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Meet Swae Lee, the rapper who just slammed Kamala Harris: he praised Donald Trump, went viral as part of Rae Sremmurd, and worked with Beyoncé, Post Malone and Madonna – but who’s his baby mama?
STORYLynn Farah
- The rapper shot to fame on social media as one half of Southern hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, which he founded with brother Slim Jxmmi – he’s since gone solo and collaborated with big-name artists
- Last week, Lee took to X to encourage Americans not to vote for Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential elections, making controversial comments on race, taxes and the war in Ukraine
Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown, better known as Swae Lee, is widely considered one of the most influential artists of his generation. He might be famous as one half of Rae Sremmurd, a Southern hip-hop duo, but his solo career took off after the release of his 2018 solo album Swaecation, and collaborations with notable musicians like French Montana, Madonna and Ellie Goulding.
Known for his massive online following – Lee has 12.1 million Instagram followers and 3.7 million on TikTok at the time of writing – the 31-year-old caused controversy last week after telling his followers not to support Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee for the upcoming US elections. He publicly commented on Harris and her political views, including race, the war in Ukraine and tax bills.
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But who is the man behind the divisive posts? From growing up poor to finding fame underground and with big name collabs, here is what you need to know about the musician.
What did Swae Lee say about Kamala Harris?
Lee took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on July 27 to urge his fans not to vote for Vice-President Harris, who looks set to seal her position as the Democratic presidential candidate in the upcoming elections. He also cautioned his followers against voting for Harris due to her race, writing, “just cuz you think she’s black is not going to end in your favor”. Harris is of Black and South Asian descent, and made history as the first person from either background to become the vice-president of the US.
His first post in his thread, where he wrote “Do not vote for Kamala!! Do your research on that whole camp”, has received 11.8 million views at the time of writing.
The musician also slammed current President Joe Biden’s administration for sending aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, objecting at how his tax money was used for that purpose.
Swae Lee is a Republican
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