“Money, Power, Respect: A Defense for Hip Hop Republicanism”

I recalled a music video in the 90’s, “Money, Power, Respect, the mantra for success and achieving the American dream. The three words brought me back to what the GOP has tried to articulate in urban communities for years, but has failed to do.

By Brandon Brice

For centuries the United States has promoted the idea of the American Dream to millions of people around the world. Unfortunately that dream for millions of Americans, especially born in the United States, is slowly becoming a dream deferred. Americans are waking up to the reality of a financial meltdown, firms downsizing and a government that wants to expand government even more. While the baby boomers are preparing for retirement the younger audience is preparing to pay off a debt that may not be possible.

The debt of billions of dollars is preparing to fall in the laps of young Americans under the age of 30. Sadly this suggests that we will soon have a nation of adolescent’s unemployed and not fiscally prepared for the future. As my grandmother always said, idle hands is the devil’s playground, which means if people are not working or educating themselves then there’s a high probability for crime.

On MTV, I recalled a music video in the 90’s, “Money, Power, Respect, the mantra for success and achieving the American dream. The three words brought me back to what the GOP has tried to articulate in urban communities for years, but has failed to do. The Republican Party’s urban platform hopes to stress the importance of saving “money” and being fiscal responsible and not allowing government to spend too much. Such an agenda grants minorities and the urban poor the chance to save, invest and start a business, despite age, gender or ethnic background. The emphasis on power is twofold; understanding economic freedom and having capital to contribute to society whether your 21 or 81 years old.

Unfortunately liberals want to concentrate this power in Washington, where policies have continuously failed urban America. In this equation, Hip-Hop Republicans around the country understand and respect the direction that America is slowly moving towards. New age republicanism which embraces the hip hop culture taps into a new way of capitalistic thinking. Hip Hop Republicanism hopes to capture a lost voice for the Republican Party, which is necessary for the GOP’s survival.

The future of the GOP lie not only in rural and suburban areas but it lie also in the inner cities where the GOP needs to begin providing practical solutions to the issues pertaining to young urban voters. It is only when these ideas of limited government and empowerment take over a community will there be genuine “Money, Power and Respect”.


Brandon Brice is a graduate of Howard University and is a graduate of the New Jersey Eagleton Institute of Politics fellow at Rutgers University. As a long time member of Republicans for Black Empowerment, Brandon is an active contributor to HipHopRepublicans.com. Brandon Brice has worked as a policy intern for the former House Speaker Honorable J. Dennis Hastert and has served as a fellow at the United Nations. He has been featured on C-SPAN’s Road to the White House, BET’s What’s At Stake and Hot97 with Lisa Evers. Brandon is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, and attends the Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church in Harlem