Back when Hillary Clinton was on her superpredator steez, Pusha T was a 19-year-old rapper and one-half of the Virginia-based rap group Clipse with his brother, No Malice. By all accounts, Pusha T and No Malice were probably the "superpredators" she was referring to in her now-infamous 1996 speech. But boy, have times changed.
Pusha T is no longer the drug-dealing rapper slinging rocks on the streets of Norfolk, Va. He's now one of Clinton's biggest supporters. Many people probably didn't know this, which is why Clinton's tweet Wednesday shocked social media:
Heads did a double take. Some people thought the screenshot floating around Facebook was fake. Others were like, "WTF?" But what many people didn't know is that for the past year, Pusha T has been pushing for Clinton.
In a July interview with Business Insider, Pusha T (real name: Terrence Thornton) spoke about how he got into politics. And about how he wanted to help others stay off the streets and not subject themselves to the things he saw growing up.
"I remember being young and being desensitized to so much," Pusha T said regarding the recent string of deaths by police. "I was so desensitized to things that were happening within street culture—whether it was jail, whether it was death, things like that. And I feel like, you know, there have been things that happen in my life, and with age, I've become resensitized to it."
At 37 years old, Thornton admits that Clinton probably didn't know who he was, but she eventually learned and appreciated his enthusiasm in getting people out to vote. Plus, he even made a "Delete Your Account" T-shirt, made after her infamous tweet to Donald Trump.
"I'm sure she was hip and briefed," Pusha T said. "But [the conversation] was simply about engaging, and being engaged, and making sure that I engage people to vote, and get my demographic to vote. Get people out to the polls, that was her main thing."
And that's how we got to Wednesday's tweet. Yes, you can truly win a chance to meet Pusha T. But the rapper also hopes that people do more than just vote, and that they actually make a change in their community, especially when it comes to prison reform and recidivism.
"I volunteered to speak at the prisons, anything I can do in regards to rehabilitation," Pusha T said. "Because it's beyond just lessening the sentences—it's about when people get home, having an opportunity and a shot, a real shot; just whatever I can do."
So when Pusha T raps about "grindin’” nowadays. He's "grindin’” for Clinton.