Skip to main content
  • CNSNews.com
  • MRC TV
  • Biz & Media
  • Culture & Media
  • TimesWatch
  • Take Action!

Join Us @:
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Kindle

Free email alerts!

NewsBusters logo
May 18, 2013
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • About
  • Forum
  • Take Action
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • RSS

Hot Topics

  • IRS Targets Tea Party
  • Benghazi Fiasco
  • Gosnell Trial
  • Censoring the News
Home » Blogs » Tim Graham's blog
  • Bozell Column: 'Progress' Gets Canceled
  • CNN's Banfield: 'Take Me Off the Ledge' and Tell Me IRS Audits Weren't Political
  • NBC's Williams Ready to Move On: 'It's Tough to Know the Staying Power of Any Given Scandal'
  • Video: Bozell, Hannity Amused That Obama Sycophant Chris Matthews Worried Obama's White House Filled with Yes-Men
  • Luke Russert: 'Smart' House Republicans Aren't The 'God, Guns & Guts People'
  • Tea Partiers Confront Comcast CEO: Why Would a Conservative Want Their Money to Pay Al Sharpton's Salary?
  • Bob Schieffer Spins Obama Scandals: White House Not Like Nixon's, Which Had Burglars and Bomb Plots
  • NBC's Todd Warns: If GOP Investigates Obama Scandals, 'The Voters Will Punish Them'

NPR Promotes Rapper Who's Glad Reagan's Dead, Since He Introduced Cocaine to Blacks

By Tim Graham | June 19, 2012 | 20:22

A  A
Tim Graham's picture

On Tuesday’s Morning Edition, National Public Radio promoted an Atlanta rapper named “Killer Mike” and his “politically charged” song called “Reagan.”

Somehow, they left out that Atlanta-based "artist" Michael Render ends the song with “I’m glad Reagan dead” and regurgitates the old conspiracy theory that Reagan and Ollie North imported cocaine into the inner cities:

We tell them dope stories, introduce them to the game

Just like Oliver North introduced us to cocaine

In the 80s when the bricks came on military planes

After the story ended, NPR listeners could hear a bit of how Killer Mike ripped all the presidents (including Obama)  as tools of the corporations:

Ronald Reagan was an actor, not at all a factor

Just an employee of the country's real masters

Just like the Bushes, Clinton and Obama

Just another talking head telling lies on Teleprompters

If you don't believe the theory, then argue with this logic

Why did Reagan and Obama both go after Qaddafi

We invaded sovereign soil, going after oil

Taking countries is a hobby paid for by the oil lobby

Anchor Linda Wertheimer -- at 69 not exactly your ideal hip-hop impresario -- negotiated around Killer Mike's stranger conspiracy theories: 

WERTHEIMER: Atlanta holds a special place in Killer Mike's heart. He runs a barbershop there and is something of a community leader.

MIKE: I want to chance to have my finger on the pulse of the community, and at the same time provide jobs that make profit. You know, it's sexy to sell vodka. It's sexy to own a record label. It's sexy to own a clothing company. But sexy is not what's paying for the communities that are north of Atlanta.

WERTHEIMER: Killer Mike addresses this issue in a politically charged song called "Reagan."

MIKE: (Rapping) We brag on having bread, but none of us are bakers. We all talk having greens, but none of us own acres. If none of us own acres and none of us grow wheat, then who will feed our people when our people need to eat?

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

On the NPR website, Killer Mike had a longer answer on Reagan:

"Ronald Reagan was an actor. He was a pitchman at first, and so people naturally trust him. He understood how to weave magic when he was speaking, and that's what we as entertainers do. So when Jay-Z tells you to buy some Reeboks, it means more. Ronald Reagan at one point was the biggest pitchman in the world. I think that Reagan was used by a political party, by people who had vested means, to push their own agendas. He had his own agendas, and I think that no rapper had ever said, 'I've been guilty of this. I have hurt my community as a rapper.'

"I'm not saying it hypothetically. I have hurt my community. I have to look myself in the mirror and know that, and I have to own that in order to grow past that.

"It's social. Much of my music gets interpreted as political, but it's social. I don't absolve myself from any responsibility, I don't take myself outside the problem. I just say it as a part of it. But, you know, Reagan is an ideology; it isn't just a human. I don't know if any of us know the real human being, besides Nancy, who Reagan really was.

