From ‘The Underground’ To Newark Council: Iconic Rapper Gets Political

NEWARK, NJ — Growing up in Newark, Dupré Kelly never wanted to get into politics. In his circles, politicians were the sort of people you didn’t trust further than you could throw them. They were only interested in doing good deeds for their family and friends – and Black and Brown people living in generational poverty weren’t on that VIP list.

Now, the 51-year-old is one of them. And according to the rap icon, things are very different from when he was a kid.

In June, Kelly became the “first platinum-selling hip-hop artist to win elected office in the United States” when he captured a seat on the Newark City Council, according to his campaign team.

It was a big victory for a hometown hero. Raised by a single mother in the city’s West Ward, Kelly attended 13th Avenue elementary school and continued to Newark Tech (now Essex County Vocational & Technical School), where he excelled in baseball and basketball. Kelly also began to flex his muscles as a musician while growing up in the Brick City, laying the foundation for many songs he’d later help turn into hits with the Newark-based Lords of the Underground.

While attending Shaw University in North Carolina, Kelly met Al'Terik “Mr. Funke” Wardrick and Bruce “DJ Lord Jazz” Colston, soon adopting a new nickname that he’d also use during his landmark run for city council: “DoItAll.” The trio got a big boost when they were introduced to producer Marley Marl, who helped them release their debut album in 1993, “Here Come the Lords” – which became a pillar stone of what some critics call the “Golden Age of Hip Hop.”

After traveling the world and dropping several more albums together – one via a label run by another Essex County native, Queen Latifah – the group’s members have gone on to pursue their own careers.

While Kelly has kept busy in the music industry, releasing his own solo material and doing guest spots alongside other icons such as Nas, he also branched out into acting, making appearances on shows such as “The Sopranos” and “Law & Order,” and taking roles in independent movies and an off-Broadway play.

But Kelly continued to keep a fond spot in his heart for Newark, the city where he got his start.

In 2010, he launched a nonprofit – 211Community Impact (211 Ci) – which partners with other Newark groups to create positive change with education, community programs and political organizing. Since then, Kelly and 211 Ci have mentored young musicians, partnered with the NJ Devils to expose Black and Brown children to ice hockey, conducted a “Celebrity Read” program to promote literacy, and donated 25,000 books to the Newark Public School District. They’ve also hosted citywide “Bury the Violence” mock funerals to deal with the trauma faced by families of slain victims of violent crime.

In Newark, Kelly continued to leverage his celebrity status and give back with charitable acts, such as donating 90,000 pounds of groceries to local families, partnering with Popeyes to provide hot meals for families in need, and donating baby food and baby supplies to young mothers at Westside High School. Kelly has also spent the past eight years helping to produce the annual Lincoln Park Music Festival, a highly attended celebration of gospel, jazz, house, hip-hop and rhythm & blues. Meanwhile, he’s served on the board of the United Way of The Greater Newark area, the Newark Arts Foundation and the Newark Museum Advisory Board.

As Kelly’s community activism grew, so did his desire to make a bigger impact – as a politician.

“There are so many different things and people that inspired me to run for office,” Kelly recently told Patch.

One of them was his former manager and mentor, Hafiz Farid, who “always challenged me to better, to be my best, and to be one with my community,” Kelly said.

Another was a former Newark councilman Ralph Grant.

“He is the first person that I ever canvassed for and he is how I was introduced to local politics,” Kelly said, adding that he “followed in his footsteps” by pledging Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated at Shaw University.

“The people in the community of Newark” – who inspired Kelly to “be their voice” – also need to be credited, he emphasized.

In the end, advice from a fellow hip-hop icon – the legendary Tupac Shakur – helped convince Kelly to “turn my entertainment fans into voters” during a conversation in an Orlando, Florida hotel room in 1992, he recalled.

Giving Kelly a mission to “stay in the city” where he grew up, Shakur suggested it was time that the former Lord of the Underground finally take the plunge into local politics.

