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Lauren LaRosa
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human Happy Birthday to Hip Hop. Today we're celebrating the culture, the artists, the stories and the tracks that continue to inspire generations. The debate of what's the greatest hip hop track of all time will never end. Everybody's got that one song that they will defend no matter what. And that's what makes the Sprite Living Track List so dope. Sprite took some of the most iconic lyrics ever and turned them into limited edition collectible cans. Every can is a different piece of Hip Hop history, so building the full set is part of the fun. Your mission is to build your own physical playlist. Go out and hunt down all 26 limited edition cans of Sprite and Sprite Zero Sugar. This is the Sprite Living Track List. Obey your thirst. Here's to Hip Hop's past, present and everything that is still to come. Happy Birthday Hip Hop.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
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Lauren LaRosa
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Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Hold up.
Charlemagne Tha God
Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
The Breakfast Club.
Charlemagne Tha God
Y' all finished or y' all done?
DJ Envy
Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne, the guy. We are the breakfast club. Lauren LaRose is here as well. We got a special guest in the building.
Charlemagne Tha God
Yes, indeed.
DJ Envy
Y' all might know him as Uncle Luke, but, ladies and gentlemen, Luther Campbell is here. He's running for senate. Running for U.S. congress. Good morning.
Charlemagne Tha God
I wish I was there. I wish I could vote for him. I wish I was in Florida.
DJ Envy
You and me both.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Oh, man. Hey, that's a beautiful thing. So that's an official endorsement, right?
Lauren LaRosa
Absolutely.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
I appreciate it. Endorsement.
Lauren LaRosa
Yes, sir.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Endorsement. Endorsement. Oh, okay. That's great.
Charlemagne Tha God
Why would you not want somebody who's from the community, born and raised there, has invested so much in it. We've seen you do so much for your community, just as a. As an artist and as a man. So why wouldn't I want that as an elected official?
DJ Envy
From the gift bags to the teaching to the kids in football and so many different things. Why wouldn't we want somebody from the community to run the community?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, I mean, it's common sense. I mean, that's what I'm running on. The fact that I did all those things in the community, more so in Miami. But I live in Broward, you know, Broward for the last 15 years, and that's what I'm running on. I'm running on my record. The things that I've done, you know, built parks, you know, $26 million parks, another $16 million. Being one of the. One of the founders of Southern hip hop, you know, small business, you know, I'm more proud of the people who work behind the scene other than discovering the pit bulls and trick daddies and getting them boys off the street, you know, going the wrong direction, you know, I'm more proud of the guys behind the scenes, like Jeff Sanchez working for the NBA and. And Big Teach owning a, you know, a House of Mac chain and all those things like that and those type of things that, you know, I want to bring, you know, to my district, bring, you know, federal funding there, unlike anybody else have ever did before, you know, and do some good things for Broward County.
DJ Envy
Now, I was looking Googling running for Congress and what it would cost. Now, there's no direct cost, but it says running for Congress is very, very expensive. Now, how has that been for you? Because I'm sure whoever you're going against is probably sponsored and raising money like crazy. So how has that been for you?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, Debbie Wasserman shoots. Came into the race from another district. You know, she came into the race with $3 million and $15 million in PAC money. You know, my other, you know, her money combined to all the other opponents that are in all the other people in the race, you know, triples the amount of money that we all have. You know, I got into the race, I originally looked down my list of contacts in my phone, and I said, well, I got these guys, these guys, these guys. And I really only need about a million or two with this one. This one. I'm doing this fundraiser with Ludacris. I'm doing a fundraiser with Ross. I'm doing a fundraiser with Cat. And I thought I was going to be able to raise millions of dollars, and I didn't. I didn't, because most people came to the fundraiser for a photo op.
Lauren LaRosa
Have a good time, you know, and
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
have a good time. And a lot of people didn't really understand. A lot of people don't understand, you know, how important it is to. To put money into campaigns. I guess the only person that understands Chili with Donald Trump, when she made,
Lauren LaRosa
you know, I saw you call her out about that.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, I did. But when I look at where we're at right now today, she was smart enough to put money on a candidate that she liked, whether we like that candidate or not. But why the rest of hip hop? Why the rest of this culture didn't jump on a race like my race? I've called up comedians and talked to their husband, black comedians, and say, hey, look, I need to do a fundraiser with you. And they've said, oh, we get into politics. But at the end of the day, I'm representing a body of people that are purchasing your tickets, which don't make any sense to me. And so, you know, when I look at this race, I say, are we hypocritical? And then I think about it from the standpoint of is the culture ready to move into politics? You know, and I know everybody, whether it was black Caucus, white caucus, you name it, they always looking at those fundraisers to see how they generate funds for a race like that, to say, yes, you know, the culture, us representing all of our life, is now, you know, moving into a place where we are really serious about politics.
DJ Envy
I think we're starting to have those conversations now. I think it's. We're a lot of late, we're a lot late coming to the table. We're having those conversations. You know, a lot of people, you know, their first thing is, why am I gonna give this person. He got money. But I don't think they. A lot of people don't necessarily know that you need money for advertisement. You need money for travel, you need money for all the things. So for people that's listening right now and says, hey, we wanna support Uncle Luke, right? Where can they donate now? We'll do it throughout this interview, but where can they do it right now?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
They go to my website, www.luthercampbellforcongress.com and make a campaign contribution. I mean, you know, either I tell people, hey, $5 go a long way. Most the parties look at the $5 because the $5 are real people that's really, really supporting the campaign. So we look at that. I mean, you know, with this. With this particular campaign, it's very, very important. I mean, the world is watching this race, you know, because we have a situation where we screamed and holler at the Republicans when they gerrymandered the map in Louisiana and Tennessee and Alabama and took black representation away. Now the Democrats are doing it with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and nobody said nothing from the Black Caucus, which I find to be very hypocritical. But I do understand, because it's elites that they support, and I don't think they would want a guy like myself coming up there to burn it down, because that is, in fact, what I'm gonna go do. You know, I'm going there to represent the people, real people, real people who are dealing with real struggles in their life.
