DJ Khaled, one of the most prominent Muslims in US music, has announced that he’ll be voting for Democratic Hillary Clinton in the November 8 presidential election.
The endorsement for Clinton came as the “Major Key” rapper sat down for an interview with Yahoo anchor Katie Couric on Friday to discuss his new album.
Khaled, 40, was quick to praise Hillary Clinton in his own trademark style, and alluded to Donald Trump being “They”, a phrase that the rapper has long used to describe his adversaries.
He said: “They don’t want you to win. They don’t want you to progress. They don’t want you to prosper. They want to lock the door on you… they also come in different disguises. They can actually come hug you, and come show you love, but be really behind the scenes and really [try to] finish you.”
Declaring his support for Clinton, he said: “I’m not voting for him [Trump]. No. Definitely not voting for him. The key is to vote because we need a vote to put the people in power that we want to represent us.
“So I’m definitely gonna vote for Hillary.”
DJ Khaled — whose real name is Khaled Mohamed Khaled — was raised in Orlando to Palestinian immigrant parents. A fixture on the 1990s Miami club scene, he has occasionally spoken out on behalf of the Palestinian cause but his music is mostly apolitical.
“Major Key,” the DJ’s ninth studio album, debuted at number one on the US Billboard album chart for the week through Thursday with sales of 95,000 copies or the equivalent in downloads and streaming, tracking service Nielsen Music said.
His Snapchat musings, which became the loose theme to his album, revolved around his “keys to success” in life, with his nuggets of wisdom ranging from eating breakfast to lathering his body with cocoa butter.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton’s lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump has narrowed to 5 points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday.
Clinton registers 41 percent support among likely voters, while Trump claims 36 percent. Twenty-three percent said they wouldn’t vote or would pick another candidate.
The same poll on Tuesday showed Clinton leading by 12 points. She was up by 8 points in last Friday’s Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The new survey tracks with recent polls, which, according to RealClearPolitics, have Clinton leading by an average of 6 points nationally.
