When Kanye West revealed his support for Trump back in 2016 it was a scandal; nowadays, a rapper backing the 2024 Republican presidential nominee is barely news. Trump received the endorsements of Lil Pump, Lil Wayne, and Kodak Black during the 2020 election cycle (and gave presidential pardons to the latter two after losing), and 2024 has only been more fruitful. As Democrats make moves of their own, the tug-of-war offers a view of hip-hop’s enduring place and power in American culture.⁠ ⁠ The Trump campaign’s hip-hop outreach in recent months has pivoted to the underground, linking up with Peezy and Icewear Vezzo in Detroit and appearing with OT7 Quanny in Pennsylvania. Those rappers may have danced around a clearcut endorsement, unlike New Yorkers Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow back in June, but you imagine the optics of their appearances matter more to the Presidential hopeful than anything the artists might have to say. In a surreally fitting twist, these meetings have been assisted by...