Larry Wilmore: Carson rap ad is ‘s—’
Comedian Larry Wilmore said late Thursday that he dislikes GOP presidential front-runner Ben Carson’s new rap-themed campaign ad.
“I can’t listen to this shit,” he said on Comedy Central’s “The Nightly Show. “This is just ridiculous. I feel bad for my rap listening equipment.
{mosads}“Come on, Ben Carson,” Wilmore said. “A rap song? Is it so hard to get the black vote?
“You’re the black candidate,” he added. “You’re in danger of losing it now.”
Wilmore then mocked Carson by presenting a satirical conversation detailing what would make the commercial successful.
“Yo man, you’ve got to vote for Ben Carson,” Wilmore said as the first speaker in the hypothetical conversation.
“Hell no, I ain’t voting for that mumbly [guy],” the second participant then responded.
“He wrote a rap song,” the first speaker countered.
“What?” the second theoretical voter replied in astonishment.
Wilmore, who is African-American, further spoofed Carson by playing Carson’s latest campaign spot on a boom box. He also sported sunglasses, a ball cap and an afro comb during the segment.
Carson’s campaign released the ad Thursday in hopes of appealing to young black voters by mixing his campaign rhetoric with rap music.
“Heal. Vote! Vote! Inspire. Vote! Vote! Revive. Vote! Vote!” Aspiring Mogul raps in the track, alluding to the Republican’s “Heal, Inspire, Revive” slogan.
“American became a great nation early on not because it was flooded with politicians, but because it was flooded with people who understood the value of personal responsibility, hard work, creativity, innovation — and that’s what will get us on the right track now,” Carson adds as beats thump in the background.
Carson’s campaign said that the commercial cost $150,000 and marks its appeal toward young African-Americans through the March primaries nationwide.
“[It is an] expressed articulation to another market, a non-traditional voting market for Republicans,” a Carson spokesman told ABC News Thursday.
The new ad begins airing Friday for two weeks in Miami; Atlanta; Houston; Detroit; Birmingham, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Little Rock, Ark.
Carson has previously focused his message on family values and religious morality in a pitch for older, conservative voters.
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