The Roots had a host of guests for its Philly Fourth of July Jam—including Miguel, Cee Lo Green and Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles—yet the highlight of the night had to be when Philadelphia's mayor, Michael Nutter, appeared to perform the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight."
According to Rolling Stone, the politician had some technical issues at first, but once the microphone warmed up, Nutter never cooled down. He delivered the verses of the iconic song flawlessly, no teleprompter required, and ended with a drop of the microphone as the crowd showed its appreciation.
Nutter is no trained emcee but he's certainly had experience with music and hip-hop. He worked as a DJ during the late-'70s disco era, right as hip-hop and the Sugarhill Gang were becoming popular. He's claimed during previous interviews that the networking required to ensure success as a DJ would later serve him in the tangled communication lines of politics.
In terms of songs to perform, Nutter couldn't have chosen a better track. Not only is "Rapper's Delight" one of the most recognized hip-hop tracks of all time (Rolling Stone ranked it no. 2 all time for hip-hop songs), it's also family-friendly...he may be a lame-duck mayor (Nutter can't run for office again due to term limits) but he doesn't want to bring a firestorm down upon himself.
The show featured other inside-jokes for Philadelphia residents: The Roots opened the set with a rendition of "Move Closer To Your World," the theme song from local news broadcast 6 ABC Action News.
Nutter has serves as mayor of Philadelphia since 2008, with an emphasis on public safety during his tenure, such as initiatives to decrease deaths related to youth violence and fires. Perhaps when he turns over the scepter during 2016, he'll consider a return to the DJ booth...unless he pulls a Timbaland and attempts handling the microphone as well.
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