“Shut Up and Rap”: The Tale of Two of Antonio Delgados

“Shut Up and Rap”:  The Tale of Two of Antonio Delgados by Wilfredo Gomez | BazookaGomez84 | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
Identity matters. Representation matters. Context matters...it always has. The race for New York’s 19th Congressional District, pitting incumbent Republican Representative John Faso and his opponent Antonio Delgado is heating up and making national news. These stories arise in the context of a recent tweet sent out by President Trump, a campaign ad that affords Willie Horton, a first-rate face lift in the age of digital media technologies, fanning the waves of xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and the continued efforts to demonize and pathologize brown and black bodies. Image, text, and rhetoric, work in relative symbiosis to make character judgments, offer policy evaluations/critique, and make generalized assessments about the kinds of representation needed to help propel this country forward.
The race facing the electorate in New York’s 19th congressional district is no different. On October 31, 2018, Republican Representative John Faso appeared on Primetime with Chris Cuomo. From the outset it was clear that the host wanted to hold Faso accountable for running ads that used the coded language of hip-hop as a stand in for values and issues; the issues that have been depicted to be outside the purview of Delgado’s expertise, know-how, and most provocatively, his capacity to conceptualize areas of concern: a reflection of his inability to empathize and acclimate himself to a district where Faso has lived and worked for over 30 years (or so goes his line of reasoning and self-defense).
But let us take a step a back for a second, and put forth another proposition: pedigree matters. But which one? Therein lies a perceived duality that seems a bit difficult for Faso and his backers to envision. On the one hand, we have Antonio Delgado, Harvard educated attorney and Rhodes Scholar. On the other hand, we have “A.D. The Rapper,” an artistic persona performed by Delgado, an artist who once used the pulpit of hip-hop to engage in social critique, tackling subject matter such as foreign policy, first-amendment rights, and a more expansive unpacking of democratic engagement.
As per one of the central arguments in this race, the fact that these realities can be contained in the same body seems far fetched. How can a former rapper turned Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar, have political ambitions? Such ambitions and successes for hip-hop are not new as evidenced by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Yet, none of them has ever ran for office, nor expressed interest in doing so. This is electoral politics after all, not the art of the deal, nor a hustle to be bragged about in recordings. The 19th Congressional District is far from being hip-hop, Republicans have seen to that. The processes of being and becoming are depicted as a static, yet universal undertaking of human development so long as it does not disrupt or counter hegemonic conceptualizations of “values” and “culture.”
By running ads that draw a clear and intimate connection between hip-hop, race, and the disposition of a politician, Faso and his supporters are essentially telling Delgado and by extension, Democrats to shut up and rap. I say this riffing on the words of Fox News host Laura Ingraham, wherein she directed the words, “shut up and dribble” towards NBA megastar Lebron James. The effect of such a claim is felt when identity and identity politics become mired in discourses of essentialism and authenticity. Furthermore, what results from this myopic approach is a closing off of democratic access and inclusion. It becomes readily apparent, that figures like Delgado, much like the commentary made about James, posit an either/or binary. One can either be a philanthropist, cultural critic and social justice warrior or a basketball player in James’ case.
In the case of Delgado, you are either an anti-American, misogynistic rapper, or a Harvard trained, Rhodes Scholar with legitimate and credible political aspirations (not ignoring being in possession of a strong sense of entitlement, as Faso alluded to on CNN). One must choose an identity, you can not be both. That is too much complexity for potential voters and would-be elected officials to wrap their heads around. To continue the basketball metaphor, Antonio Delgado is not being blackballed (Faso lauds the prospects of a Delgado-like figure in New York City or Los Angeles), but rather Lavar Ball’ed. Faso and his backers are telling Delgado and his supporters (particularly Nancy Pelosi) to effectively “stay in yo’ lane.”
The problem here becomes a proverbial whitewashing of American society. America has always and continues to be a country of greys. To deploy an Obamaesque language, we have always been a society greater than the sum of our collective parts. A failure to understand this, leaves much to be desired (Where do we go from here?). In translation, messages get lost, misrepresented, or misinterpreted, leaving the door open for misdirection.
The rap lyric that folk are up in arms about regarding pornography, women, and sex, “Gotcha Sweatin’ this like ya havin’ sex to a porno flick” is a simile about A.D. The Rapper’s lyrical prowess and how his talents command your respect. This is no different than rapper Canibus (on a song entitled “Buckingham Palace,”) suggesting, “me without lyrics is like a porn flick without sex.” Those “dead presidents” that have made Delgado the center of scorn for patriots, is not anti-American sentiment, but a reference to money, the “dead presidents” that feature prominently on U.S. currency. The same “dead presidents” that permit the Faso’s, Cruz’s, and Trump’s of the world to play in the political arena. The suggestion that a Delgado candidacy is more conceivable (and palatable) in Los Angeles or New York, further signifies on race, the urban landscape, multiculturalism, and the culture and values of hip-hop. Whether owning up to the truth or not, those are the facts (and not the Donald Trump kind).
The Lebron James angle is still poignant as was recently reflected in The Undefeated’s article “Lebron James, ‘The Shop,’ and the Art of Code-Switching,” written by Martenzie Johnson. In the article, Johnson charts the career trajectory and media scrutiny faced by James from his teenage years on. During the course of that unpacking, Johnson highlights how adept James is at negotiating the many spaces he occupies as basketball player, activist, philanthropist, cultural icon, and budding media mogul.
Citing the work of scholars Vershawn Ashanti Young and Y’Shanda Rivera, Johnson uses James’ recent media offering, HBO’s The Shop to address the nuances of James’ brand, appropriately embodied as the mainstreaming shift from “code-switching” to “code-meshing,” a fluid and seamless deployment of African-American language styles in tandem with Standard English. In the same ways that we laud James for his athletic prowess and creative genius, efforts that expand the platforms for athletes both speaking and branching out, so too must we recognize the same genius in Antonio “A.D. The Rapper” Delgado. Rapper, fierce voice of change, and legitimate contender for the 19th Congressional District’s open seat. Clearly, Delgado does more than shut up and rap. His Harvard and Rhodes Scholar pedigree sees to that. And for that dexterity and more, Faso may soon find himself out the outside looking in. But hey, that is the game of politics.
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Wilfredo Gomez is an independent scholar and researcher. He can be reached at gomez.wilfredo@gmail.com or via twitter at BazookaGomez84.