Charlemagne Tha God
Do you want people to vote for your ideas or for the Legend of Uncle Luke? Because those aren't necessarily the same thing.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
I want them to vote for my ideas. I want them to vote on my track record. You know, the things that I've done. You know, I be laughing all the time when I hear Jay Z record when he say, Jay made. I made millions. This one made millions. And then I look at my track record of how many guys that I. That I created and made millionaires, whether it's through my youth program, Liberty City Optimist, or are just doing the work in the community, bringing, you know, stability and, you know, just building and, you know, bringing Adidas to the table to, you know, to broker a $50 million deal for the entire school district for sports, you know, and those type of things. So, you know, I don't. I don't want people to look at Me as an artist. But then at the same time, you can't look at me as an entrepreneur, because the people in my race, nobody has held a job. They all came and, you know, well, my main opponent never had a job. She went straight from University of Florida into politics and. And never had a. Never owned a small business. And so I look at it to say I owned a small business. I did. I do. I do to this day, philanthropical work, you know, in my community. And that's the most important part of it. And, you know, people run because they have money. But I really think that you should. When they do the qualification box, it needs to say how much work you've done in the community and how many things that you've done. And when. I could sit there all day and talk about all the stuff that I did that most people don't know and how deep I've always been into politics. Because I do understand that, you know, our taxpaying dollars, you know, going to the slush fund.
DJ Envy
Do they try to use, you know, Uncle Luke the rapper against you? Have you seen that a lot?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Not really. And I was. I thought they were. I was laying dead, you know.
Charlemagne Tha God
Yeah, but they can't. When they was in the club, too. They was in the club too. Wild in the Scar. Okay. And pop that pussy. They was out there doing that. Absolutely.
Lauren LaRosa
And then you can flip it on them. Cause like, with everything you did with the Supreme Court and Nasseus, they want to be like. You kind of been fighting for people and their voices so you could kind of.
Charlemagne Tha God
I mean, hookah's the reason that we have parental advisory stickers.
Lauren LaRosa
Yeah. So that wouldn't work out for them.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
If they tried, it wouldn't work out. And you're right. I mean, in this climate today, you know, going to Washington, you gotta be a fighter. And so that was one of the reasons why I say, okay, the time is now to run for Congress. Because of what the climate that you have. You gotta be a fighter, you know, and fighting for free speech, going all the way to Supreme Court and winning. When I had Al Gore and his wife, Tippa Gore, coming after us and you know, and having, you name it, Dan Quell mention our name, and fighting Nick Navarro and fighting the Governor Martinez and making songs about him, you know, that was something serious. Those are real fights. And I'm not scared of anybody. You know what I'm saying? I'm not scared of Trump. You know, we all probably went to a party other than going to. When he was a Democrat you know, Marco Rubio, good friend of mine, you know, so I know I can go have some conversations with those people about some of the things that, that our district need in the country need.
Charlemagne Tha God
I want to go back to. Okay.
Lauren LaRosa
It's funny that you say, you know, you reached out to certain, you know, comedian, comedians and people, and they. The first thing they do is get shook, like, oh, my God, no, you're going into politics. When I saw a quote that you said, politics don't only happen in Washington, D.C. it happens every day at your kitchen table. And a lot of times people don't even realize that, yeah, you are into politics. But when I first got this job, I thought I didn't know anything about it, but you know, more than you think, you know. You know, can you expound on, like, the politics being every day at the kitchen table? Cause some people don't even realize it.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, most people don't. Most people don't realize it because for some reason, you know, in our community, there's no. We just miss the civics class, you know what I'm saying? And when I start talking to people, I have to have those conversations. Like, even the artists that support the campaign, I have to explain to them, you know, why fundraiser, these different things. And then going back to your original question, we are all in it. You know, when we sit down at the kitchen table and we complain about the high cost of living, the high cost of insurance. And in Florida, you know, you got insurance that's jacked up on top of everything else that's jacked up. And so people are trying to figure out how to. How to balance the budget at the kitchen table. And it all falls back on politics, you know, and the necessary things that you need. And so people don't know that they're in it, but they do know that they're in it. And one. One good thing about these people in, in my district, they're well aware of the issue. They're well aware of this woman, Debbie Wasserman. She was coming in, trying to take away a seat, and everybody has denounced her on every corner. I mean, because. I mean, when you look at people talk about Memphis, right, and the crime rate at Memphis and not knowing how it got there. You had Gerald Ford Sr. The congressman, then Gerald Ford Jr. Congressman, and then you had a guy named Steve Cohen, then ran in a crowded race of black people, like this crowded race of black people here. And one. And at that period of time when, when the Ford family were the congressmen, they only had 160 debts. And now that Steve Corn is there, they have 385 debts a year. You know what I'm saying? So these are the things that happen when you have a representative come into your district that is not from the district and don't have any idea of how people function on a regular basis.
