A rap legend has torn Kamala's wedding with a white man. Then she conquered him.

Luther "Luke" Campbell, the former singer of 2 Live Crew and "the naughty boy of hip-hop," absolutely set Kamala Harris on fire a few weeks after she announced her candidacy for the presidency.

In the New Times of Miami, Campbell explained that many African-American blue-collar workers, especially men, had made the decision not to vote for the former attorney. He confused him with politicians who refused the rehabilitation of the accused and targeted innocent people.

History continues below

And in a riff that the critics described as sexist, Campbell questioned Harris' marriage to a white man. He even suggested that she uses a romantic relationship with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to advance his career.

"Like everyone else, black voters want help from one of their own," Campbell wrote, saying Harris's mother was Indian. "The Bush has ensured that their citizens receive money for oil. Bill Clinton has let the telecommunications industry engulf small radio and television stations. And Donald Trump is looking for his buddy developers through a reduction of taxes and areas of opportunity that embarrass the minority neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Harris told blacks that they could not count on her. "

It was therefore more than a little curious when Campbell announced very publicly that he had changed his mind. In an Instagram video last week, he said he and Harris had recently spoken on the phone about his record and presidential priorities, from gun control to the rehabilitation programs she had launched. Campbell said that he wanted to determine if she was a "real sister".

"I went back and watched the record deeper," Campbell said in an interview with POLITICO.

But the story of Campbell's turnaround is not so simple: it's a window into how Harris tries to dispel his skepticism among African Americans – especially black men who are wary of his past in the field of law enforcement – and the path it must go make progress with a critical constituency that Joe Biden dominates until now.

Harris and his surrogates regularly approach black influencers such as Campbell, in most cases before they publicly publicize their concerns. The campaign sometimes hires its president, the candidate's sister, Maya Harris, whose background in criminal justice reform and her close relationship with the senator help to provide insight into her situation.

The fact that Campbell may take an unexpected turn suggests a theory underlying Harris advisers: his experience in the audience room will be more of an asset than a point of anchor. Those involved in discussions with Campbell insist that his struggles underscore the work Harris has to do to present himself while explaining his motives as California Attorney General and San Francisco District Attorney.

"She obviously has good faith in some parts of the black community: she is a graduate of the HBCU, an AKA. It's a black woman in every sense of the word, "said Tiffany Cross, founder and editor-in-chief of Beat DC, a newsletter on the intersection of politics, politics and politics. and people of color, evoking the time of Harris at Howard University and the oldest African-American sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

"But the black community is not a monolith," Cross said. "In some parts of the black community, HBCUs and AKAs do not resonate. And when you only hear that you are the prosecutor who has locked up black men, it's a difficult climb. The campaign is trying to fight it and solve it, but they still have a long way to go. "

For Harris, Campbell is a hard-to-reach demographic group that she will have to convince. Campbell, whose raw lyrics and videos with lightly clad women place him at the center of the struggles for freedom of expression decades ago, called the "silent majority" that propelled Barack Obama.

The evolution of Campbell on Harris took place over several months. It started with the calls of a surrogate mother and ended with Harris herself. In the meantime, the rapper said that he had heard from a Florida congressman who had approved Harris. He was beaten during difficult talks and at home: his wife, his sister-in-law and his mother-in-law are AKA. He said that they all really like Harris.

***

The Campbell's New Times column came online as a thunderclap. Symone Sanders, then an independent Democratic strategist who then held a position at Biden, basically asked Campbell to shut up.

"Uncle Luke is not a political brain nor a strategist," tweeted Sanders at the time. "Why are black men still appearing with their unsolicited opinions about Kamala Harris?"

But Cross, who mentioned Campbell's report on Joy Reid's MSNBC show, gave him more credibility. In an interview, she stated that critics should consider that Campbell viewed Harris through the prism of black men who were disproportionately affected by the justice system.

Behind the scenes, Harris' surrogate mothers treated the scraps seriously. Bakari Sellers, a former legislator from South Carolina, immediately contacted Campbell. Democratic activists said Campbell was a respected and even feared voice in Florida politics and that she had a large clientele among middle-aged African-American men nationwide.

"That's one you want from your side," Sellers said to the question of why he had taken it for himself. "Luke can have the conversations you can not have."

A few days after his connection with Campbell, Sellers appeared as a guest on the musician's podcast. Campbell still seemed indifferent to Harris, even after Sellers praised his plea for abused women and children.

Then, last month, thousands of African-American journalists arrived in Miami for the conference of the National Association of Black Journalists. Campbell sits for an interview with Cross. She mentioned her article on Harris, noting that many people considered him sexist.

"It was like," Oh, my God, let's go, "Cross remembered.

She wanted to know when he became the moral authority of relationships.

"I mean, should we revisit" As naughty as they want to be ", and all the albums and everything you've written about women?" Cross asked. She said it was fair to sound Harris' record, but the personal shots went too far.

When it was finished, she sent a text message to the Harris campaign. Cross felt that Campbell was open to persuasion.

"It was not combative, but he had no counterpoint to many of the things I had mentioned with him," she said.

Campbell did another long interview at the Miami event, this one with Jemele Hill, from the Atlantic, who had already had Harris on his show. Late in the podcast, the senator returned. Hill argued that she created one of the most progressive prisons reintegration programs in the country. Hill also told Campbell that he should pay attention to Biden for not being excused for his criminal record.

Campbell's aversion to Harris melted.

"Of all the candidates, I really like him the most," he finally conceded to Hill. But Harris had to overcome the perception of being a powerful black woman who was chasing black men to prove himself, he said. In the show, Campbell imitated black politicians who avoid advocating a dark agenda.

"I'm so sick of this shit. "Oh, I'm for everyone," he said. "No, you are black. You must be for us.

Hill wrapped up a promise made to her listeners: "Kamala fans," she said, "I got it. As soon as we stop recording this podcast, I have Luke. I will bring it. Do not worry about him. "

By the time Harris contacted Campbell on August 15, previous conversations had left such an impression as to have happened to him.

Campbell told POLITICO Harris that his reintegration initiative to reduce the recidivism rate for offenders convicted of drug offenses was low. She said that she wanted to change the way credit ratings are calculated to increase home ownership for blacks. He told him that he was in favor of allowing law-abiding people to keep their guns to protect themselves. Harris said that she herself had a .45 caliber, to protect herself, Campbell said.

The fact that Harris came to himself after his personal attacks made a strong impression.

"It was worth me more than anything, to be able to write all those hard words … to say what I did during these interviews, and she said enough to the woman," Let's have a conversation, " he said. "Most men, they take it personally, take their little toy and they will sit down."

Before finally making the decision on the approval, Campbell said he continued to think about the early Democratic debates by wondering who could actually tackle Trump. Biden, he says, is too old. Bernie Sanders "just go up there and start screaming." He thinks that Elizabeth Warren reacted "in a somewhat fragile way" by issuing a DNA test proving her claims of Native American ancestry. His support for reparations for black Americans economically affected by slavery did not help either. "As African-Americans, we know that this will not happen," he said.

And Campbell said that he did not think Cory Booker's message echoed: "He gives us a lesson in black history every time he speaks."

So, it's Harris.

"I am a man," said Campbell. "I can say that I made a mistake."