Young Jeezy is not a Republican

It's one thing to have seemingly every song you've ever wrote be about moving weight for the Black Mafia Family, but Young Jeezy can't have people thinking he's gonna be voting for John McCain this November. Shit might fuck with his album sales!

This week, his handlers have got him issuing press releases, recording web videos, and even walking around in a shirt that says, "I'm with the black guy," lest people think he's some kind of a Republican.

The controversy stems from some comments he made in the new issue of Vibe. He's on the cover of what Vibe is calling their "real rap" issue, or something along those lines. I remember seeing it the other day and thinking, "Holy crap, that guy's ugly!" He's lost some weight and is dressing a bit more metro than when he first came out, but it's only had the effect of making him look more like a Ninja Turtle.

I know... Who am I to talk?

In the new issue, I guess they ask Young Jeezy who he's planning on supporting in the election (I know I'd be interested!), and he suggest he might be considering voting for John McCain. The exact quote goes, "No disrespect to Barack, but I fuck with John McCain." And lest you think this was just a matter of Young Jeezy thinking John McCain is a cool guy, he adds, "I like Barack, but at the same time I wanted to see what McCain was talking about."

The thing is, Young Jeezy has met John McCain, and apparently the two of them established some sort of rapport. I didn't see it myself, because I'd rather have something bad happen to my junk than watch Saturday Night Live, but supposedly, Young Jeezy was a musical performer on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by John McCain (an inspired bit of casting, I must say), and as Young Jeezy was exiting the stage, he was seen shaking hands and having some sort of chit chat with the senator.

I don't know that it's been revealed what was actually said, but I remember reading at the time that Young Jeezy was suggesting John McCain was a big fan of his work. Which would of course be fucking hilarious. Maybe John McCain only saw that one particular performance, but thought it was really good. If he wasn't in the middle of running for president, maybe he'd even run out and cop Thug Motivation. But with the scrutiny he's under, he probably couldn't even comment on their meeting one way or another.

In a story today over at MTV News, Young Jeezy explains that, while he was quoted as saying he fucks with John McCain, what he meant to say was the exact opposite. "No disrespect to John McCain, but I fuck with Barack Obama." Somehow, it just came out twisted. But what about the part where he goes on to say how he had been interested in hearing what John McCain was talking about? And I wonder what's the likelihood that whoever interviewed him for Vibe let him sit there and say he fucks with John McCain and didn't request that he clarify. Vibe, lest we forget, is a classy magazine.

Indeed, there seems to be some confusion as to what Jeezy's bullshit explanation is supposed to be. While Jeezy himself makes it seem as if he was misquoted, or, more likely, he mispoke (maybe all of that cocaine he handles seeped in through his pores - that was the excuse Fiddy once used when he tested positive for crack cocaine and had to do time in a court-ordered rehab), his handlers make it seem as if he was just confused at the time. They say the quote came from "moments" after the two of them met on the set of SNL. Also, he's a rapper. What do you expect? He probably can't even read.

Anyhoo, I'm glad he got that straightened out. It's one thing to constantly rap about your (apparently real life) experience as a cocaine dealer, but I don't know if I could support a rapper who voted for a Republican. Barack Obama, meanwhile, is clearly the figure that's gonna lead black people to the promised land. In the story at MTV, Jeezy explains how he's having to pay out of his own pocket for his mother to have this operation, because she doesn't have health insurance, and that's one of the reasons he supports Barack Obama.

He doesn't go into how John McCain and Barack Obama are actually very similar, in that neither one of them supports a single payer health program, which is actually favored by a majority of the people in this country. But that's beside the point. Obviously, policies like single payer health care aren't what's finally gonna bring black people to the promised land. It's the emotional comfort of knowing that, while our ancestors were brought to this country's shores in shackles and forced to work as slaves for hundreds of years, we've now arrived at the point where we can elect a president who's sorta kinda black.

Like I said, I'm glad we got that straightened out.