French presidential candidate borrows Kanye and Jay-Z's 'N---as in Paris' for campaign video
Watch the Throne
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With the national election getting ready for the long summer slog, we can look forward to a cavalcade of inappropriate song use. (Remember all the musicians who got upset about John McCain using their music during the 2008 campaign? Or when Jackson Browne sued the Republicans? Or earlier this year when Tom Petty asked Michele Bachmann to stop using “American Girl”? Prepare for a whole lot of cease-and-desist letters, Mitt Romney.)
Whatever famous names and songs Romney and Barack Obama end up co-opting for their causes, neither of them will be able to top French presidential candidate François Hollande, who is in the midst of a push towards a run-off vote on May 6 with incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. In a three-minute spot that plugs Hollande’s support of the Parisian suburbs, he chose Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “N—-s In Paris” as a soundtrack. He even leaves in the wacky Will Ferrell sample.
As a piece of political propaganda, it succeeds, even with lyrical snafus (that “fish filet” line sounds especially goofy in this context). Watch it below.
The French are lax about language, aren’t they? The cursing alone would keep this (or any) Watch the Throne track out of all campaign videos in this country, though Barack Obama came dangerously close when he used the National’s “Mr. November” (the line “I won’t f— us over” was jettisoned from the ad).
In the meantime, Romney is due to update his playlist. He still uses Kid Rock’s “Born Free” at most rallies, and Toby Keith’s “American Ride” also makes appearances. While it’s doubtful that he’ll adopt any Damn Yankees tunes over the next few months, what other songs could Romney grab during his campaign?
Oh, and if Obama doesn’t borrow “Lift Off” (with Michelle Obama’s pal Beyoncé bellowing “How many people you know can take it this far?”), then he’s missing a killer opportunity — even if he thinks a third of the talent on that track is a jackass.
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