I hear new music and I jus don't be feelin' it, racism still alive but they jus be concealin' it...
Rap star attacks Bush at benefit
Hip-hop star Kanye West criticised President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina at a televised benefit concert in New York on Friday.
The show, which raised funds for relief efforts, featured Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Gere, Glenn Close, Harry Connick Jr and Wynton Marsalis.
But West told the audience: "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
The comment went out live on the US east coast, but was cut from a taped version seen on the west coast.
West also claimed the US was set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible".
He appeared alongside comedian Mike Myers for a 90-second segment which began with Myers speaking of the devastation Katrina has caused to southern states of the US.
But to Myers' surprise, West departed from his script and said: "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food."
Cut off
He conceded "the Red Cross is doing everything they can", but said authorities were deliberately holding up getting aid to the Gulf coast.
West was cut off mid-speech after he criticised Mr Bush, and the cameras switched to comedian Chris Tucker.
There has been widespread criticism of the US government's response to the storm, which struck on Monday. The scale of the casualties is not yet known, but tens of thousands of people remain in the devastated city of New Orleans while 75,000 people have been forced to take shelter in neighbouring Texas.
NBC, which broadcast the event, said "it would be most unfortunate if the efforts of the artists and the generosity of millions of Americans are overshadowed by one person's opinion".
Country star Tim McGraw, who is from Louisiana, sang two songs and said: "I know the citizens that weren't affected by this are gonna stand up and do good things for people."
Aaron Neville - who, like Connick Jr and Marsalis, is from New Orleans - performed Randy Newman's Louisiana 1927 with the chorus "they're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away".
Actresses Hilary Swank and Lindsay Lohan also took part in the concert, while New York governor George Pataki presented the Red Cross with a cheque for $2.5 million (£1.3m) with a promise of further assistance.
This is just something that struck me that I saw in the politics section of a sports forum. Here's my response:
I am not sure how I feel about this. Its something that should be said at some point, but a charity event probably is not the right time for that. However, if he says this anywhere else, he's just a stupid rapper and about six people hear about it. Saying it on national TV makes it a big deal and puts it out there. Alas, it appears as though its not getting anywhere anyway as neither CNN nor Fox News have mentioned it in the last hour or so where I have been flipping between the two. There is nothing on MSNBC right now except for the West Coast showing of the benefit.
Fox News, at the least, is running a ticker line that mentions that black leaders are criticizing Bush for ignoring the needs of the area because it is predominately black. Of course, they're not getting on national TV and doing that. Which leaves Kanye West as the only one.
I think to say that this was a way to sell his record, as some sites are, is ridiculous. If that was all it was, it would have looked more rehearsed and much smoother. Looking at Kanye, you can kind of see that he was thinking about this while Mike Myers was talking, and then decided when it was his turn to talk at the last minute to go for it. You can see in his eyes that he realizes that this might not be a good decision for his career, but he went for it because he felt it was something that was needed to say.
What should also be noted is that the people planning this need to know about Kanye's work. He's not exactly 50 Cent, rapping about killing and "*****es." He is someone that knows what is going on in the world and is willing to talk about it. He is not a "safe" celebrity like a Chris Tucker or Mike Myers.
Additionally, if you are going to trash someone for trying to make this into a personal gain, why don't you mention Dr. Phil? The guy is mugging on CNN constantly and is producing a show from the Astrodome where survivors have been moved to. Why doesn't he spend the money on producing a show on the Red Cross, or just buying supplies as long as he's there and working with these people anyway? No need to make this into his own stunt.
A rather anti-Kanye site that contains a link to the video