As Jeremy Corbyn gains ground on the Conservatives day by day, another one of Britain’s best rap artists has thrown his weight behind the Labour leader.
Kareem Dennis, otherwise known as Lowkey, has been at the forefront of the struggle for social justice in Britain for a decade. He is known for his unrivalled political lyricism, and recently made a return to music with the release of ‘Ahmed’: a song slamming the Western response to the current refugee crisis.
His intervention in the race to 10 Downing Street follows fellow rapper Akala’s endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn. While both artists recognised the tainted history of the Labour Party, they also made the case that Jeremy Corbyn provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to deviate from the political and economic status quo that has plagued this country since Margaret Thatcher.
Stating the best case for Corbyn yet, Lowkey pleads with anyone and everyone watching his video endorsement to register to vote and vote Labour on June 8th:
“Tory policies have led us to the stage where you have nurses in the NHS using foodbanks. But when you have somebody coming forward saying he will raise the wages of nurses, saying he will abolish tuition fees, he will raise the minimum wage, build one million homes, half of them social housing: this is significant, and this is significant to everyone.”
“Previously, the idea had been that these people are not speaking to us, about us or for us. Jeremy Corbyn is a clear exception to that rule.”
Lowkey continues by reminding us all that societal advances have been won by popular movements that have fought for them alongside the rare figures in the political class who will back them every step of the way. It is clear that Jeremy Corbyn is one of those politicians. Moreover, he destroys the legacy of Thatcherism and calls out oligarchs in the mainstream media that are dedicating an abundance of column inches in smearing the one chance of true political change in Britain:
“These oligarchs focus on demonising Jeremy Corbyn, on ostracising him from the political class. These are already media institutions which are invested and have spent decades invisibalising the dissent that Jeremy Corbyn represents.
Why would it be a surprise that when somebody enters into the frame in the way that Jeremy Corbyn has, that they would stop at absolutely nothing to ultimately discredit him?”
The main accusation levelled at Jeremy Corbyn by both Theresa May and the mainstream media is that he is supposedly ‘weak on defence’. This argument, while without merit, is an effective way of discrediting Corbyn’s alternative foreign policy. In reality, Corbyn has been on the right side of history for over thirty years. On Corbyn’s stance on Trident and military intervention, Lowkey had this to say:
“A willingness to pursue that application (the use of nuclear weapons) is somehow the measurement of ability to govern a society. This is quite an insane notion, because what we have seen is the depersonalisation of violence and killing.”
“You have a political candidate who is not allowing his foreign policy to be dictated by military industrial complexes, and that is not willing to perceive the United States as some type of sacrosanct guide in terms of foreign policy. I personally view that as strong defence.”
Rebutting every smear aimed at Jeremy Corbyn effortlessly for Double Down News, it is easy to see why Lowkey is a lyricist. His way with words will send a shiver up your spine. If you only watch and share one video over the course of this election – make it this.
