Kanye West’s
recent on-air comments that George W. Bush “doesn’t care about black
people” has spurred numerous reactions, the latest coming from New Orleans
rapper Master P and First Lady Laura Bush.
During a nationally televised telethon live on NBC last Friday
(Sept. 2), West stated that President Bush had not adequately supported the
high number of blacks displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
While artists like Jay-Z, T.I. and Nelly have supported West’s
comments, Master P, who lost his home in the hurricane, stated that West’s
remarks simply came at the wrong time.
“I think that if Kanye West [felt] like that, he needed to wait cause
I got people in my community dying right now,” Master P told AllHipHop.com.
“I got kids lost, I got parents lost, I got people got nowhere to go back
to right now, so we need the government. We gon’ need the president.”
Master P, who has started the Team Rescue relief foundation,
also called upon other rappers to support the Hurricane relief effort and contribute
what they could.
“We from New Orleans, we feel the pain, we feel the anger. This what we
going through,” said P. “This is not a game for us. This is not
a joke, this is not about money. This is not about selling records.”
Since the backlash, West has offered up various motives for his passionate outburst.
But the Chicago rapper was still booed at the NFL kickoff show Thursday (Sept.
8) in Foxborough, MA.
“I just let my heart speak for itself without thinking
about my image or how it’s gonna hurt me financially,” said West
during BET’s S.O.S. (Saving Ourselves) telethon Friday (Sept. 9). “I
felt the world needed to hear from me…I just do it and I say what I really
feel.”
Meanwhile, in defense of her husband, Mrs. Bush described West’s
prior comments as “disgusting.”
“Of course President Bush cares about everyone in our
country and I know that,” said Laura during a Sept. 8 interview with American
Urban Radio Networks. “I know what he’s like and I know what he thinks,
and I know how he cares about people.”
In the aftermath of the Gulf Coast disaster, President Bush
has been criticized for slow response and lack of concern for the poor neighborhoods
devastated by the deadly storm.
But Mrs. Bush stated that the poor people were the most defenseless
during the hurricane, which is the most important matter to be attended to.
“Their neighborhoods
were the ones that were more likely to flood, as we saw in New Orleans,”
said Laura. “That’s what we want to address in our country.”