Source: John Medina / Getty
Donald J. Trump, the former reality star and real estate “mogul” has once again been inaugurated as the president of the United States. While millions of Americans celebrated, others were wary and braced for another four years of chaos that accompanied the last Trump presidency.
But, for the Hip-Hop community, one of the biggest surprises of the inauguration festivities was how many rap stars lined up to perform for Trump.
Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Nelly, and Soulja Boy performed at Trump’s Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., on Friday earning backlash on social media. Many commenters compared the rappers’ performances to that of singer Chrisette Michele who performed for Trump in 2017 and was quickly shunned by the Black community, leading to the unravelling of her career.
Chrisette Michele has yet to recover from performing at Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Yet, Snoop, Nelly, Soulja Boy, and Rick Ross will be fine. The “cancel” culture goalpost moves depending on your cultural equity and who you’re affiliated with.
— kevikev (@KevCoke6) January 18, 2025
Y’all gave Chrisette Michelle hell for performing at Trump’s first inauguration; I hope to see the same energy for Snoop Dogg, Nelly, and Rick Ross. pic.twitter.com/fjLZGgwail
— B E A N Z The Gamer Dad(beanzgotgamez.bsky.social) (@BeanzGotGamez) January 18, 2025
Nelly justified his performance with an appearance on the Willie D Podcast on Saturday, per HuffPost. The 50-year-old St. Lunatic told the Geto Boys rapper, “it’s an honor” to “perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office.”
He added, “If President Biden would have asked me to perform, I would have performed. If Vice President Kamala Harris would have won and asked me to perform, I would have performed.”
Nelly did mention that Trump, who is known for racist remarks and actions dating back to the 1970s, has “some f*cked up ways,” adding, that “performing for somebody and voting for somebody is two different things.”
Clips online have emerged of Nelly starting his set with “Hail to the Chief” and performing his hit single, “Country Grammar.”
Nelly performs at Donald Trump’s inauguration party pic.twitter.com/I31l77i1Fs
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) January 21, 2025
The rapper says that he comes from a military family and compared his performance to the experience of American soldiers saying, “I’m not doing this for money, I’m doing this because it’s an honor. I respect the office. It doesn’t matter who is in office,” he said. “The same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country, have to go to war and have to put their life on the line for whoever is in office.”
However, the backlash to the rapper performing for Trump has been swift.
Rappers proudly tap dancing for a KNOWN RACIST.
I never thought I’d see the day.
The fact that Eminem, a white man who grew up in a trailer park, is more anti-Trump than both Snoop and Nelly is wild.
All skin folk ain’t kinfolk. pic.twitter.com/PIqVvFa2WU
— Trill Clinton (@aStatesman) January 21, 2025
For me, the thing that’s the most disheartening about artist like Rick Ross and Nelly performing at Trump’s inauguration events is not that they decided to do it. They have free will and can express themselves how they want to.
But they’re providing a cover for bigotry.
— Randall Barnes (@AuthorRandallB) January 18, 2025
Polls show that 92% of Black women voted for Kamala Harris for president in 2024 while Trump saw an increase in his support from Black men according to the Associated Press with about 3 in 10 Black men under the age of 45 went for Trump, roughly double the number he got in 2020.