“Finally, I completed what he asked on June 14,” Kelly told Patch, referencing his recent election victory.

But unknown to Kelly, the musician-turned-politician would stumble before he learned to walk.

‘HIP-HOP HAS ALWAYS BEEN POLITICAL’

Kelly isn’t the only rapper who has recently run for office. There have been several well-known hip-hop artists who have tried to enter local politics in the recent past: Kanye West, Bradley “Scarface” Jordan, Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell.

Some, like Kelly, had credentials that go way beyond their pop culture status. In 2018, when Antonio Delgado successfully ran for U.S. Congress in New York, he did so as a Rhodes scholar and a Harvard Law School graduate – although his political foes frequently spent their time bashing his former rap career instead of sticking to the issues.

But to Kelly – although “votes win elections, not just popularity” – his music is also a badge of honor when it comes to his political motivations.

“Man, I feel like hip-hop has always been political,” Kelly told Hot 97 during an interview in 2018, later speaking about his life-changing conversation with Shakur. “We always talk about social ills, and how to get out of poverty situations, and what it’d look like when we got out … You know, that was hip-hop.”

According to Kelly, his “aha moment” came when his community work began to “feel more like applying a band aid than fostering sustainable change.”

“I soon learned that political power is what really fosters change in our schools, policing practices, housing and businesses,” he told Patch.

In 2018, Kelly took the plunge, running as an independent candidate for an at-large seat on the Newark City Council. Although he was soundly defeated by a candidate who had the backing of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Kelly wasn’t discouraged by the failure – he was inspired by it.

He continued with his community activism, combining his skills as a rapper with a newfound political ambition, as seen in a 2020 music video featuring Baraka.

But Kelly didn’t give up his hopes of landing a seat on the city council. And it wouldn’t be long before he took another shot at it – and won.

THE 2022 RUN

When Kelly announced he was running for office in Newark again in the May 2022 nonpartisan municipal election – this time for a council seat in the West Ward – he did so with a huge advantage: Baraka’s support.

As part of the Team Baraka slate, the mayor, Kelly and seven other council candidates turned in candidacy petitions with thousands of signatures more than they needed to qualify the ballot in February – a massive show of support from potential voters.

Baraka wasn’t the only veteran politician who supported Kelly’s bid for city council. In April, Sen. Ronald Rice (D-28), who represents Newark, gave Kelly a hearty endorsement, writing:

“My confidence in Dupré is not based on what’s he’s said or promises he makes. It is based on the countless acts of compassion and generosity, both public and private, that I’ve personally witnessed through the years. Woven throughout each aspect of his life is his full-hearted desire to bring people together, open communication and affect measurable improvements in people’s lives. What’s motivated Dupré’s success in the music industry, his far-reaching not-for-profit organizations and his political aspirations is his fierce desire to bring beauty, safety, productivity and confidence into our world. Here in Newark and across the globe, he has proven his ability to unite and galvanize people toward real, lasting change. That’s why it is my pleasure and honor to stand with him and endorse his candidacy for Newark’s next West Ward councilperson.”

Kelly’s platform included several issues that have long been hot-button topics in Newark’s West Ward: quality-of-life, youth employment, safety and crime prevention. But it was his plans for “revitalization,” including equitable development and affordable housing, that Kelly pushed especially hard.

Some of his campaign statements included:

AFFORDABLE HOUSING - “We need housing that West Ward residents can truly afford … “Last year, Mayor Ras Baraka announced the investment of $20 million in Affordable Newark, a new housing initiative targeted to Newark families earning income at $32,000 (the median income for four person Newark families) and below. Much of the housing that the federal government calls affordable is not actually affordable by the average Newark family. On the City Council, I will work to ensure that the West Ward receives its fair share of this innovative affordable housing.”

FOOD INSECURITY – “The West Ward is a food desert. When I meet with West Ward residents, I am often asked ‘Why can’t I find decent food in my neighborhood?’ As a member of the city council, I will work with community groups to market our neighborhoods to supermarket executives to show them that the incomes of West Ward residents and the density of our population combine to sustain supermarkets. Together, we will recruit supermarkets to locate in the West Ward.”

