Lupe Fiasco: Obama 'The Biggest Terrorist' (VIDEO)

A few weeks ago, the political right criticized President Barack Obama for having Common, a Chicago-native rapper, to the White House for a poetry reading.

Now, the situation's turned on its head, as a Chicago rapper is attacking the President for being too far right in his foreign policy.

In an interview on "What's Trending," a CBS News video segment, Lupe Fiasco -- a rapper known for his socially conscious and politically charged lyrics -- had some harsh words for the president.

"In my fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama, and the United States of America," Lupe told host Shira Lazar. (Scroll down to watch the interview.) He went on to explain the comment:

"I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff that the U.S. government allows to happen, and the foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists. And it's easy for us because it's just some oil."

The remarks echo the lyrics of Lupe's song, "American Terrorist," from his 2006 release Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. In the song, he likens episodes from American history to terrorist attacks: "We came through the storm / nooses on our necks / and a smallpox blanket to keep us warm / On a 747 on the Pentagon lawn / Wake up, the alarm clock is connected to a bomb / Anthrax lab on a West Virginia farm / Shorty ain't learned to walk already heavily armed..."

And he had criticized Obama in a recent single, "Words I Never Said," for refusing to speak out against Israeli bombings of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Lupe, born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, is an observant Muslim who originally disdained hip-hop for its use of vulgarity and degradation of women. He still doesn't use drugs, drink alcohol, or behave wantonly. In fact, he's long been a leader in philanthropy in the hip-hop community, including working with a clean water initiative and releasing a charity single for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

He followed up his comments about terrorism by explaining why he doesn't vote, saying that casting a ballot for a politician for him is an endorsement of everything that person does. He won't do that for any presidential candidates because "I don't want you to bomb some village in the middle of nowhere," he said.

Watch the interview with Lupe ("terrorist" comments begin around 2:10)

Comments

[Danny E Estrict]

09:13 PM on 07/14/2011

I think the kid is naive. His comments about the president are not personal, they're towards every president. But, he's naive. Dream on dude...

[GenWilkins]

01:22 PM on 06/21/2011

I think Lupe is not aware of the hypocrisy he aligned himself with. This was a media counter-attack to the fact that the president has received support from another popular, socially conscious rapper (Common). He fell right into it. He does not vote, he did not mention any religious reasons so you can only preclude he has none. If black people in America did not fight for the right to vote in America we would have no say in any of our communities. I am very disappointed in him. I was a fan.

[jhayden512]

01:56 PM on 06/18/2011

Lupe Fiasco is an amazingly astute young man with good political insight however, I was disappointed in his revelation that he doesn't vote. Does he not know that silence is consent? That his silence, failure to vote, is a validation of everything that this terrorist nation (as he calls it) does? Also, the message that he sends to his fans is "don't vote!" He needs to rethink this position.

[Nick Franco]

01:24 PM on 06/16/2011

Ah, the anti-Rebecca Black: Lupe's lyrics are probably the most intelligent on the radio.

[Nick Franco]

01:21 AM on 06/15/2011

[Iain Banks]

11:46 AM on 06/13/2011

I voted for Obama and will again, but I have no illusions about who he is and what he does. The man was put there to maintain the status quo, give Israel billions, give corporations and multi millionaires tax breaks. Allow American companies to maintain an imperialist presence in the developing world, and to maintain a colonial army ready to quash any foreign and domestic threat the threatens to break that balance.

[Writerdude2011]

08:04 PM on 06/12/2011

They're lyrics to a song like Happy Birthday or Mary Had A Little Lamb...nothing more

[Darell Wilson]

07:35 PM on 06/12/2011

Amazing!!!! Everyone seems to have input about Lupe's comments about Obama, especially when he really said Obama, the American government and every other "PRESIDENT" before and after him, although i seem to have missed that part in this video. lol oh yes that includes the Bush and Reagan era's as well.

[ellwood145]

02:25 PM on 06/12/2011

I hate musicians who spew their political crud, just perform your heartfelt music and remember someone died to allow you to sing your political songs, without fear of being beheaded.

