Fifty years later, hip-hop is still influencing California politics

Hip-Hop music group MRB performs in front of the Sate Capitol in Sacramento on Monday. “I’m in elected office today because of hip-hop,” said Bradford, pointing to his time as a former nightclub promoter. “My attitude was if I can bring folks out to a club to listen to music, we can get folks out in our communities to rock the vote, and I use that as a catalyst to do what I do.” Standing on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento on Monday, Bradford was among members of the California Legislative Black Caucus celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. Hip-hop group N.W.A, formed in Compton, spoke out against police brutality and racial profiling in the 1988 hit “F— tha Police.” The 1995 song “California Love” by late rapper 2Pac, featuring artists Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman, references Sacramento, Oakland and Watts in Los Angeles. America who also oversees the group’s West Coast operations, called hip-hop a “driving force” not only in music but in fashion, culture and even politics.