POLICE FUNDING – “Rather than defund Newark police, let’s continue to invest in innovative public safety. Newark has become a national model for reducing crime through police/community partnership. So, I support Mayor Baraka’s strategy to fight crime and reduce violence. African Americans and Latinos now make up 75 percent of the Newark police and women represent 20 percent. Recruitment emphasizes Newark residents. Officers are trained to uphold the civil rights of residents. Social workers now partner with police officers to provide crisis intervention. The Newark Police Division now concentrates on areas where crimes and violence most frequently occur. But for police presence to be most effective, officers must be visible on the street, not just in cars. As your West Ward councilman, I will advocate for additional officers to be assigned to West Ward hot spots and to coordinate with police in the bordering towns of East Orange, Irvington and South Orange.”

DEVELOPMENT – “The West Ward and Fairmount Neighborhood Development Plans prioritize new and rehabilitated housing affordable to residents of every income. On residential streets, Neighborhood Development prioritizes in-fill construction to replace vacant lots. Along major corridors, Neighborhood Development prioritizes commercial and mixed-use development. On the council, I will advocate for designating more parts of the West Ward for Neighborhood Development.”

Within a few months, Kelly’s political campaign was suddenly ubiquitous in the neighborhood he grew up in.

He was welcomed to Essex County College’s Newark campus as part of its “Hip Hop Appreciation Week.” He hosted an outreach event for local businesswomen at Pillar College. And through partnerships with Edu-Capital (via the Doitall University Scholarship) and Mack Boring, Kelly and 211 Ci launched several educational initiatives that aim to “increase the earning power” of asset-limited, income-constrained and underemployed/unemployed people in the area.

When the dust had cleared on May 10, Kelly and Chigozie Onyema were left standing as the top two vote-getters. Since neither got 50 percent plus one vote, it triggered a runoff election on June 14 – which Kelly won by several hundred ballots. Read More: Newark 2022 Runoff Election Results: Silva, Council, Kelly Win

According to Kelly, his background as a platinum-selling musician made the race interesting and “cool to some people,” but it didn’t play a significant role in his victory.

Still, it didn’t hurt his campaign, either.

In addition to his comrades with the Lords of the Underground, Kelly said he saw support from celebrities such as Method Man, Naughty By Nature, Shaquille O’Neill, Jim Jones, Danny Walberg, Dame Dash, Dave East, Mr. Cheeks (Lost Boyz), MC Search (3rd Base), DJ Envy, Charlamagne tha God, Angela Yee, Heather B., Sway & Tech, Maino, Hakim Green (Chanel Live), Monie Love, Michael Bivins & New Edition, Mr. Dalvin (Jodeci), DJ Kool, DJ Cassidy, AZ, Shyne “Po” Barrow, and Yo-Yo.

Kelly also got a boost from his childhood friend, Reggie “Redman” Noble, who was “by his side from day one.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however.

In the days leading up to the runoff, a controversy about a pro-Onyema flyer that circulated in the West Ward prompted a cry of foul from Kelly, Insider NJ reported.

“One of the mistakes that I made was taking things personal,” Kelly told Patch when asked if there were any missteps on the campaign trail.

“I’ve learned that there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in politics,” he added.

THE FUTURE

On July 1, Kelly was inaugurated as a councilman in Newark during a ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. It marked a huge milestone for Kelly, who has been gearing up for his new job while still running his charity efforts.

He’ll be up against a stumbling block – the legacy of his predecessor, Joseph McCallum, who declined to run again after he pleaded guilty in connection with a bribery and kickback scheme in March.

But with his own star rising, Kelly appears poised to raise the bar for leadership in the city’s West Ward. And when he took his oath of office – with his mom in attendance – it was a moment he won’t soon forget.

“The proudest moment [of my campaign] was seeing the joy in my mother’s eyes when they announced that her son, Dupré Kelly, was the winner,” he said.

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