Charlemagne Tha God
I want to go back to what you were saying about the community qualifying you, right? What's something you've learned coaching kids and serving your community that these career politicians simply can't understand?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
What they can't understand is taking the budget, taking this budget and applying the budget to the people in the community. You know what I'm saying? So, I mean, you know, coaching, you know, you know, when I. When I get on a bus for 18 years, you know, when my career died down, I said, I'm gonna go back to my youth program and start coaching and get on the bus, you know, because I need to take these kids out of the community. Because what happened with me, you know, when I was running hard in the city, my mom sent me to D.C. to stay with my brother for a year. And that just opened my mind up, just taking these kids out of the community, putting them on the bus, taking them to college, on a college tour around the country, you know, just like, okay, these kids do look like you, you know, and so they don't understand that part of it. They don't understand, you know, the real touching of people and being able to, like I say, to get a trick daddy off the street, come straight from prison, live with me and Pitbull, who's out there hustling and selling everything you can imagine, you know, and bringing those people and just putting a hug around him and say, man, you're special. You. God gave you a gift. Use this gift to your ability. And they don't understand that part. And then they don't understand vision. I mean, simple vision of, okay, we're going. You know, like, my plan is like, they never expanded the port in 60 years. In the budget, there's $5 billion to expand the port. That brings in more jobs. They don't understand. The common folk don't understand that. When you build affordable housing, what happens? We build affordable housing. We tell the people in the projects, we're gonna move you over here and we're gonna build these new houses for you. And then when you come back, you gotta jump through all kind of hoops, but you can't qualify to get back in there because they built it for them. And that's why, you know, that's why I kind of went hard last week on Alonzo Morning. Yeah. Because, you know, you can't be a part. You can't roll around with Trump Hood housing guy with the brother name got a brain freeze when he was there in his first administration. And you go into these government projects and you're going. Now you're, oh, Ben Carson. Ben Carson. You can't run around our projects with Ben Carson and then turn around and try to run around with. With Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who's trying to take black representation away from a district that has held black representation so many years. So they don't. They don't understand it. I mean, what was it about it
Charlemagne Tha God
that pissed you off back? I know he endorsed Debbie, but he's not even from the district, right?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
No, not even from the district. Don't even hang out in Broward. But we know there are some. There are some people, you know, that are in. That are in our town. And they're there. They're there to take advantage. They're part of the, you know, they're the black face in the white organization that is trying to take over, you know, these housing projects. They're the developers. And, you know, that's why my campaign. I ain't take no money. I ain't take no APAC money. I ain't taking no developers money because I already know I ain't taking no alligator Alcatraz developers money. You know, a lot of these people came to me, I say, no. I mean, we all come from the street. If you take something, you know, from somebody, then you gotta pay them back.
Lauren LaRosa
Damn right.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
You know, and I ain't. I ain't about to sell out our community. And that's why everything about what I'm doing bringing jobs and stability to the district is built by us, for us.
DJ Envy
Now explain that a little. You mentioned it a little bit. But for people that don't understand, they redrew the district so she could actually run in your area. So explain that to people that have no idea what that means because she's not from your area as well. She's not from your district as well either.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah. So basically what happened with every gerrymandering of the map with all these red states, when they gerrymandered the map in Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana, I think Virginia too.
DJ Envy
Right.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Taking black representation away. They did it in Florida with Ron DeSantis. So he gerrymandered the map, took black representation. Not necessarily. He did not necessarily take black representation away. He merged. Deborah Wasserman show's district with Jerry Moskowitz district. Right. And so she had, she had a choice to either run in our district or run against him, which she should have for her seat. Or she could have ran in 22, where Joe Biden won 22 by 5%, Donald Trump won it by 10%, which he could have flipped a seat, you know, to help us win the House. But she did not elect to do that. You know, she elected to run in this crowded field of black folks in Congressional District 20, which is where I'm running at with 54% African Americans. The seat has been held by Alcee Hayson and others for over 30 years. And she's, you know, bringing her little show over there.
DJ Envy
Probably it'll be an easier win to go against that if she has more money.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Exactly. And so, and I always tell people this play, has all this play ran before. It ran when Steve Cohen did it in Memphis. And you see what happened to Memphis, you know, and it's hard. You know, it just, it sickens me, you know, to be honest with you, when I go to the forums and talk, I mean, I go hard. I don't even play with her. You know, if I go into an event and she's at the event, you know, I go hard. Because you've never been in this community. You represented billionaires in your district. You represent a billionaire. So you're going to come into this district because it's a big field of African Americans and you figure that you need the white vote. But I tell, I went in white communities and say, look, the world is watching this election. If you vote the way that they think you're going to vote, black men in an alarming rate is leaving the Democratic Party for this simple reason, right? I said, I represent the culture and I'm trying to save the party. And by putting myself in this position to run for a seat that only paying $170,000, you know, which I can get on the weekend, a couple weekends. But at the end of the day, you got to make the sacrifice. And so, you know, I just find it appalling that she does that. And I find it real sickening that the Black Congressional Caucus just sit there and did not denounce her and did not even. Did not support anybody in our race. You know, I find that very hypocritical. So it tells me, well, who really running the Democratic Party?
DJ Envy
Who else were you surprised? I know I'm sure you was probably surprised with Alonzo Mourning, you surprised with the caucus? Who else were you surprised that are not speaking out. That should be.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Especially Hakeem Jeffrey. I'm very surprised that he's sitting there, ain't saying nothing. I'm surprised the young lady who runs the Democratic Party is sitting there not saying nothing. Because again, think about it.
Charlemagne Tha God
Is Debbie Wasserman shorts backed by apac?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Of course you know that.
Charlemagne Tha God
You know why Akeem not saying what you talking about?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Bingo.
Charlemagne Tha God
There it is.
DJ Envy
There it is.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
You already know.
Charlemagne Tha God
That's why we call him apac.
Lauren LaRosa
Shako.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
That's something else. And. But that's the play. That. That's the play. So do we really have black representation in the Black Caucus when this is the moment you supposed to speak out on behalf of black representation? Because you went hard on the Republicans saying that the jury meant to map and take away black representation, but you're not going hard on a member of your own party. You know what I'm saying? And then here we got this Black Caucus where it's all black people, you know, and y' all just sitting there. I mean, what are we doing? So I look at it from the standpoint, as, you know, the world is watching, but at the same time, you need to watch a black representative in Congress to see if they really, really are here for you.
