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A rap artist was forced off the stage at an inaugural event in Washington, DC January 20 after he performed an anti-Obama diatribe.
The scene unfolded at The Hamilton one block from the White House as Lupe Fiasco, a Grammy-nominated rapper from Chicago, began performing “Words I Never Said”, a single he recorded in February 2011.
“I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit, just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets,” he rapped. “Rush Limbaugh is a racist, Glenn Beck is a racist, Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say shit. That’s why I aint vote for him, next one either, I’m a part of the problem, my problem is I’m peaceful and I believe in the people.”
Fiasco’s microphone was cut and a handful of security personnel surrounded him on stage. He was reportedly asked to move on to the next song and refused, so he was asked to leave.
As he moved off the stage, Fiasco turned to the audience and waved his hand, then took a bow. The crowd was shouting his name.
Fiasco, 30, was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco in Chicago and his father was a prominent member of the Black Panther Party, an African-American revolutionary socialist organisation active in the United States from 1966 until 1982.
His music tends to include political messages and he has criticised Obama in the past. Most recently, he targeted Obama’s use of drones and accused him of killing children.
“You have someone who is a great speaker, but kills little children — our President,” he said during an interview with Philadelphia radio station Power 99FM. “I’m talking about ordering a drone attack. Ordering drone attacks that go and kill mothers, innocent bystanders, children. Militants too, but the collateral damage. You’re responsible for that, too.”
Video: The song, which contains lines critical of Obama and the "war on terror", that Lupe Fiasco was asked to stop singing.