren't going to capitalize from it's collapse, etc, then perhaps you are the one who should rethink their political affiliation. As I said, the writings on the wall and yet you are either too stupid or too blind, although I suspect both, to change the pace of things here in America and abroad. As you can see, the cowboy approach and tough talk hasn't worked for us in the past and isn't working now, and if you want to make progress, then you have to change the course. No more Bush and certainly not one minute of McCain!!

[John]

democrat, you are the one who's stupid. This video was shot in 2004, when the girl was only three. Also, Obama SAID that his 'three year old daughter' was listening to it. This tells us why you're a kool-aid drinking democrat. Didn't you read what Duke wrote? It says it's from 2004. Didn't you listen to Obama? he said she was three. And the song she was listening to is 'Drop is like it's hot,' by stupid Snoop Dogg. It's full of curse words and such things.

[democrat]

John, I'm pretty sure Vivienne doesn't need you to respond for her. And besides, you're the stupid one for using a song by Snoop to justify the bad rap for rap. Really, it all boils down to the white kids that are listening and buying this stuff, and I presume in your household as well, and the fact that corporate giants want to sell this kind of stuff. You're the stupid one if you don't see that.
And besides, there are clean versions to the Snoop stuff, so it doesn't mean that she had to be listening to the dirty version. And it still doesn't mean that those rappers aren't even more educated than you, but as long as you assholes are ignoring the point, you're happy.

Angry Democrat;

Barack pointed out that he and his then 3 year old daughter listen to Snoop's, "Drop It Like It's Hot."

Today, Barack is on record about his disdain for offensive for Rap music. He wasn't giving a pass to those with advanced degrees to spew such filth.

Put your anger where it belongs. Take it up with Barack if you're angered by his statements. Otherwise drop it . . . . like a sock.