Trump's Long, Complicated Relationship With Hip-Hop, Explained

During his failed attempt to court Black voters at a church event in Detroit last week, former President Donald Trump was backed by several Black Republicans as well as rapper Sada Baby (born Casada Sorrell). Outside of the 180 Church in Detroit, Sorrell eagerly encouraged people to vote for Trump.

“He might be the first person to make me vote,” he said. “Him reaching out showed me, like, some type of effort that another candidate hadn’t shown ever.”

Trump also met with Philadelphia rapper Ot7 Quanny last week to sway voters of color. For decades, Trump has stood as a symbol of power and wealth in hip-hop, with rappers like Raekwon, Bun B, Jeezy and Gucci Mane all name-dropping the mogul. However, his tumultuous presidency ultimately led to emcees speaking out against Trump and his policies. Here’s how his hip-hop fall from grace played out over the last few years.

In 1994, Donald Trump appeared alongside second wife Marla Maples on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” The series was pivotal in launching the career of Will Smith, who became the first rapper to win a Grammy in 1989 as one-half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. In the episode, Trump portrayed a tycoon who was considering buying the Banks’ mansion. The cameo came just five years after Trump called for the execution of the exonerated Central Park 5.

Method Man was flying high on his 1998 sophomore solo album, “Tical 2000: Judgement Day” when he solidified an appearance from Donald Trump. On “Donald Trump (Skit),” Trump expresses excitement over Method Man’s next project. “Hey Method Man! This is Donald Trump and I’m in Palm Beach and we’re all waiting for your album. Let’s get going man! Everybody’s waiting for this album,” Trump says on the skit. In 2017, Method Man told Seth Meyers that Trump appeared on “Tical” due to Trump’s friendship with Russell Simmons.

In 2003, Smif N Wessun and Raekwon released the song “Black Trump” on which the legendary the Wu-Tang Clan emcee brags about his wealth: “You gotta make power moves, black gunz and cash rule.” He reaffirms Trump’s status symbol by asking at the end of the track: “Guess who’s the Black Trump?”

After Trump’s NBC reality show, “The Apprentice,” debuted in 2004, his rap currency soared through the roof. His name appeared in songs by artists like Lil Wayne, Lil’ Kim, Rick Ross and others. On Jeezy’s 2005 album “Thug Motivation 101,” the emcee rapped on the title track “I’m Donald Trump in a white tee.” Yung Joc repeated this sentiment on his 2006 hit, “It’s Goin’ Down” by stating: “Boys from the hood call me Black Donald Trump.”

Back in 2005, 50 Cent called in Donald Trump to G-Unit Radio to discuss money, hip-hop and “The Apprentice.” Trump attempted to hold his own alongside not just 50, but DJ Whoo Kid and Tony Yayo as well who he called “a great group of people.” When asked about his next venture, Trump insisted that real estate would always be a priority for him. Trump also said his kids thought 50 Cent was “the absolute best.”

In 2011, the late Mac Miller released “Donald Trump,” the only single from his mixtape “Best Day Ever.” The song references Trump’s success and wealth and how Miller hopes to emulate it with lines like “Take over the world when I’m on my Donald Trump sh*t / Look at all this money, ain’t that some sh*t?” “Donald Trump” was Miller’s first song to enter the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum in 2013. Miller would go on to be a vocal critic of Trump’s presidency.

In March 2016, Trump was campaigning for president when YG released the rigorous anthem “FDT” or “F**k Donald Trump.” “Don’t let Donald Trump win, that n***a cancer/He’s too rich, he ain’t got the answers/He can’t make decisions for this country, he gon’ crash us!” YG rapped. The song also features the late Nipsey Hussle, who told Trump: “I’m from a place where you prolly can’t go/Speaking for some people that you prolly ain’t know.” Trump was elected months later.

In 2016 — just eight days before the presidential election — hip-hop’s super couple endorsed Hillary Clinton during a Cleveland rally. Though fame sometimes causes celebs to stay quiet about politics, Jay Z and Beyonce had no problem making their allegiance known. “Less than 100 years ago, women did not have the right to vote. Look how far we’ve come from having no voice to being on the brink of making history, again, by electing the first woman president,” Bey said in a moving speech.

On Kendrick Lamar’s first single of 2017, “The Heart Part 4,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning emcee used his talent to condemn Trump and his catastrophic presidency. “Donald Trump is a chump/Know how we feel, punk — tell him that God comin’/And Russia need a replay button, y’all up to somethin,’” Lamar acutely rapped. “Electorial votes look like memorial votes/But America’s truth ain’t ignorin’ the votes/It’s blasphemy, how many gon’ blast for me?/I prophesized on my last song, you laughed at me.”

In 2018, Kanye West stated that a “mob” couldn’t stop his support of then-President Donald Trump. That same year during an appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” West wore a “Make America Great Again” and expressed love for Trump on the show. The rapper initially expressed support during a November 2016 concert in California, where West said that if he had voted for a presidential candidate, he would have voted for Trump. West would receive backlash for his remarks before running for President years later.

In 2020, Public Enemy — known for the powerful 1989 anthem “Fight The Power” — released the DJ Premier-produced song “STATE OF THE UNION (STFU).” Frontman Chuck D said that the song was influenced by how Trump handled Black Lives Matters protesters and the COVID-19 pandemic. “I didn’t write a lot of anti-Trump songs, but this is an anti-45 one for sure. Because it doesn’t talk about him not being the right person for the job and we voted him out so much, it’s talking about you gotta leave now. Because you know, the mountains burn and you got to put out the fire,” Chuck D explained.

Florida rapper and consistent Trump critic Plies released his song “Convicted Felon” in June 2024, just one month after Trump was convicted in a New York courtroom on 34 counts of falsifying business documents. “What’s crazy to me is from the beginning of time, America has always told how to treat a convicted felon,” Plies stated on the song. “Now that he’s a convicted felon you want the rules to change,” he continued referencing Trump’s ability to still run for president despite his legal record.