"I think that in a lot of ways we are like that as rappers — no one really knows us. I just wanted to give people my most sincere and honest thoughts, so I hope that the ideology that's Reagan somehow diminishes."

Even this rapper knows he’s talking to liberals at NPR:

If I tell someone, 'I was listening to NPR,' they're going to naturally assume, 'He's a black liberal, he supports ... ' If I tell someone, 'I was just listening to Fox Radio,' they're going to assume, 'He's a black neo-conservative.' I just listen 'cause I'm curious. I don't want to be married to any ideology, because life is a lot more fluid than that, and I think that we're trained and conditioned in this country to think in teams. 

About the Author

Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Tim Graham on Twitter.
  • Culture/Society
  • Killer Mike
  • Linda Wertheimer
  • Ronald Reagan
  • Morning Edition
  • Music Industry
  • NPR
  • History
  • Tim Graham's blog
  • Login to post comments
  • Printer-friendly version
Stop Censoring The Gosnell Trial!

Comments

MLK wouuld weep

Submitted by MidAmerica on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 8:35pm.

Inner city Blacks used to be trapped by prejudice and racial laws. Now they are trapped by self-destructive behavior. No outsiders can save the Black community now only the Black community itself.

  • Login to post comments

He's right. I notice in West

Submitted by ant on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 8:42pm.

He's right. I notice in West Philly all those white, young Republicans in suit and ties selling crack on the corner. Shame on them.

Just watched a documentary on the History Channel about a huge heroin dealing gang controlling Harlem through much of the 70's and 80's. They were all black....damn racist Republican blacks, I guess.

  • Login to post comments

I listen to a fair amount of

Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 10:35pm.

I listen to a fair amount of 'black' music - although most of it pre-dates the crap/rap that these clowns are putting out anymore - and I've heard many references to cocaine , on songs that were recorded long before Ronald Reagan hit the national scene. And I even think the 'white' guys were using it too - who can we blame for that???

  • Login to post comments

Killer Mike is exactly the product of government education...

Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 8:45pm.

...the government was aiming to produce.

 I bet he reads at a 5th grade level, too, if he can read at all. 

-Dave

Vote for the American in November

  • Login to post comments

Well

Submitted by Ars21689 on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 8:56pm.

At least he admits that rap music is a negative influence.

  • Login to post comments

Even if the conspiracy was true...

Submitted by Bhaal on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 9:01pm.

Unless "whitey" held the blacks down and forced them to take cocaine, they still chose to use cocaine of their own free will. Noone to blame but themselves for cocaine addiction.

"For evil to triumph it is enough only that good men do nothing".
  • Login to post comments

And

Submitted by grammajane on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 9:17pm.

the very sad fact that Americans working hard for their money have taxes taken out of their earnings for the npr and pbs garbage spewed daily. Maybe when Fast and Furious is done, Issa can rid the air of these arrogant uneducated morons

  • Login to post comments

That's a Farrakhan line

Submitted by Mr. Mike on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 9:37pm.

I heard Farrakhan use the same theory in 1995 on a public access channel that was Nation of Islam programing most of the time.

  • Login to post comments

Yeah, it's always someone

Submitted by rbosque on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 9:41pm.

Yeah, it's always someone else's fault right? This is a problem with the left, they never take responsibility for their own behavior (White or Black). That's how they can spread their victim mentality then demand we all pay for any and all perceived "injustice".

"It may be true that you can't fool all the people all the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country"......Will Durant
  • Login to post comments

Remember, Mitt promised to put a stake into NPR.

Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 10:07pm.

And he GD better follow thru on it.

  • Login to post comments

And who knew!

Submitted by Kingfish17 on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 9:59am.

I had no idea that Reagan knew Obama!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama

  • Login to post comments

delusional or projection?

Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 10:02am.

Can any of these people be taken seriously? Probably not since I suspect their brains are fried from all the drugs they have done.

Delusional or projection? Who knows? Does it really make any difference? The end result is the same either way. BRAIN DEAD

  • Login to post comments

Ronald Reagan, Sorry not!

Submitted by dimar on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:26pm.