Charlemagne Tha God
Has a longo Morning. Did he reach out after you called him out?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
No, I actually called him out a long time ago. Many, many years ago.
Charlemagne Tha God
I just saw a video, like, last week, I think.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah. So in 2017, when he built his OIC center, which is great. Which is a great center, the kids from Overtown, like, my mom is from Overtown, and guy named Ben Hanks, who run the program over there in Emmanuel Washington, they called me up and they say, look, man, we can't get in the gymnasium. Alonzo Morning just built this pretty gymnasium. They won't let us in. They won't let the kids of Overtown in the gym. They're bringing in these kids from everywhere else. So I'm like, oh, is this a front? What the hell is going on? So, you know, we. You know, I was doing columns in the Miami in New Times at the time. Wrote a column, you know, tried to reach out to him, Never got him. And so at the end of the day, I went and said, okay, fuck it. Let me fix the problem. You know, I went to Joe Arreola, you know, the city manager at the time, and say, joe, this dude ain't letting these kids of Overtown in this building. He's right. Sitting on the property of Gibson Park. What can we do you know? And we identified $26 million to go and redo Gibson Park. So we literally built a gymnasium right next to his gymnasium on the same property, which makes no sense.
DJ Envy
Makes no sense.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
It makes no sense. So if you go and on your way to south beach and you look down on the right hand side and you see this pretty park, you know, we went and got $26 million to redo that park, but you'll see a gymnasium sitting right next to them that we had to build, which don't make any sense, you know, right next to another one. So, you know, again, those are the type of things that, you know, that I had a problem with at that time, you know, and I called him out on it. You know, we kind of squashed it. But when he jumped in this race, you know, I was like, come on, man. Come on, bro. I mean, you know, you.
Lauren LaRosa
Hey, y'. All, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa, and we gotta talk. We gotta get into something that Sprite just dropped, because this is right up my alley. As somebody who's been in audio and hip hop culture for over a decade, this is exactly the kind of thing I geek out out about, okay? It's called the Sprite Living track list. Fifty tracks, handpicked, that shaped hip hop from the ground up to right now. And this isn't just a playlist to bob your head to all cute. This is designed to start real conversation, to get people arguing. Y' all know how y' all love to do about the hip hop and the list reminiscing as well, sending it to their group chats like, yo, do y' all remember when this song was it? And honestly, as a producer of content campaigns like this hit different for me. I spend my life thinking about how the perfect story gets told, how one moment in a song becomes a moment for the culture. And seeing 50 records that literally define eras of hip hop laid out like this, side by side. Yo, Masterclass. Mwah. Chef Kiss. Now, this list itself, it's incredible. You've got the foundational stuff sitting right next to the new class. Real Then and Now vibes. My personal top picks from the pack. I gotta go with Unity, Bodak, Yellow, and who's that Girl Child, you can't tell me nothing about that song because those are just non negotiables for me. But here's the best part. This goes way beyond the kin. Hip hop authorities and tastemakers actually break down the history and the impact behind every single track on the list. The samples, the Influence why it mattered then and why it still matters right now. That's the real story. So go run your own list. See how many of these 50 you grew up on, which ones surprised you, and which ones you're sending to your friends. First, check out the full Sprite Living Track List and break down the stories behind your favorite bars@livingtracklist. Genius.com this is the Sprite Living Track List. Obey your thirst.
Charlemagne Tha God
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Lauren LaRosa
10 more minutes.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Only 10 minutes.
DJ Envy
Can you drive slower?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
What's up with them today? Lingokids, that app we downloaded last week. They love it.
Lauren LaRosa
The games, this funny baby bot character. Kids, we're almost there.
DJ Envy
No. With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs, and shows little ones can't get enough of. Lingokids is the number one entertainment platform for young kids.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Why didn't we download this sooner? Lingokids.
Lauren LaRosa
Everything kids love, download it for free. We can eradicate food deserts with this technology.
DJ Envy
Hey, what up, y'?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
All?
DJ Envy
It's DHA Emmy from the Breakfast Club. And that was Jaleayah Hemmings. She and her husband create a nourish and bloom market, an AI powered grocery store. Scan a QR code to enter, pick what you need and walk out. Or as Jaleayah puts it, tack, grab
Lauren LaRosa
and go 24 7.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
We started to get flooded with folks saying, hey, I need you in my city.
DJ Envy
It became their mission to develop a store that could open within three months, even without any infrastructure.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
And just when we were like, how
Lauren LaRosa
are we Going to accomplish this goal. We won the AT&T small business contract test ramp.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
That $50,000 got us over the finish line where we built the first AI powered grocery shipping container in the country.
DJ Envy
For Jaleayah, it's about building a legacy to show the world that you can solve any problem when you work together.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Having the support of AT&T, the city of Atlanta, is huge.
Lauren LaRosa
Look at how many people we've been able to help. Connecting changes everything. AT&T
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
see me in this race. Everybody knows that I'm in this race, you know, and why would you do something like that? You know, and I already know it's for the developers, because this lady is coming in there to finish gentrifying the neighborhood and everybody else that's in the race, that's their whole thing.
Charlemagne Tha God
Has anybody from the black caucus reached up?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
The Broward county black caucus killed them, you know, like, denounce her. You know, Florida, you know, every black politician denounced her. But the black caucus, no. I mean, they've had people who work with them, you know, call up and say, hey, man, we understand, you know, your passion and understand all this and everything. And, you know, we just watching them, I'm like, man, I'm not trying to hear that you're going to stand on business, stand on business, you know, stand for something, because this is the moment that you need to stand up and. And address this issue.
