City Council Candidate Chris Gadsden Releases Campaign Rap Video

JERSEY CITY, NJ —Chris Gadsden, the Lincoln High School principal and a candidate for one of the three at-large seats on the Jersey City Council, dropped a rap song Saturday to promote his candidacy and show his support for mayoral candidate Lewis Spears and the rest of the independent coalition.

On social media, Gadsden, who previously served as Ward B councilman, posted his song "Rise Up New Jersey," which was inspired by Public Enemy's "Fight the Power." On Facebook and Twitter, Gadsden wrote: "Vote!!! Vote!!! Vote!!! Independent leadership matters. Jersey City rise up. Vote for all independent candidates. Tuesday Nov. 2, 2021.

In the song, Gadsden criticizes Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop on several issues, while name dropping Spears, who is challenging the mayor in the Nov. 2 election. Early voting takes place October 23-31.

A sample of the lyrics:

Steve Fulop don't respect us
Dollar bills got the morals all messed up
Moved to Jersey City to be the governor
Using Jersey City to be the senator
Team Fulop said he wouldn't run for three terms
But now Team Fulop runs for three terms
We have to do things to make him disappear
Register to vote and vote for Lewis Spears

Gadsden is not the first New Jersey politician to release a music video. In the summer of 2020, Newark mayor Ras Baraka released a spoken-word-and-music video "What We Want" in response to the police killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed.

A second Baraka video "What We Want, Part 2," which featured singer-songwriter Luke James and music played by legendary producer Jerry Wonda, was released later that year ahead of Election Day.