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PEOPLE & ARTS Friday 17 March 2017
Jussie Smollett of ‘Empire’

gets political in new video

MESFIN FEKADU Some of Smollett’s “F.U.W.” “Because the song means
AP Music Writer lyrics focus on Trump and so much to me and the
NEW YORK (AP) — While TV his administration: “Why message means so much
star Jussie Smollett was in are we back in the past?/ to me, and what we’re
the recording studio work- It’s the same script different going through right now
ing on his own music apart cast/ All of these alterna- means so much to me, I
from “Empire,” set for re- tive facts/ Catch me out- wanted to do it justice.
lease later this year, he side how about that?/ Why And I knew what was in my In this May 20, 2016 file photo, Jussie Smollett attends the “Em-
couldn’t help but write a is it so hard to keep hope?/ mind would do it justice,” pire” FYC Event in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, March 15, 2017,
song about what’s going in Who got that popular he said.q Smollett debuted a music video for “F.U.W.”, a song about injus-
the world, from injustice to vote?/ Was the whole thing tice which he wrote and performs, on his YouTube page.
President Donald Trump. just a joke?/Was the whole Associated Press
That’s when he penned thing just one big joke?”
“F.U.W.,” short for “(exple- On Wednesday, Trump
tive) up world,” around fired back at rapper Snoop
President’s Day and imme- Dogg days after the re-
diately directed a music lease of a music video in
video to bring his words to which he points a toy gun
life. at a clown dressed like
The clip debuted late Trump and pulls the trigger.
Wednesday on his You- Trump tweeted: “Can you
Tube page. imagine what the outcry
The black-and-white video would be if @SnoopDogg,
features men and women failing career and all, had
of various ethnicities and aimed and fired the gun
highlights injustices, from at President Obama? Jail
human and LGBT rights to time!”
religious and racial preju- The White House did not
dices. immediate return a re-
A woman wears a hijab quest seeking comment
in one scene, a boy wears about Smollett’s video,
a hoodie in another and which also features a black
four women put their fists man standing in front of a
up as they stand in front of noose, images of barbed
the words, “My body, my wire and two water foun-
rights.” tains with “white” and “col-
“This song is for the op- ored” signs above them.
pressed. “We had written so many
That’s why I feel like peo- other great songs for my
ple will connect with it album,
because it is very broad, but this just felt like ‘I can’t
because oppression is so wait for the album, I can’t
broad,” he said in an inter- wait for a single,’” said
view Tuesday with The As- Smollett, who plans to re-
sociated Press. lease an official single this
In another scene, a man summer.
in a wheelchair runs over a “You couldn’t follow, you
Donald Trump mask. know, normal rules or nor-
“That mask is a representa- mal protocol with this, you
tion of this false idea of pa- just had to get it out and
triotism. luckily Columbia (Records)
And that mask is a rep- stood behind me.”
resentation of this idea of During the presidential
white male privilege,” the campaign, Smollett and
34-year-old Smollett said. other “Empire” cast mem-
“It’s so much bigger than bers appeared in an ad
him. endorsing Democratic
It’s what he represents, and nominee Hillary Clinton.
it’s because of that repre- Smollett, who was one of
sentation, that’s why he’s the kid stars of “The Mighty
the president of the United Ducks” film, is set to appear
States currently.” in Ridley Scott’s science fic-
“It’s our opportunity to take tion film “Alien: Covenant”
those masks off and shatter this year.
them, so that’s what I did,” He said it was “freeing” to
he added. release a song apart from
Trump’s apparent mocking his “Empire” persona, and
of a disabled reporter was he challenged himself by
widely criticized last year. directing the video.