Charlemagne Tha God
And if you win, what's something you'll refuse to be become because, you know, Washington has a way of changing people.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah. Hey, that's funny that you. You said you asked that we were doing a robocall, and it was a lady that got on the phone, was like, you know, like, y' all go in good, but then you come out bad. You know what I'm saying? I mean, she was passionate. I'm like, oh, my God. I'm like, no, see, that's the thing. The difference in our politicians are most of them are looking for a job, you know, to be honest with you, and that's why we're easy to be influenced. That's why, you know, these special interest groups will go and identify individuals looking for a job, and then they prop them up, put a bunch of money in their campaign, buy a bunch of advertising, and you end up getting the wrong guy. You know, when I go in, my job is one thing is to bring money to my congressional district. I mean, I look at. It is too many things that we can get done. I mean, I can bring a. I could bring a tax credit. Florida don't have a tax credit like Atlanta and, and you just built, you know, some beautiful studios here in Jersey. I could bring in a tax credit. I can bring to $250 million and give a 50 tax credit, bring studios down there. People have reached out to me and they saw that, you know, and again, we all got an affordable housing shortage. You know, for my, my plan is not, my plan is to go find the individuals in the community and have them employ kids and adults in the community. So that brings resources back into the community other than going to get Julio Raimundo. And Julio Raimundo was coming up building the buildings and the money is going back to him and his family and they're leaving out of the district. So everything about my plan is about bringing resources back, but employing and helping people.
Lauren LaRosa
What's your, what's your thoughts on like when you're trying to bring those resources back? People who don't agree with the fact that you're so outspoken even within your party, trying to block that. Like I saw you call out the Democrats for the ballot stuff, right? The mail in ballot stuff. People get upset about that and if they gotta help you, they won't. So how do you navigate that type of situation?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Well, that's, that's, that's a part of, you know, where we're at right now today. I mean, I come from the hip hop culture, you know, I come from the culture and in our culture we call people out. Whether you like it or not, you know, we represent our people, you know. And so when I, when, you know, just like you say, people got all upset and I say, I can't believe I'm, I'm agreeing with Donald Trump and him saying that mail in ballots are bad and how they are doing the mail in ballots. So now here I am in this race and I'm watching how, you know, these folks, these career politicians that are male race are operating, you know, you're doing, you know, and I'm learning ballot harvesting. You know, it's like harvesting few. What is ballot harvest? Ballot harvesting is preying on old people at the senior citizen home, taking them to the dinners, taking them all year long and taking them out to the beach, into the bowling alley. And then the guy who's doing it, they trust in him and he fills out their ballot because they trust him, because he's been grooming him for an entire year. And then, you know, looking at this app like I can show you on my app, where I know exactly who mailed in their ballot, we get an Update every hour on the hour and it tells us who actually mailed in their ballot and who has a mail in ballot. So they'll look at the 85 year old senior or the 93 year old senior and notice that she didn't mail in her ballot or at the beginning knock on the door and say, you know, Ms. Martha, I, you know, I want to go and I'm going to take your ballot for you, you know, and they're doing that and this, this stuff is on ring camera. See, they've been doing it forever, but we got ring camera now. So they're sending me ring cameras of people, you know, with these candidates shirts on, asking these people for their ballot, which is crazy. And so, you know, I, when I mentioned Trump, as soon as you invoke Trump and any kind of agreement with, with him, people get worked up, you know. But you know, I was making the point that that is actually happening, that needs to stop, you know. And yeah, so they're trying to rig the election.
Lauren LaRosa
There's another thing that happens is you got the other side who'll take that, those comments and use it as you endorsing something that Donald Trump. That's like, that's the way that I endorse it. Yeah. I was like, wait, what? And I clicked and I was like, oh, I get what he's trying to say. But the way politics is set up, it looks like Uncle Luke is with Trump on certain things now.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Right, right, right. Yeah, they, I mean, they, and they do that. And that's what, you know, I'm okay with living by my comments and my stance on it. And I always tell people, just listen to the entire conversation. But at the end of the day, if Ron DeSantis is right on something, I'm agree with it. You know what I'm saying? 99% of the time he's wrong. If Trump is right on something in a situation and I agree with, but we need to just fix the problem.
Charlemagne Tha God
That's the only way to build trust. You build trust by just calling it like it is. Balls and strikes.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, that's it. I mean, I'm going like I tell people, I'm not going there to fight these people, I'm going there to get something done. You know what I'm saying? If I make, if I create black Wall street in my district, which is what my plan is all about, then we could do that in any other district, any other black congressional district in the country, you know, and we have in this beautiful district the opportunity to do that. And the resources from the federal government to do that. And so I'm not. Look, they can call me purple all they want. You know, me and Marco Rubio, I know him. You know what I'm saying? Every time I sponsor trips with kids, that man made donations. His son played football with every kid from the community. I mean, he plays at the University of Florida right now. So we have a relationship. We are totally separate on politics. But when you're facing TPS and deportation right now, you know, and my district is full of Haitian immigrants who are on dps, you know, I'm the only one that can get on the phone and have a conversation with this dude. You know what I'm saying? Hey, hey, hey, look, this is service industry here. You gonna crash the service industry. You gonna deport people who are out there in the fields harvesting the fruit. Not the ballast, but the fruit. And we're going to be facing some economical crisis if you do these things, you know, so, you know, it's a big difference. I mean, when you're breath of fresh air, you go into Washington, you can go in there, get some things done. I'm only going there for four, six years at the most. You know what I'm saying? I'm in the fourth quarter of my life. I want to go and rest and relax. I'm just going there to fix some things. And then.
Charlemagne Tha God
How old are you? Envelope? 65 ain't in no fourth quarter.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Man, that's the fourth quarter. No halftime.
Lauren LaRosa
In 10 years, you'll be.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
No, no, no, no.
