Donald Trump in music

Donald Trump in music refers to songs, albums and bands that refer to Donald Trump and his various brands, including Trump Tower, his TV show, his hotel chain, and his casinos.[1] Though recent songs refer to Trump's campaign and subsequent election as president of the United States, more than 200 songs refer to Trump prior to his successful presidential race between 1989 and 2013.[2] With his win of the 2016 presidential bid, Trump's prominence in rap music has been liked to that of Ronald Reagan's in hardcore punk during the 1980s.[3]

Background

Hip hop

Trump's name first appeared in hip hop lyrics during the 1980s when the business mogul became an icon of the ultra rich. Among the earliest mentions of Donald Trump in rap lyrics was the Beastie Boys' 1989 track Johnny Ryall in which they pit Donald Trump alongside his homeless alter-ego, Donald Tramp.[2]

While many rappers praised Trump's wealth, usually comparing their own financial aspirations or success to that of the billionaire businessman, others have used their music as a platform to criticize Trump's practices and politics.[4] Among the earliest of these was The Coup from Oakland, California who critiqued and mocked Trump on their first two albums released in the early 1990s.[1]

ESPN's political site FiveThirtyEight documented that between 1989 and 2014, 19% of song lyrics about Trump were negative while 60% were positive. The 2010s marked a shift in hip hop musicians' attitude toward Trump as his presence in the public eye shifted from business tycoon to that of a politician making controversial statements against people of color, Latin American people, and Muslims. Because of hip hop's close association with these communities and its reinvigorated politicization with the Black Lives Matter movement, lyrical depictions of Trump rapidly grew to be more disparaging throughout his campaign and subsequent election as President of the United States.[1]

Many artists have name-checked Trump in more than one song. Pre-presidency, Rick Ross had the most Trump mentions (9 songs between 2008 and 2015) with Nas running second (7 songs between 1996 and 2012). Other major Trump name-checkers include Migos (6 songs between 2013 and 2016), Young Thug (6 songs between 2013 and 2015), Lil Wayne (5 songs between 2000 and 2012) and Raekwon (5 songs between 1995 and 2012).[1]

Mac Miller controversy

The numerous references to Trump in lyrics have not gone unnoticed by the billionaire. When Mac Miller's 2011 song "Donald Trump" became a Billboard hit, Trump released a YouTube video congratulating the rapper:

A lot of people are calling me about the Mac Miller rap song. Now, it's named "Donald Trump." Maybe you should pay me a lot of money, but it just did over 20 million people, tuning into Mac Miller. So in one way, I'm proud of him. I haven't actually seen the language ... Probably, it's not the cleanest language you've ever heard ... But the "Donald Trump" song just hit over 20 million, that's not so bad. I'm very proud of him.[5]

As the song garnered more plays, Trump took a more aggressive tone and demanded royalties for using his name, thereby starting a feud with Miller.[6] In early 2013, Trump threatened the rapper via a series of exchanges on Twitter:

Little @MacMiller, you illegally used my name for your song “Donald Trump” which now has over 75 million hits.
I want the money not the plaque you gave me!
I’m now going to teach you a big boy lesson about lawsuits and finance. You ungrateful dog!
I have more hair than you do and there’s a slight age difference.[7]

In 2015 Trump changed his attitude toward Miller again when he ended an interview with The Hill by praising Miller's song as it approached 100 million hits.[8]

Other styles of music

Outside of hip hop, most lyrical references to Trump have appeared in songs ranging from satires of the billionaire, to outright protest in varying degrees of explicitness. One of the earliest Trump send-ups was the 1990 ballad "Donald Trump (Black Version)" written by Prince for fellow Minneapolis act The Time in which singer Morris Day calls himself a black version of Donald Trump, who can use his riches to "fulfill [a woman's] every wish, [and her] every dream".[9] In 1992 Irish folk-rock group Goats Don't Shave had a #4 hit with "Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal," which references Trump's casino business in imagining an Irish county that becomes a gambling Mecca.[10]

