Rapper-turned-actor-turned-producer Ice Cube is not feeling the love after four days of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in which politician after politician delivered one sanctimonious speech after the other. In Ice Cube’s mind, the whole parade was one big showboat with little substance and nothing for the black community.
In a video posted to Twitter, Ice Cube lamented that the DNC offered nothing to the American black community beyond the same old talking points.
“Over the last four days, the Democratic national party held a convention. A lot of people getting up there and talking and everybody really eating it up. Throwing their hands in the air like they just don’t care,” he began.
“What I didn’t hear is, what’s in it for us? What’s in it for the black community besides the same old thing we’ve been getting from these parties? What’s in it for us for real?” he continued. “I didn’t hear anybody mention a contract with black America. And I don’t know why because it’s one of the most comprehensive reform documents that’s come out in a long time that can really address the problem. The way it looks, they don’t have a plan. Everybody is, you know, talking about, ‘get Trump out, get Trump out, get Trump out.'”
Though Ice Cube would like to “get Trump out,” he acknowledged a Biden presidency will do little to change the current status quo. He took particular issue with the fact that black businesses have been severely affected by the lockdowns with little or no plan offered to help them survive.
“If you vote, that’s going to happen on the first day. So now what? Trump out. Now what? What do we get in the first hundred days? That’s what we [are] trying to figure out. What do we actually get that they could give us overnight?” he questioned. “They just pulled $3 trillion out they a** and gave it to their friends. That’s American taxpayer money. That’s your money that they just gave away.”
“And then there’s 42% of Black businesses closing. None of that money—where’s our f***ing bailout? Where’s the bailout, not the PPE loan that they didn’t give us? Where’s the bailout?” he continued. “I don’t wanna hear about deficit. I don’t wanna hear about what our generation is going to have to pay. Because if we don’t have s**t, they ain’t going to have s**t anyway to pay nothing. So we gotta start something right now.”
Ice Cube finally cautioned black Americans against voting mindlessly and challenged them to make Democrats (and Republicans) earn their vote.
“Democrats don’t seem like they got a plan, Republicans don’t seem like they got a plan for us,” he concluded. “So how the hell are you going to vote for them? Make them earn that vote. They can start today. They ain’t got it yet. They can start today. Make their a** earn that vote, man. Stop playing with these people and they’ll stop playing with you.”
But what's in it for us? pic.twitter.com/GOvptKnoF1
— Ice Cube (@icecube) August 22, 2020
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