Charlemagne Tha God
That ain't the fourth quarter. The way people living now, you like, halftime
Lauren LaRosa
is crazy.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, halftime
Lauren LaRosa
is 133rd quarter.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
See, these dudes don't want to get older than what they. 48. Why? And 48.
Lauren LaRosa
And ask him the year he was born. Watch how he say it.
Charlemagne Tha God
He want to be 1978.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Luther, listen.
Charlemagne Tha God
1978.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
19. That's something else.
Charlemagne Tha God
You know, I want to ask you, Uncle Luke.
Lauren LaRosa
Cause you.
Charlemagne Tha God
You fought one of the biggest free speech battles in hip hop, right? This. Well, really American history. Honestly, in today's world of social media, where you got cancel culture and AI, what does free speech mean to you now? Has your definition changed? Because I be thinking, some people need to shut the up.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Some people do need to shut the up. I mean. I mean, hey, when. When I fought, it was those social media. Thank God it was no social media. Because all y' all boys, you know, they done went to some of my parties. They didn't. They didn't tell you about it allegedly. That's, that's another show. That's another show front and center.
Lauren LaRosa
See?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
No, I mean, free speech, just like you say. Yeah, some people need, some people need to shut the fuck up. But I, I, I defend it. I mean, so, you know, every, nowadays, you know, everybody got a platform. They turn on the social media, they got a platform, and they just running their mouth, talking about a lot of things and, and, and, and a lot of things that a lot of people talk about, you know, are getting a lot of people killed.
Charlemagne Tha God
Yeah.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
You know, unfortunately, you know, young people are leaving here because of some of the things that are being said on social media. So, you know, I agree, I agree. I mean, fighting for free speech, going all the way to the Supreme Court and winning. I mean, what people don't realize, what people don't realize is that case was about parody. Parody was protected by the First Amendment, and it was much more of a case for comedies, for comedy, for comics. You know, Michael Jackson wrote, sent a brief in against me. Dolly Parton sent a brief in against me. Saturday Night Live sent a brief in for me. And so that's what Michael Jackson said, something against you? Yeah, yeah, he filed a brief against us.
DJ Envy
Really?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, because he didn't think, he didn't think people should do parody like Weird Al Yankovo and Bobby Jimmy. Yeah, so he had a problem with that. And so they filed briefs against me to lose my case. And then Saturday Night Live, because they do all the, you know, satire. So, you know, comedians benefit from that. But then the most important one was Nasty as They Wanna Be, you know, nasty Wannabe was deemed obscene. And so I had to go back in and get that reverse, that rule in reverse. If I didn't get the rule in reverse, then it would be almost like the man act. Damn. Still on the books.
DJ Envy
Right?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
You feel me? And if it's still on the books, then any rapper right now, any artists that are singing records with, oh, Booty o' Brien and this and that, and shaking their ass on stage and doing all the things that I, I went to jail for, they wouldn't, they would be able to use that case law to then take those records off the shelf, put those artists in jail. And people don't realize that. And that's why when I, when I went on this run, I was, I'm like, okay, shit, I know all these artists, you know, who I paid the way for. They gonna dump some money in this campaign because now we're taking on a whole nother fight. And then it's like. Nope.
Lauren LaRosa
They scared that it'll come out publicly, though.
Charlemagne Tha God
They don't know.
DJ Envy
I don't think they know.
Charlemagne Tha God
They don't know if you haven't read Uncle Luke's book. Yeah, they don't know the history. You don't know.
DJ Envy
They don't know.
Charlemagne Tha God
That's why you need a bio.
Lauren LaRosa
They don't know about the older artists, though, that are. Cause it's not just young artists.
DJ Envy
I don't even think the older artists know like that.
Charlemagne Tha God
I think they know, but they don't know to the extent. Because what you just said just now makes so much sense. And even though I knew it, I never thought about it like that.
DJ Envy
That's right.
Charlemagne Tha God
I could have still been on the books. Sexy Red could. Could have her ass in jail, right?
DJ Envy
Yeah, absolutely.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah. All these records, and that would have been running for the summer, lady cop. Every. Every explicit record could have, you know, because the precedent would have been set in a federal court. And then I actually when. When they. When they deemed the record obscene, I went right down the street and did a show. I was like, fuck this. I'm gonna go right down the street and do a show. And the crazy part about all of it, everything happening in this district that I'm running from, you know, even though I lived in Miami, and so I really never repaid the people of Broward county for acquitting me on all those cases and creating, you know, those juries of my peers. And so that people don't realize, they automatically look at the Supreme Court case and thinking that was a hip hop case. No, the hip hop case was as nasty as it want to be, was deemed obscene. And if I don't go get that shit turned over, overturned on appeal, then we're in deep trouble as to where we're at right now.
DJ Envy
Do you ever spoke to Michael Jackson's people about that when he sent that in or. Nah, it is.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
No, no. I mean, you gotta realize at that time I was getting sued by. Well, he didn't sue me. I got sued by. Damn. George Lucas. Cause, you know, my nickname as a DJ was Luke Skywalker. Wow. Yeah. And did you get sued by him?
DJ Envy
Did you always knew you were gonna win or you thought you were gonna lose? During that time when you was fighting like crazy, did you know you were gonna win or were you nervous cause you were fighting everybody?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
I was fighting everybody. I mean, it was a fight on all different fronts. I mean, because back then. Back then, you did not. You know, we weren't clearing samples. There was no such thing. It was. Nobody said, well, I got sample clearance. People coming after me. I got Roy Orson coming after me. And then I got this chef Navarro in the district, all right? He coming after me. I got the governor, I got Dan Quail, I got C. Dolores Tucker, I got. You got every. I had everybody in the world. So I'm. I'm sitting there like, you know, I'm a. I'm a little young dude from. From, you know, Liberty City, you know, two bedroom house. Ain't came from nothing. You know what I'm saying? I'm just laughing, you know, because my path was either jail or. Or, you know, jail in the graveyard, you know. And so I'm laughing at all this, but at the same time, you know, I figured I would win. I figured I would win because, you know, when they do a Miller test, they, you know, in those cases, it's a test of what's acceptable in the community. And, okay, you got Playboy channels, you got Playboy, you got bookstores, you got strip clubs. And so that's what the community standards are. So I knew I was going to win that.
