I just wrote this piece–“Obama’s Honeymoon with Hip-Hop is Over“–for The New Republic.  It is an extension of an article I wrote for The Guardian over the summer, which traced the deteriorating relationship between the President and hip hop performers between 2008 and just before the 2012 election.  In this more recent article, I use the Lupe fiasco from a couple of days ago to consider the frayed relationship that persists–and will probably continue to as long as Obama avoids the pressing issues facing African Americans and other people of color in the U.S.  A special thanks to author, activist, and Rap Sessions CEO Bakari Kitwana for the last-minute interview.

Update: I stumbled across some really thought-provoking commentary on this piece.  On Free Republic, which bills itself as a conservative site for “freedom loving people,” I found this insightful critique of hip hop music from someone with the handle patriotsblood: “Hip-hop and rap, in my opinion, don’t rise to the level of music, and are on the same level as other bodily sounds that do not emanate from the mouth.” I’ll keep reading more responses, but this is probably going to be my favorite.