[americaisracist]

03:59 PM on 06/12/2011

thumbs down. he IS performing his heartfelt music. yes you are right, someone died to allow him to sing his political songs. they died to allow those freedoms. they would be disappointed if we didn't continue the trend of upholding those freedoms.

[ellwood145]

04:30 PM on 06/12/2011

Sorry didn't mean to get a thumbs down, i guess i just don't care for political tunes. They usually end up hurting the performer in the long run, and normaly don't have much affect . Thanks for your comment and enjoy your day. BUY AMERICAN WHEN YOU CAN

[Ayesha Harrison]

06:29 PM on 06/11/2011

Too heavy, too heavy.... just stick to the music. I get his meaning, but seriously, unless he plans on becoming a politician he needs to just stick to the music. You don't want to be a Monday night quarterback.

[papapj]

03:35 PM on 06/13/2011

And I guess you'd say the same to Dylan..Bono..Sting..yeah, right...
!

[Nick Franco]

01:01 AM on 06/15/2011

Music, like all speech, has an important place in our democracy. Keep on speaking up, Lupe!

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

[mash107]

05:41 PM on 06/11/2011

Let's make it clear--

Obama said from 2008 he wanted to butcher Pakistanis and Afghanis, even those not linked to Al Qeada. It is not against his political ideology to wage war and murder unarmed civilians in third world countries.

The whole 'liberal' ideology depends on a centralized, powerful U.S. government to deprive people, here and abroad, of their live, liberty or property. There's no conflict between Obama and the persona described by Lupe.

We should strive for an ideal, as our Founders had, to limit severely the power of the government.

[GentlemanFromHanover]

11:08 PM on 06/14/2011

Amen, absolutely right. A government big enough to give you everything you want or need is big enough to take everything you have.

[Hope Richardson]

12:04 AM on 06/11/2011

"Terrorist" seems a little harsh. To me, Obama is like a sponge: to soft to get what he needs to done, yet keeps on trying to soak in the Republicans.

I really, truly admire Lupe Fiasco, but I think the only reason he called him a terrorist was to get some attention to his point across (a little too well).

[Nick Franco]

01:05 AM on 06/15/2011

Can you help me understand your logic?

This is what I don't get: When Americans on American soil are killed, its terrorism. But when Afghans or Iraqis are killed on their soil, its not.

I'm not getting the distinction.

[Hope Richardson]

06:44 PM on 06/15/2011

Then that would make Bush the terrorist, not Obama.

[derekc06]

02:03 PM on 06/10/2011

There's a lot of thumbing of the nose and arrogance going on in this comment section..

It amazes me how entrenched some people are in party politics. They aren't ideologues, but simply Party-line, chest-thumpers.. Personally, I have more respect for ideologues..

[MajorKarmaUSA]

11:11 AM on 06/10/2011

Censoring my comments on your forums is only further proof that everything I have said and been saying about Huffington hits you dweebs where you live. And yes you are dweebs and further down the food chain than you think....just be sure to take your trash with you.

[MajorKarmaUSA]

11:08 AM on 06/10/2011

Right On Right On, Right On about Obama!

[Darell Wilson]

07:26 PM on 06/12/2011

Right on Right on? If i am not mistaken i believe he said obama as well as the government and every president before and after him.

[MajorKarmaUSA]

07:49 PM on 06/12/2011

Yes, although there are some exception to some degree. JFK and Eisenhower were also compromised but were on the side of the American People. If you think Obama is a True and Blue friend and allie of the American People, all you need do is look at the policies and agendas that Bush Jr put in place and that Obama has doubled the efforts to move forward. Obama is a "Judas Goat" intended to woo the minorities into believing he on their side; meanwhile the same people that pulled strings on Bush and Clinton and Bush are the same people controlling Obama. I will point out that all these people are homosexuals..yeah, Reagan too . All these people have terrible skeletons in their closets; it is how they are controlled.