DJ Envy
How much did you spend?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Millions of dollars. Millions.
DJ Envy
Did you get any of it? Could you sue to get any of it back back then or you didn't?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
No, no. Millions of dollars. I mean, it was crazy. But. But.
Charlemagne Tha God
And that was the first album right now, See As I Want To Be.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, yeah. For me, it was. It was about what's going on right now today. I looked at it. I looked at it because my dad and my uncle, you know, my Jamaican dad and my. And my Bahamian uncle, you know, they taught me about history, you know, So I was the perfect storm, you know, because I couldn't look at cartoons, they made me look at, you know, H. Rap, Brown, Newton, they, you know, the struggle. And they always told me, say, hey, man, when you get our age, y' all gonna have invisible chains on y'. All. You gonna think you free, but you not. So you need to understand black history and how it works. And so when they came out to me, I knew, you know, here I am, you know, Dice Clay and everybody, and Millie Jackson and, you name it, Red Fox, Everybody did everything that I did on the record, you know, but at the end of the day, I own my own company, you know, and I'm not affiliated with none of these giants, and I'm making all the money, you know what I'm saying? I'm manufacturing, distributing. And so I became an easy target. But plus, you add on the politics of it all with. With those politicians and saying, look, man, we want to take this dude down, you know, for the sake of record sale too. It was coming from everywhere. It was coming from everywhere.
Charlemagne Tha God
You mentioned one name, though. That I do. The older I get, I'd be like, man, you know what? She was right. When you really see Dolores Tucker was right on a lot of stuff.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was.
Charlemagne Tha God
I mean, you got it. She was. I mean, when she. She was talking about, you know, the exploitation, the corporate exploitation of black culture and the normalization of antisocial behavior. So that's why she was against the hyper violent lyrics and the gangster rap and the. She used to call it cultural pornography. How, you know, the men used to talk about the women, but she was just basically saying that corporate America was taking advantage of the degradation of black people. She was right, I can't lie.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, she. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I have to agree, you know, I have to agree. When it comes to corporate America, even right now, today, I was being responsible when I did create the parental advisory sticker. And all of our stuff came from comedy. When you listen to our earlier albums, we were just having fun dudes, you know, we was just taking Leroy Skillet and Dolomite and putting these underground comedians and Aunt Esther and Red Fox on our records. But then once they told me, hey, look, kids are getting this. You know, that's when I created the parental advisory stick. And then I created the whole thing of, you know, okay, you know, use the same scenario as the movie theaters, use the same scenario as buying cigarettes. You know, we created the two versions of the record so it was for adults. Responsible for responsible adults. But yes, she, she, she. She did make a lot of sense on a lot of things.
Charlemagne Tha God
And that when she talked about the 3P plague where she was like, the. The corporate America is leading people to prison. I had it written, that prison pipeline to prison, the 3P plaque, prison, parole and probation. She said that the lyrics promoted a genocidal war against young black men, accelerating what she called 3P plaque, prison, parole and probation.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, she was, she was. I never spoke to her. I never spoke to her. It was one time, I think we were supposed to do a panel together. And then I. Some reason I didn't make it to that one, but I mean, yeah, she was, she was way ahead of her time on a lot of things. I just wish we probably could have just sat down, you know, me, her. Because again, you gotta understand, we were put on a. We all were put on this tippelgore. List, you know, this black list, you know, her husband being a senator, you know, and they're going after me, Ice T, nwa. And we all were just getting this from everywhere to the point that we didn't know who was pushing the narrative, whether you was really, you know, whether it was really you or it was corporate America and these politicians. Because we know these politicians have a tendency of, you know, spending money where they're trying to make these points.
Charlemagne Tha God
That's right. And that's why I said, the older I get, the more I realize, oh, she wasn't fighting against black people and young black men. She was fighting against the corporations. Like, she even. She bought stock in a bunch of these conglomerates like Time Warner and Sony just so she could go to the shareholder meetings to confront the executives for profiting off the degradation of black people.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Wow. I didn't know that.
Charlemagne Tha God
That's what I'm saying. I'm like, oh, see, the Lord Tucker was ahead of her time. She was actually right.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah. Because we painted her. We painted a picture of her as the villain. Like, you know, number one, you know, her and, you know, typical go. And all these different people, you know, it was coming from everywhere. So we, you know, like I said at the time, you didn't know, you know, what was funding these forces.
Charlemagne Tha God
I asked Snoop about that, and Snoop said, yeah, she was right. He just didn't like her approach. He was like. He said, maxine Waters used to say the same thing to y'. All. Her approach was different.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Frederica Wilson, same thing. Totally different. I mean, her approach was totally different. And then at one point, you know, she was, you know, when she was a school board member, she was, like, banning all the girls, dancing to the songs and everything. But then again, you know, once she started realizing what was a part of the culture, then she started embracing people like, you know, Trick Daddy. And we had conversations and had understandings of what was going on in the community. And so, you know, yes, it was. When you take that harsh approach when we already getting, you know, we getting heat from everybody else, you know, at that time, it was, you name it, they were after us.
