Lupe Fiasco was forced off stage during an inaugural event in Washington DC on Sunday night, after performing an anti-Obama diatribe.
The Chicago rapper was playing at The Hamilton, a venue one block away from the White House, when he told the crowd that he did not vote for Barack Obama and went on to perform a 30-minute version of his song Words I Never Said. That track features the lyrics: "I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit, just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets" as well as "Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didn't say shit."
When Fiasco refused to move on to the next song, his microphone was cut and a security team removed him from the stage.
One of the events organisers, Hypervocal, released a statement saying: '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, organisrs decided to move on to the next act.'
It's not the first time Fiasco has been known for his harsh criticism of Obama. During an interview with CBS News he described the president as the "biggest terrorist in the United States of America".
Although Obama still retains the backing of high-profile rappers such as Jay-Z, Fiasco's comments indicate the deteriorating relationship between Obama and certain sections of the hip-hop community. Although given that his criticism has been well-documented in the past, it does raise questions as to why Fiasco was booked for this event.
