UPDATE: Symone D. Sanders, national press secretary for Bernie Sanders‘ camp, confirms to Billboard that a video of the presidential candidate’s entrance at the rally in Lancaster, Calif., on Wednesday (May 25) at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds was edited — and that DMX’s “Where the Hood At?” was never played, as was originally reported. A video uploaded to Sanders’ YouTube channel shows that no music was used during his entrance.
“Never thought I’d have to say this, but no @BernieSanders did not walk out to a #DMX song in Lancaster earlier this week,” she tweeted. “Here is how @BernieSanders really entered the Lancaster rally…to epic cheers from the crowd!”
Never thought I’d have to say this, but no @BernieSanders did not walk out to a #DMX song in Lancaster earlier this week.
— Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) May 28, 2016
Trending on Billboard
Here is how @BernieSanders really entered the Lancaster rally…to epic cheers from the crowd! https://t.co/rydhYpl4ql
— Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) May 28, 2016
Edwin Acuna, who edited the video, reached out to Billboard to issue a statement: “Standing in the crowd waiting for Senator Sanders can lead to daydreaming, and it did just that. It started with thinking how funny it would be if I edited a video to make it seem as if Bernie walked out to DMX, but after waiting a bit longer, I decided I’d turn it into a social experiment.”
“Everyone seems to be very easily fooled by anything they see on the Internet. On one end we have a majority of the Twitter community going crazy and some going as far as even saying they’re ‘switching allegiances’ and ‘I was never going to vote but this just changed my mind’ to some people in the LGBT community saying they knew all along that Bernie Sanders is a ‘gay basher’ and to be honest, if I wanted that to be the message the song would have started completely different. Instead, what we hear is ‘Where the hood at?’ At the end of it all, I wanted to show the world that politics are not something to fool around with and to prove it, I faked this video,” Acuna continued.
“Bernie has always made it a point that the youth needs to get more involved in the political process, and as funny as it may be that DMX’s ‘Where the Hood At?’ might have swayed them into doing so, it’s still very disappointing at the same time. I’ve observed each candidate very closely, and regardless of what people may think of Bernie Sanders and their stance politically, there’s no denying he is a man of the people, and there is more than enough evidence to prove that. With all that being said, I hope everyone realizes that we still live in the real world, not the Internet,” he said.
ORIGINAL: Bernie Sanders’ street cred might be all the way up. The Democratic presidential candidate hosted a California rally on Thursday where his entrance theme music was DMX‘s “Where the Hood At?”
Thanks to Twitter user @Edwinprime, the video shows Sanders strutting out to the rapper’s 2003 hype anthem in front of cheering supporters.
DMX responded to the clip in an email sent to Billboard, saying, “When God shows up he shows out.” He did not confirm whether he was a Democrat or officially supporting Sanders.
Still, Sanders has a history of being chummy with rappers. MCs like Killer Mike, Lil B, Bun B and Big Boi have all shown their support for the Vermont senator — whose catchphrase is “Feel the Bern” — whether on their timelines or in rallies.
Watch the Full Killer Mike & Bernie Sanders Interview Here
Billboard has reached out to Sanders’ rep for additional comment.
Watch Sanders’ nod to DMX below.