Election season is heating up, and celebrities are doing everything they can to be in the midst of the conversation in the hopes to get people to vote. Some rappers have been in the headlines in this season with some criticisms attached to them during this time, such as Ice Cube with his “Contract With Black America”, news of Kanye West trying to enter into the Presidential race, and Diddy launching a new political party called “Our Black Party”.
When rapper, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur Diddy announced the launch of the political party, social media perked up awaiting more information, wondering what it entailed. He came forward with a statement of the party’s mission, saying it includes advancing “a political agenda that addresses the needs of Black people” ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
According to the official website OurBlackParty.org, the statement reads, “Our Black Party exists to advance a political agenda that addresses the needs of Black people. We envision an America where Black people are liberated and participate freely in the political, economic, and social systems that work together for our benefits. We will power the Black political agenda by developing a coalition of people and organizations committed to building Black political power and fiercely advocating for radical change that dramatically improves the quality of life for Black people in America.”
The mission is to create a platform to help advance a political agenda that addresses the needs of Black people. So, going forward we aren’t in the same position we are in today. Visit https://t.co/SYOSCLTVqm for more info.
— Diddy (@Diddy) October 16, 2020
Diddy made the announcement “I’m launching one of the boldest things I’ve ever launched. I’m launching a Black political party with some young Black elected officials and activists,” the Bad Boy CEO said, adding in a series of Twitter posts, “The number one priority is to get Trump out of office. He has to go. We can’t allow this man to continue to try and Divide us. The people that have the most responsibility and should be scared to death of this man are white people. We are on the verge of a race war.”
He added, “We need to get Biden in and hold him accountable. Trump has taken things too far. As Black people, we aren’t even a topic of real discussion. We can no longer stand for doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. That’s insanity! It’s time we unify.”
His tweets, however, created some division on Twitter, as some agreed with him, while others criticized him for several reasons. “If Diddy and Cube of Ice wanted to really help Black people, they would have put their money into Black orgs and Black activists that already exist and have been fighting. But whatever,” tweeted one user, while another tweeted several pictures of Diddy cozied up with Trump and his wife, Melania, captioning the tweet, “This you?”
This you? https://t.co/nNnmqUVzzk pic.twitter.com/KC80Uo7Ozm
— T.Cat Ⓥ☥ (@TcatMPS) October 16, 2020
One user stood in solidarity with the mogul, tweeting “Diddy YOU NEVER LIED!!!!! this so-called president has destroyed our country in so many ways, that has me in disbelief at times!!!! I just can’t imagine some of the situations I have viewed and heard regarding this man!”
Many came forward with tweets encouraging the Bad Boy CEO to do right by his artists, due to many claims that he’s underpaid several of them throughout his career. “Never forget that every artist Diddy signed is still begging for the money they are owed decades after the that. The rich & black Shaun King needs to sit down,” reminds one Twitter user. Another writes, “Diddy needs to start a pay them damn artists back party before anything else.”
diddy hasn’t even paid artists for their work from back in the day……. pls leave us alone pic.twitter.com/WrYQpy0xQ8
— §♤ (@silentlyuncut) October 16, 2020
When news of Our Black Party hit, former Bad Boy artist and Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day not only took notice but became extremely vocal with her disdain for her former boss’s current movements. She came forward with claims of him partaking in artist mismanagement and siphoning funds from his artists. “Diddy has mismanaged artists & stolen their money his whole career (including Danity Kane), and now he is showing up with 18 days left before the election to get Trump out of office,” she wrote.
The “Dumblonde” member didn’t stop there, implying that her former boss and Trump’s relationship is not what he makes it seem like. “When I was on Apprentice, Trump used to tell me DAILY how him and puff are good friends,” she continued in her tweet.