Ben Carson releases new radio ad with must-listen rap verse

In a Facebook interview with Fusion’s Jorge Ramos, Carson was asked whether it was him rapping in the ad and said “It’s not me. But there are members of our campaign who thought that was, you know, something that would resonate with a lot of people.”

Carson campaign spokesman Doug Watts agreed with that sentiment in an interview with ABC News:

“Reaching them on a level they appreciate and follow and see if we can attract their consciousness about the election,” Watts said. “They need to get involved and express their voice through their vote.”

It’s an “expressed articulation to another market, a non-traditional voting market for Republicans,” Watts said. The featured rapper, Aspiring Mogul, had previously released a track supporting Carson in September.

On Twitter, reactions went about as well as could be expected.

The ad is called “Freedom,” and the ad buy cost $150,000. The ad will air in Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Birmingham, Alabama, Jackson, Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas for two weeks—perhaps longer if the song hits the Billboard Hot 100.

David Matthews operates the Wayback Machine on Fusion.net—hop on. Got a tip? Email him: [email protected]