DJ Envy
Well, Uncle Luke, man, make sure you go out and support them. Tell them how they can support, hey, $5, $10, $20 or higher.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Yes. I mean, all higher. Yeah, I mean that, you know, it's important to go to the website, www.luthercampbellforcongress.com or just come be a volunteer. You know, come knock on some doors and work at the poll. You Know, at the poll, She was like,
Charlemagne Tha God
that's a valid question, though, because how do you convince a grandmother, right, who remembers Uncle Luke from the 90s, that you're the right person to represent them in Washington?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Let me tell you. It's funny, right? Because I go to these forums and I go to these churches, right? And the Grandma, again, I'm 65, right? And the grandma is like, yeah, I went to your club Strawberries. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I went to your club, Luke's Miami Beach. And they be up, and I'm like,
Charlemagne Tha God
grandma, you know, you're the reason she got saved. She got saved.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Exactly. So, I mean, it is very interesting. Most other people from South Florida, they grew up with me, you know, because at the end of the day, I started out as a DJ with two speakers, and then I went from two speakers to 16 speakers. And before you know it, I'm the one of the first guys to bring hip hop to Miami. And so they grew up with me. So it's like nothing. You could tell those people down there how bad I am, because they was with me every step of the way. And even when the government came after me, it was like, no, we know him. You know, he used to DJ at the baby shower and DJ in the park and all these different things. And we know where he came from. And so I don't really have that problem. You know, I thought I would, but I don't.
Lauren LaRosa
A lot of great history you provided for people.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
So that's what's up.
Charlemagne Tha God
Luther Campbell.
DJ Envy
Luke.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Luther Campbell.
DJ Envy
It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Hold up.
Charlemagne Tha God
Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
It's the Breakfast Club.
Charlemagne Tha God
Are y' all finished or y' all done?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Dad, Disney activities are on Lingokids.
DJ Envy
What?
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Moana and Elsa and Marvel's Spider Man. All of them on Lingokids? Yes, dad, on Lingokids. That's pretty cool.
Lauren LaRosa
I know. You just lost them for the rest of the afternoon.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Worth it.
DJ Envy
Full of fun activities inspired by Disney's Moana, Frozen Zootopia, Marvel's Spider man, and more. Lingokids is where little ones discover more about favorite characters.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
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DJ Envy
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Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
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DJ Envy
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Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Checking into my favorite hotel in Paris. Bonjour. Bonjour.
DJ Envy
I'm traveling with my Wells Fargo Autograph
Lauren LaRosa
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DJ Envy
I book travel five times points with
Lauren LaRosa
hotels four times with airlines, three times on restaurants and other travel, and one
DJ Envy
point on other purchases.
Lauren LaRosa
Phew, that was a lot.
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
I need to lie down. Is the room ready?
DJ Envy
Visit Wells Fargo to
Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
Terms apply some
DJ Envy
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Luther Campbell (Uncle Luke)
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DJ Envy
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Lauren LaRosa
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Podcast: The Breakfast Club
Network: Black Effect Podcast Network and iHeartPodcasts
Date: August 10, 2026
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God, Lauren LaRosa
Guest: Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell
In this candid and lively episode, hip-hop pioneer and community activist Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell joins The Breakfast Club to talk about his run for the U.S. Congress in Florida’s District 20. The hosts dig into Campbell’s lifelong work in the community, his experience battling the political system, why he believes hip-hop and Black culture must commit to meaningful political engagement, and the challenges of running against well-funded, establishment-backed candidates. The conversation highlights Uncle Luke’s authenticity, his unfiltered opinions on the Democratic machine, his commitment to the people, and reflections on his legacy defending free speech.
“I’m running on my record. The things that I’ve done…more proud of the guys behind the scenes.” – Luther Campbell (03:37)
“We screamed and holler at the Republicans when they gerrymandered…Now the Democrats are doing it...nobody said nothing from the Black Caucus, which I find to be very hypocritical.” – Luther Campbell (08:00)
“If you take something, you know, from somebody, then you gotta pay them back.…I ain’t about to sell out our community.” – Luther Campbell (18:37)
“It sickens me, to be honest…You’ve never been in this community. You represented billionaires…so you’re going to come into this district because it’s a big field of African Americans and you figure that you need the white vote.” – Luther Campbell (20:19)
“If Ron DeSantis is right on something, I’m agree with it…99 percent of the time he’s wrong. If Trump is right on something…I agree. But we need to just fix the problem.” – Luther Campbell (34:52)
“I defend it. I mean, so, you know, every—nowadays, everybody got a platform...and a lot of things people talk about are getting a lot of people killed…So, you know, I agree, I agree.” – Luther Campbell (38:29)
“If I don’t get that [obscenity ruling] overturned on appeal, then we’re in deep trouble as to where we’re at right now.” – Luther Campbell (42:19)
“She did make a lot of sense on a lot of things.” – Luther Campbell (46:10)
“She wasn’t fighting against Black people and young Black men. She was fighting against the corporations.” (48:42)
“It is very interesting. Most people from South Florida, they grew up with me...and even when the government came after me, it was like, no, we know him...I don’t really have that problem. I thought I would, but I don’t.” (51:24)
“Are we hypocritical?...is the culture ready to move into politics?” – Luther Campbell (07:10)
“We all come from the street. If you take something, you know, from somebody, then you gotta pay them back…and I ain’t about to sell out our community.” (18:37)
“Thank God it was no social media [back then]…when I fought, it was those social media. Thank God…it could have been crazy.” (38:06)
“The most important part…is what you done for the community.” (10:49)
Luke’s appearance on The Breakfast Club captures his fearless, sometimes confrontational, but always community-focused approach to politics. He calls out hypocrisy within both parties and Black leadership institutions, isn't afraid to cross party lines for the right reasons, and grounds every part of his campaign in a life spent serving and championing his hometown. The episode doubles as a crash course in political engagement for hip-hop listeners—and a rallying cry for authentic representation, integrity, and the untapped power of culture in U.S. politics.
Support Luther Campbell’s campaign: www.luthercampbellforcongress.com