The head of a Conservative Party trying to shed its image as aging and out of touch met Thursday with an American rapper who performed for the Tory leader and invited him out to a club.
Rhymefest, a Grammy-winning hip-hop performer from Chicago, met with David Cameron in the party's House of Commons office to discuss violent rap lyrics.
The performer, whose real name is Che Smith, said afterwards that he wouldn't stop using violent imagery in his music because it reflects the realities of life in his home city.
Cameron "told me he wasn't saying to ban hip-hop, he was saying balance hip-hop, and I agree with him," said the musician. "I don't care about no Conservatives, I don't know about that, but I agree our music needs balance. It ain't only being said by him, it's being said by people in the ghetto too.
"
Cameron, 40, took charge of the long-ailing Conservative Party in December vowing to overhaul it after three straight election defeats at the hands of Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party. He has sought to change the party's image by pulling it to the political center and focusing on issues like poverty and the environment, which hadn't been high on its agenda before but are seen as important to young people.
Meeting with Rhymefest, who won a Grammy Award for co-writing the hit "Jesus Walks" with Kanye West in 2004, was a publicity coup for Cameron, whose efforts have brought the party a surge in the polls.
Rhymefest said he had asked Cameron to join him at a nightclub Thursday evening, and "he said he would come. ..
. You know politicians, they'd say anything to get you out of the office."
Cameron's office said later he couldn't go clubbing with Rhymefest because he was too busy.
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