Someone needs to explain to mr rapper that he and all his liberal friends have one very bad habit of not bothering to actually learn about the subject they are talking, singing or rapping about! The Blacks (and whites) became addicted to drugs in the Viet Nam war and brought their habits home with them. You can blame it on Johnson or Nixon (if you choose not to take responsibility yourself), but not Reagan!

  • Login to post comments

Cocain don't make me crazy...

Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 3:06pm.

Champagne don't make me lazy.
Ain't nobody's business but... Reagan's?

By the way, I thought Reagan "introduced" AIDS to the black community? That's what they said in the 80's.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court

Or Anwar al-Awlaki.

  • Login to post comments

By the way, Mr. Rapper

Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 3:08pm.

By the way, Mr. Rapper, is that song gong to released on that corporate label you so willing perform for, you fricken hypocrite?

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court

Or Anwar al-Awlaki.

  • Login to post comments

Fine then, Lord over the Fly, gave us... Bath Salts.

Submitted by upcountrywater on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 3:35pm.

Blame it on hot and cold running water.

As if a ban will work....Ain't it great the way politicians hop on a new outrage, smack someone's business and never EVER show up to erase older law...

You Didn't Build That.

  • Login to post comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Stop Censoring The Gosnell Trial!

Editors' Picks

  • Is asking about what you pray for inappropriate for IRS? IRS commish not sure (Say Anything)
  • Another fed court invalidates Obama's NRLB recess appointments (Politico)
  • Former SecState Hillary Clinton's record leaves much to be desired (Kondracke)
  • Sen. Boxer is lying about impact of budget cuts on Benghazi security (WashPost)
  • Left-wing actor Cusack attacks Obama, Holder over AP scandal (Twitchy)
  • Dopey Chicago gun laws prevent museum from displaying unloaded WW2 relic (Fox News)
  • New Google Maps is flat, clean, user-friendly (Gizmodo)
  • New Google Maps looks spectacular (Mashable)
Walter E. Williams's picture
Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams Column: Hating America
Michelle Malkin's picture
Michelle Malkin
Malkin Column: Obama's Emptiest Benghazi Talking Point
Ann Coulter's picture
Ann Coulter
Coulter Column: Sorry, Sen. Rubio, But Your Immigration Plan Is Still Problematic
David Limbaugh's picture
David Limbaugh
David Limbaugh Column: Partisan Obama Culture Spawned a More Abusive IRS
Walter E. Williams's picture
Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams Column: An Honest Examination of Race
More >

RSS FeedAmazon KindleFacebookTwitter

Stop Censoring The News!

ObamaCare's a Real Pain in the Neck
more cartoons
  • Romney: ‘I’m Not a Fan of the President’
  • Krauthammer on IRS Testimony: ‘You've Got to be a Knave or a Fool to Say That and an Idiot to Believe It’
  • Leno: GOP Should Repeal ObamaCare By Naming it Conservative Non-Profit and Letting IRS Take it Down
  • ABC Drama Warns of ‘Conservative Overlords’ Bringing Anti-Black ‘Salem Witch Trials’ to DC
  • Gay NBA Player’s Twin Brother Gets ‘I’m The Straight One’ T-shirt From Jimmy Kimmel
More >
NewsBusters

Executive Editor
Matthew Sheffield

Editor at Large
Brent Baker

Senior Editors
Tim Graham
Rich Noyes

Managing Editor
Ken Shepherd

Associate Editor
Noel Sheppard

Contributing Editors
Tom Blumer
Geoffrey Dickens
Dan Gainor
David Limbaugh
Mithridate Ombud
Clay Waters
Scott Whitlock

Senior Contributor
Mark Finkelstein

Contributing Writers
Matthew Balan
Michael M. Bates
Erin R. Brown
Jack Coleman
Kyle Drennen
Douglas Ernst
P. J. Gladnick
Stephen Gutowski
Matt Hadro
D. S. Hube
Kathleen McKinley
Dave Pierre
Amy Ridenour
Julia A. Seymour
Terry Trippany
Rusty Weiss
Brad Wilmouth

Publisher
Brent Bozell

Site Design
Dialog New Media

 

  • Home
  • Blogs
  • About
  • Forum
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Account
  • rss
  • CNSNews
  • MRC TV
  • Biz & Media
  • Culture & Media
  • Take Action!
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Amazon Kindle
  • Advertise
  • Jobs

Copyright © 2005-2013 NewsBusters.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use