UPDATE: This post originally excerpted an article from the Daily Caller saying Common was scratched from his White House performance.
From Politico:
Rapper and poet Common may have incited controversy this week when the White House invited him to perform at a poetry event.After all, he has rapped about shooting police and has written lyrics calling for the “burn[ing] of former President George W. Bush.”
But Common kept things pretty tame when he took the stage in the East Room at Wednesday night’s “Evening of Poetry” along with other musicians, poets and artists.
The hip hop artist — dressed in a slate gray suit — delivered lyrics to a rap song that began with words from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and also included praise for the president who was seated in front of him.
“I woke up with the sunshine, a sunshine I’d never seen,” he began, reciting his poem without any hip-hop beats. “There was light at the end of it, reminding me to forever dream. I was dreaming I walked into the White House with love on my sleeve and love for each and every one of you remind you to believe.”
Concluding the poem, he went on to mention President Obama by name: “One King’s Dream, He was able to Barack us.”
Common did not acknowledge any of the controversy surrounding his performance. Before leaving the stage, he simply said, “Thank you very much, I appreciate being here.”
Full article here.
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