If you happened to watch HLN Tuesday night, you got a treat in the form of 2 Chainz demolishing Nancy Grace in a debate about legalized marijuana. There probably couldn’t be a more odd pair sharing screen time.
The talking heads that populate the 24-hour news cycle love attempting to undermine rappers until it backfires.
Thankfully, there are also good apples in the bunch who bring artists on and give them a platform to shine. Check these 11 times rappers schooled T.V. anchors and judge for yourself as far as who’s serving in what capacity.
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Photo: Head Line News screen capture
photo: WENN
Ludacris vs. Bill O’Reilly
O’Reilly’s bellyaching about Luda’s lyrics ultimately cost the Atlanta rapper a Pepsi sponsorship. After some talking behind the scenes, O’Reilly partially admitted the error of his ways and cut a check for Ludacris’ charitable foundation.
Talib Kweli vs. Don Lemon
In one of Lemon’s many foot in mouth moments, he couldn’t even get a “man on the scene” interview started without offending Kweli. The Brooklyn rapper gave him a schooling live on CNN for the world to see before making some convincing arguments about what was going on in Ferguson, Missouri.
photo: WENN
Nas vs. Bill O’Reilly
When the Fox News pundit called Nas a vile rapper who “peddles the N-word” after Nas’ protest against Fox, things got ugly. The result was “Sly Fox,” which is arguably one of Nas’ most politically charged tracks.
T.I. vs. Skip Bayless
Tip is a multiplatinum rapper schooled in the ways of Hip-Hop culture. You can guess how things ended up when ESPN’s Skip Bayless tried to argue about the greatest rapper of all time.
Lupe Fiasco vs. Bill O’Reilly
Lupe Fiasco is fond of calling President Barack Obama “the biggest terrorist” in part to his policy on drone strikes. It’s a valid point with terrible execution, but Lu held his own despite being talked over and heavily edited in a debate with O’Reilly.
Damon Dash & Cam’ron vs. Bill O’Reilly
Dame and Cam aren’t going to raise your children if they happen to gain access to an album with profane lyrics. But they will gladly stunt on your news channel by throwing up the Roc sign and egging on guests by asking, “You mad?” in what has become one of the most memefied interviews in Hip-Hop history.
Killer Mike vs. Kennedy [Fox Independents]
Hip-Hop should give Killer Mike a standing ovation each time he appears on a news program. In the midst of all the injustice happening in Ferguson, Mike appeared on The Independents to drop jewels (no pun intended) on everything from civil liberties to his father, who is a police officer. It was all mutual respect.
photo: WENN
Snoop Dogg vs. Bill O’Reilly
O’Reilly thought it would be fun to point out Snoop Dogg’s arrest record. Snoop thought it would be more fun to drop a few F-bombs and say, “Instead of him trying to hold an interview with me to better understand me, he’d rather try to bash me in the media.” Fun was had by all.
Chuck D & Harry Allen vs. Dick Cavitt
The 1991 discourse on racism in entertainment between Chuck D, Harry Allen, and Dick Cavitt still stands as a model in having a productive exchange some 20-plus years after it originally aired on CNBC.
Chuck D vs. Abby Martin
Score another point for Chuck. This wasn’t a debate, but rather a complex, eloquent breakdown of how America has gotten dumber and dumber since the Reagan Administration. Abby Martin of Breaking The Set served up the questions, and Chuck gave nothing but the truth in response.
2 Chainz vs. Nancy Grace
The next time Grace wants to make an argument against legalized marijuana, she should probably have some hard facts and stats instead of a viral video of a guy giving his two-year-old some greenery. 2 Chainz capped off the interview with his signature adlib: “Truuuu.”
