Presidential Election

Ben Carson Deploys Secret Weapon To Win Over Black Voters

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson released a 60-second hip-hop radio ad.

Ben Carson Deploys Secret Weapon To Win Over Black Voters
Getty Images / Bill Pugliano

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson deployed a secret weapon Thursday morning to appeal to black voters. You're going to want to use headphones for this one.

"Go 'head and support Ben Carson for our next president and be awesome," Aspiring Mogul raps.

Carson got an assist from Aspiring Mogul — a self-described "CHRISTIAN REPUBLICAN RAP ENIGMA" — in a 60-second hip-hop ad featuring two bars, a continual refrain and a Carson stump speech. (Video via YouTube / Aspiring Mogul)

Carson has performed well in polls — tying Donald Trump and besting Hillary Clinton in a potential "final faceoff," according to a Quinnipiac University national poll. But his most surprising stat line so far is his double-digit support from black voters — a first for a Republican candidate since George H.W. Bush.

According to ABC, Carson's camp believes 20 percent of black votes is what's needed to beat Clinton in a general election. His hip-hop ad could help with that if black voters are feeling it.

We should note that although Carson might be the first presidential candidate this cycle to launch a hip-hop ad campaign, he ain't the first to drop a rap song. That distinction goes to former presidential candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. 

"Gun-toter, Republican voter, Rick Perry supporter, let's protect our border," Colt Ford raps.

This video includes images from Getty Images and music from "dark roasted" by Birocratic.