"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" is a protest song by

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

-based hip hop duo The Legendary K.O. John Leland,
Cultural Politics Art Born of Outrage in the Internet Age
, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (September 26, 2005). It was released on September 6, 2005, just days after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. The song was a single first published for free under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 license, on FWMJ's Rappers I Know website. It has been described as "vividly topical", and "one of the best political protest songs of all time".

History

The politically charged song is a response to the Bush administration's heavily criticized response to

.Mary Ruth Marotte, Glenn Jellenik, ''Ten Years after Katrina: Critical Perspectives of the Storm's Effect on American Culture and Identity'' (2014), p. 102-103. Its title comes directly from a statement Kanye West made on U.S. national television. It is a mash-up with a beat from

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's song "

Gold Digger Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold ...

". The first line in the song is a quote from West speaking at

A Concert for Hurricane Relief ''A Concert for Hurricane Relief'' was an hour-long, celebrity-driven benefit concert broadcast live on September 2, 2005. Sponsored by the NBC Universal Television Group, its purpose was to raise money, relief, and awareness in response to the ...

. The song was "recorded on home computers and composed through emails and instant messaging", and spread widely over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

for several weeks after the catastrophe,David Caplan, ''Rhyme's Challenge: Hip Hop, Poetry, and Contemporary Rhyming Culture'' (2014), p. 51-52. in some cases backing video mash-ups with photo montages from the hurricane.Katrina Angst
(September 16, 2005). The song specifically criticized

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

for his slow reaction to the plight of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. It "vividly recounts the plight of those who endured the hurricane", telling its story in part in the voice of a Katrina survivor giving a first-person account of the hardships of the time, alternating with direct criticism of President Bush and his perceived priorities. The refrain asserts that "George Bush ain't a gold digger, but he ain't messin with no broke niggas" (a modified version of the line from the original ''Gold Digger''), and implores, "come down, Bush, come on, come down" to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Similar themes, including the characterization of black victims of the hurricane as looters, were explored by Public Enemy in a contemporaneous single, " Hell No We Ain't All Right!" The narrative thereby seeks to shift the perception of Katrina victims, effecting "a reconfiguration of storm survivors, from threatening others to abandoned Americans".

References

{{Reflist

External links

George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People DownloadFWMJ's Rappers I KnowThe Legendary K.O.
2005 singles Songs about Hurricane Katrina Protest songs Songs about George W. Bush Songs about black people Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs about floods Songs about rivers Songs about the Mississippi River Political rap songs Creative Commons-licensed works Song recordings produced by Kanye West 2005 songs