Icewear Vezzo has continued to establish himself as an unlikely figure in the presidential race by putting Kamala Harris in the hot seat over her track record with Black men.
The Detroit rapper previously appeared to show his support for Republican candidate Donald Trump, but he crossed the aisle this week by meeting with Democrat Harris face to face this week and posing a number of hard-hitting questions to the sitting vice president.
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At a live radio event called “We The People: An Audio Town Hall With Kamala Harris & Charlamagne Tha God” organized by The Breakfast Club co-host, Vezzo quizzed Harris about her proposal to forgive $20,000 loans to Black entrepeneurs, as well as the criticism Democratics have faced for allegedly only trying to appeal to Black people at election time.
Harris replied: “I’ve been in this race about 70 days. You can look at all my work before those 70 days to know that what I’m talking about right now is not new and is not for the sake of winning this election. This is about a long-standing commitment including the work that I’ve done as Vice President and before when I was Senator and before that.”
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She also explained that of all venture capital funding, only 1 percent of it currently goes to Black entrepreneurs, and that her policy is an attempt to change that by injecting more wealth into Black communities and small business owners.
“We don’t have the same rates of access to capital through family or connections, which is why I’ve done the work of putting billions more dollars and working to put billions more dollars into community banks, which go directly into the community. My work around the $20,000 is building on that,” she continued.
Icewear Vezzo was criticized this past summer for meeting with Trump and posing for a photo with the controversial former president.
In response to the backlash, the rapper said: “Told Donald I Made the 6 great again. But naw in all seriousness everyone not gonna agree with this picture but we don’t all have to agree on everything I just know not many of us will ever have the chance to really speak up for us and address how we may really feel.
“[S]o I stepped out on faith I didn’t meet him as a rapper I met him as a man and a father who understands the only way to attempt change things is to address things.”
In a recent interview with Bootleg Kev, Vezzo clarified his political stance and explained that he simply wanted to “listen to all candidates” before voting in a presidential election.
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“I don’t shut nobody out and just run with what mainstream media says. I try to do my own independent research,” he said. “I’m not with a party. I’m not a Republican, I’m not a Democrat, I’m not any of that. I’m just a Black man from the trenches that makes music.”
He added: “I’ve always believed in going to the source to ask my questions instead of getting them third-hand.”
