One of American Culture’s Most Bizarre Crossovers: Revisiting Pump and Trump Two Years Later
Graphic by Harry Sutton
By: Harry Sutton
Lil Pump and Kanye West: the two sides of the coin that is rap music. Lil Pump blew up in 2017 with his eponymous debut album, which included viral hits like “Gucci Gang” and “D Rose”, but he has since failed to maintain any importance in the rap world. Since signing to Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records, Pump has released two more albums, which will both be remembered (or forgotten rather) as commercial failures. Kanye West, on the other hand, doesn’t really need to be introduced. In his decades-long career, Kanye has released ten albums- all of which redefined its time’s musical landscape.
In 2018, the duo spontaneously released a raunchy single called “I Love It”, followed by an eyebrow-raising performance on Saturday Night Live where they dressed in water bottle costumes. It was a big surprise to see the two antithetical figures in rap collaborate then, but the duo shares another unpredictable link: weird relationships with Donald Trump.
Kanye’s opinion of Trump has oscillated between support and disdain over the past few years, since they became political allies in 2018. Setting off a deluge of media coverage, Ye called Trump his “brother” and declared that they share a “dragon energy” in 2018, fully announcing his support of the GOP leader. In early 2020, West denounced Trump and launched his campaign for the year’s presidential race, but he has since then re-endorsed Trump during his ongoing anti-semitic phase. Kanye has always been temperamental and it’s truly impossible to predict what his stance is on Trump in this particular moment, whereas Lil Pump’s relationship with Trump was briefer and far more lighthearted.
Just a week before the 2020 election, Trump brought Lil Pump onto the stage during his reelection campaign’s final rally. On November 2, Trump welcomed the face-tattooed star to a crowd of Michigan supporters after describing the rapper in a way that would have made more sense had it been ironic. Ill-informed on both Pump’s name and the scope of his status, Trump introduced his fans to “one of the big superstars of the world, Little Pimp” before welcoming the Florida jit to stage.
Rolling with the punches of embarrassment, Lil Pump (whose name is definitely not Little Pimp) proceeded to give a quick speech to Trump’s supporters. Sporting America’s most divisive red hat, Pump told the crowd “MAGA 20/20/20. Don’t forget that! And do not vote for Sleepy Joe at all!”
After the fact, Lil Pump tried to ride the wave of publicity that came with his Michigan cameo. Looking to capitalize off the event’s clout, Pump released a track called “LIL PIMP BIG MAGA STEPPIN” on November 17, 2020. The pro-Trump anthem goes “and I'm screamin’ out "Fuck Sleepy Joe" / bought a lamb truck and I bought a boat”. Joining a list including Lil Wayne, 50 Cent and Waka Flocka Flame, Pump was yet another rapper who was at one point a fervent supporter of Trump’s campaign.
Two years later, this spontaneous crossover episode between one of world politics’ most divisive figures and one of rap music’s worst representatives serves as a bizarre example of the way internet clout affects the broader culture. And the whole story sounds a lot funnier when you find out that Lil Pump never even registered to vote.