More recently, songs like "Fergus Laing" by Scottish folk singer Richard Thompson present thinly veiled references to Trump without mentioning him by name, while songs like "Fucked Up Donald" by Canadian punk band D.O.A. are more direct. Many songs attack Trump by mocking his supporters through stereotypical portrayals of their views and lifestyles. Phoenix-based comedian Brian Nissen comedian stars as "Mullets Over America" spokesman Dwain in the music video "Make America Great Again", while Rocky Mountain Mike's cover of "Mr. Tangerine Man" remakes the lyrics to be about Trump, with the song's title alluding to the color of his skin. Sung from the perspective of a xenophobic Trump supporter, the song opens:

Hey Mr. Tangerine Man, build a wall for me
I'm not that bright and don't know that you're not going to
Hey Mr. Tangerine Man, keep Muslims away from me
With my jingoistic worldview, I'll come following you.[11]

In October of 2016, author Dave Eggers launched a project slated to release one anti-Trump song each day leading up to 2016's election day. Originally called 30 Songs, 30 Days, Eggers' plan was to have each song performed by a different artist, but due to more musicians coming through with songs, it grew to be 40, and then 50 songs in 30 days.[12][13] Eggers worked on the project with Jordan Kurland with whome he had previously worked on two similar election-related projects.[14][15][16] Eggers' inspiration for the project came when attending a Trump rally in Sacramento earlier that year.[17] Participating artists included Death Cab for Cutie, Aimee Mann, Bhi Bhiman, Jim James, Franz Ferdinand, Josh Ritter, Thao Nguyen, EL VY, R.E.M., Adia Victoria, Moby, Lila Downs, Mac McCaughan, Tim Bluhm, Vinnie Paz, Jesu, Sun Kil Moon, Filthy Friends, Radioinactive, Sheila Brody, Ani DiFranco, Andrew Bird, Mirah, clipping., Sam Cohen, Blake Hazard, Wesley Stace, Loudon Wainwright III, Cold War Kids, Reggie Watts, Mission of Burma, Bob Mould, Ryan Miller, The Long Winters, Open Mike Eagle, Jimmy Eat World, Kyle Craft, Local Natives, Anthony D'Amato, Greg Holden, Laura Gibson, Tim Heidecker, Modern Baseball, Joe Purdy, Rogue Wave and more.[18]

Songs that mention Donald Trump

1980s


1990s


2000s


2010–2014


2015–2016, during Trump's presidential race and election


30 Days, 50 Songs project

Released daily between October 10 and November 8, 2016 by Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland:

  1. "Million Dollar Loan" by Death Cab for Cutie
  2. "Can't You Tell" by Aimee Mann
  3. "With Love from Russia" by Bhi Bhiman
  4. "Same Old Lie" by Jim James
  5. "Demagogue" by Franz Ferdinand
  6. "The Temptation of Adam" (Live Version) by Josh Ritter (the original version of this song appeared on his 2007 album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter)
  7. "Before You Vote" by Thao Nguyen
  8. "Are These My Jets" by EL VY
  9. "World Leader Pretend" (Live Version) by R.E.M. (the original version of this song appeared on the 1988 album Green)
  10. "DonaldTrumpMakesMeWannaSmokeCrack" by Ledinsky
  11. "Backwards Blues" by Adia Victoria
  12. "Trump Is on Your Side" by Moby and the Homeland Choir
  13. "Little Failure" by Moby and the Void Pacific Choir
  14. "The Demagogue" by Lila Downs
  15. "Old Man Trump" by U.S. Elevator (featuring Mac McCaughan and Tim Bluhm)
  16. "Writings on Disobedience and Democracy" by Vinnie Paz
  17. "The Greatest Conversation Ever in the History of the Universe" by Jesu/Sun Kil Moon
  18. "Despierta" by Filthy Friends
  19. "Natural Born Loser" by Radioinactive (featuring Sheila Brody)
  20. "Makin' It Great Again.!" by Andrew St. James
  21. "Play God [live]" by Ani DiFranco
  22. "Young, Latin and Proud" by Helado Negro
  23. "Sic of Elephants [live]" by Andrew Bird (featuring Jim James)
  24. "No Guns No Guns" by Mirah
  25. "Fat Fingers" by clipping.
  26. "Clockwork" by Sam Cohen
  27. "Little Situation" by Blake Hazard
  28. "Mr. Tangerine Man [live]" by Wesley Stace
  29. "I Had a Dream [live]" by Loudon Wainwright III
  30. "Locker Room Talk" by Cold War Kids
  31. "Trumpy Trump" by The Cooties (featuring Reggie Watts)
  32. "Panic Is No Option [live]" by Mission of Burma
  33. "In a Free Land [live]" by Bob Mould
  34. "The Clown" by Ryan Miller
  35. "I Might Vote 4 Donald Trump" by JPEGMAFIA (featuring Freaky)
  36. "Make America Great Again" by The Long Winters
  37. "How to Be Super Petty to Your Ex" by Open Mike Eagle
  38. "My Enemy" by Jimmy Eat World
  39. "Before the Wall" by Kyle Craft
  40. "Fountain of Youth [live]" by Local Natives
  41. "If You're Gonna Build a Wall" by Anthony D'Amato
  42. "Exactly Like You" by Greg Holden
  43. "And Where Were You?" by Laura Gibson and Dave Depper
  44. "Alexander" by I Said Yes
  45. "Trump's Pilot" by Tim Heidecker
  46. "Bart to the Future Part 2: The Musical" by Modern Baseball
  47. "Maybe We'll All Get Along Someday" by Joe Purdy
  48. "What a Beautiful Morning!" by Drunken Logic
  49. "DT Blues" by Agents of the Fantastic
  50. "Vote for Me Dummy (Guided by Voices cover)" by Rogue Wave

