Listen Live
St. Jude Radiothon 2024
CLOSE

Is Nick Cannon out to destroy the 2016 Election?

In a new video shot outside a polling station, Cannon raps about this year’s presidential election and how voting for any of the major candidates will not move the needle on issues like poverty or corruption, all while making it clear that he does not support anyone or any political party.

During Wednesday’s edition of NewsOne Now, hip-hop artist and activist Jasiri X spoke with Roland Martin about Cannon’s “Too Broke To Vote” video that has caused quite a stir on social media and sparked a heated debate over the virtues of voting.

Jasiri X believes Cannon is not trying to persuade African-Americans not to participate in the 2016 presidential race. X told Martin, “Nick Cannon is looking at the national conversation around the presidential election and [is] not inspired” by any of the candidates.

“Looking at the history of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party — I think we’ve had more conversation around issues that directly reflect the Black community. But is putting somebody in a national office really going to have that much of a difference on our personal lives?” said X.

The rapper/activist expounded on his point: “The necessity for voting is really dealing with how we live on a local level, and I don’t feel like he (Nick Cannon) has gone into that.”

Jasiri X explained he understands the uninspired feeling coming out of this election cycle’s crop of candidates and said, “Are we voting for a savior, or are we voting for somebody that is going to deal with policy issues” that impact the Black community on a local level.

X continued to explain how local politics have more impact on his community than the election of the nation’s first Black president, saying in “2008, [Barack] Obama was elected for President and we were celebrating but we, in Pennsylvania, elected a Republican governor named Tom Coburn — first thing he does is take a billion dollars out of education.”

NewsOne Now panelist Dr. Wilmer Leon took issue with the controversial “Too Broke To Vote” video. Wilmer said the entertainer “offers no solution” to his apparent call not to vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Watch Roland Martin, Jasiri X, and the NewsOne Now panel discuss Nick Cannon’s “Too Broke To Vote” spoken word composition in the video clip above.

Sound off in the comment box below. Do you believe Cannon is calling for African-Americans to skip the 2016 presidential election, or is he trying to raise the consciousness of the Black electorate?

TV One’s NewsOne Now has moved to 7 A.M. ET, be sure to watch “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.

Subscribe to the “NewsOne Now” Audio Podcast on iTunes.

SEE ALSO: 

Is ‘Black Lives Matter’ The New Civil Rights Movement For A New Generation?

Nick Cannon’s “Too Broke To Vote” Video Causes Stir On Social Media  was originally published on newsone.com

Leave a Reply