For whatever reason, the organizers behind last night’s StartUp RockOn Inauguration Celebration in DC decided to invite a rapper who once called President Obama “the biggest terrorist” to headline their event.
According to reports, the aptly named Lupe Fiasco performed 30-minutes of a verse from his anti-war song “Words I Never Said” before being escorted off the stage by security because he refused to move onto another song.
Josh Rogin, staff writer for The Cable, described the encounter via tweet. “So Lupe played one anti-war song for 30 min and said he didn’t vote for Obama and eventually was told to move on to the next song.”
He continued, “Lupe refused to move to the next song so a team of security guards came on stage and told him to go.”
The party’s organizers insisted Fiasco was not booted for rapping over and over, “Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say [bleep] / That’s why I ain’t vote for him, next one either.”
HyperVocal, one of the companies involved with the event, responded to the incident with an official statement.
“Lupe Fiasco performed at this private event, and as you may have read, he left the stage earlier than we had planned. But Lupe Fiasco was not ‘kicked off stage’ for an ‘anti-Obama rant.’ We are staunch supporters of free speech, and free political speech. This was not about his opinions. Instead, after a bizarrely repetitive, jarring performance that left the crowd vocally dissatisfied, organizers decided to move on to the next act.
“The party continued as planned, and we celebrated the announcement of CodeNow’s winning the Grant Challenge. CodeNow is a non-profit startup based in Washington DC that teaches “underrepresented high school students basic skills in computer programming.”
Fiasco, noted for his occasionally anti-establishment views, discussed the political content of his music on the CBS program “What’s Trending” in June.
“My fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama and the United States of America. I’m trying to fight the terrorism that’s actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists.”
Fiasco spoke with Page Six in September during an event to celebrate his new album, “Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Part 1.” When asked if social figures like himself have public responsibility, Fiasco told us, “I think for me, I just try to tell the truth, no matter how funky it is, or happy it is, or if it makes you cry, or if it makes you laugh I just try to tell the truth.”