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 McCann, Allison (July 24, 2016). "Hip-Hop Is Turning On Donald Trump". FiveThirtyEight. ESPN. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Bristout, Ralph (Nov 2, 2016). "38 rap references that display Donald Trump's fall from hip-hop grace". Revolt TV. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Barshad, Amos (April 6, 2016). "The Joy Of "Fuck Trump": YG and some goofy kids from Baltimore have the Trump catharsis you need.". The Fader. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Finley, Taryn (August 20, 2015). "67 Times Rappers Name Dropped 'Donald Trump'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Zaru, Deena (Sep 2, 2015). "What hip-hop lyrics tell us about Donald Trump". Cable News Network. CNN. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Makarechi, Kia (January 25, 2016). "Mac Miller, Donald Trump's Least Favorite Rapper, Revisits Feud". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ Trump, Donald (Jan 31, 2015). "@MacMiller". Twitter. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Cirilli, Kevin (July 23, 2015). "Trump praises rapper's 'great' song about him". The Hill. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  9. 1 2 Jackson, Lucas (April 22, 2016). "Prince once wrote a song called "Donald Trump (Black Version)"". CBS. CBS News. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Las Vegan in the Hills of Donegal". We Love Donegal. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  11. 1 2 Hemann, Andy (June 21, 2016). "The 10 Best Trump Parodies and Protest Songs". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Kornhaber, Spencer (12 October 2016). "Donald Trump Is Terrific Protest-Music Inspiration". The Atlantic. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "About 30 Days, 30 Songs". 30 Days, 40 Songs. Artists for a Trump-free America. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  14. ↑ Kurland, Jordan. "30 Days, 30 Songs: Masthead". 30 Days, 40 Songs. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  15. ↑ "Zeitgeist Artist Management". zeitgeistmanagement.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  16. ↑ Cillizza, Chris (13 October 2016). "Famous musicians are writing 30 anti-Trump songs for the final 30 days of the election". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  17. ↑ Goodman, Jessica (11 October 2016). "Inside the making of Dave Eggers' anti-Trump music project, 30 Days, 30 Songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "30 Days, 30 Songs". 30 Days, 30 Songs. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Smith, Troy L (March 23, 2016). "23 Rap Songs that Reference Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton". cleveland.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  20. ↑ Ruggiero, Bob (July 6, 2016). "Rick Estrin's Blues Cruise of Hohners, Humor and Hotties". Houston Press. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  21. ↑ "Donald Trump's Hair - Kacey Jones | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  22. ↑ "Donald Trump Lyrics in Popular Songs". AWM. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  23. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UovoVTKzg7M
  24. ↑ Bickel, Christopher (April 29, 2016). "'F*cked Up Donald": Punk Legends D.O.A. Eviscerate Donald Trump". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
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