Rick Ross released the music video for his politically-charged song “Free Enterprise” this week, in which the Miami-based rapper fantasizes about the death of President-elect Donald Trump.
“Assassinate Trump like I’m Zimmerman/Now accept these words as they came from Eminem,” Ross raps, an apparent reference to George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.
“Free Enterprise” features vocals from singer John Legend and appeared on Ross’ 2015 studio album Black Market.
“Democratic Party sentenced to the pendulum/Killing them, I voted for André Benjamin,” he raps in the video while standing in front of an upside down American flag.
The word “Trump” was bleeped out of the official music video, released on YouTube on November 9 — the day Trump became President-elect.
In an attempt to clarify the controversial lyrics, Ross told Rolling Stone in January he “would never advocate violence on Trump or anyone.”
“It’s lyrical assassination,” he said.
In December, Billboard reported that Wal-Mart had pulled the rapper’s album from store shelves over the Trump assassination lyric. A cursory search for the album on the retailer’s website reveals it can be purchased through third-party vendors.
The Grammy-nominated rapper is no stranger to controversial lyrics.
In 2013, Ross came under heavy fire for his lyrics on Rocko’s song, “U.O.E.N.O.”
“Put molly all in her champagne/she ain’t even know it/I took her home and I enjoyed that/she ain’t even know it,” Ross raps, describing how he’d drug a woman before having sex with her.
The lyrics were interpreted as a celebration of rape by women’s rights groups; the subsequent blowback resulted in Ross losing his Reebok endorsement deal. Ross later took to Twitter and apologized to those who interpreted his lyric as promoting rape culture.
A representative for Ross did not immediately respond to Breitbart News’s request for comment on this story.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
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