S. Samuel
West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar has had a change of heart months after revealing he does not take part in elections by announcing his participation come this Tuesday, November 6th.
According to Lamar, not enough young voters are letting their voices be heard during these tough economic times.
“I think we tend to put [issues] in the hands of higher politics rather than do for ourselves,” he told MTV News. “So what made me the most angry is, when something doesn’t go right in that world, you get people out here that want to blame Obama. And I think that’s corny. I think that’s one of our biggest failures as a community, as a generation; not wanting to go out and do for ourselves and to sit back and wait. And then when it doesn’t happen, we point the finger. I think we just really need to take matters into our own hands; uplift our community, put money back in our community, and show these kids how there’s something different.” (MTV)
Kendrick also hinted at who will most likely win his vote on Election Day.
“I think I’m going to go ahead [and vote for Barack Obama], just because I cannot see Mitt Romney [winning],” he laughed. “I’ll be on food stamps my whole life! I just don’t feel like he’s got a good heart at all.” (MTV)
Over the summer, the West Coast rapper cited his issues with the government for influencing a decision not to vote.
“My vote counts? I don’t do no voting. I will keep it straight up real with you. I don’t believe in none of the sh*t that’s going on in the world,” Lamar said in an interview. “You talk with me, you talk with me for hours because everything has a contradiction, everything is higher ranking and way beyond us, way beyond people. So basically, do what you do, do good with your people and live your life because what’s going on isn’t really in our hands. … When I say the president can’t even control the world, then you definitely know there’s something else out there pushing the buttons. They could do whatever they want to do, we all puppets. Just play your cards right.” (Truth Is Scary TV)
Last year, Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco revealed he also does not hit the presidential election ballots.
“I don’t vote. I don’t get involved in the political process because it’s meaningless, to be honest,” Fiasco added. “I’m a real big believer if I’m gonna vouch for someone, then I’m gonna stand behind everything that they do…So politicians aren’t gonna do that because I don’t want you to bomb some village in the middle of nowhere.” (CBS News)
Check out some recent Kendrick Lamar footage below:
