Detroit rapper 42 Dugg turned heads this week appearing in a video posted to social media featuring U.S. Rep. John James, the Republican nominee for Michigan governor.
But less than 48 hours after Dugg posted the video, he deleted the video that had amassed an overwhelming amount of negative comments.
42 Dugg, a 31-year-old native of Detroit’s east side, whose real name is Dion Hayes, asked James what he would do for the city if elected governor.
“We’re going to improve on the economy in Detroit,” James said in the video. “We’re going to improve on education in Detroit, and we’re going to improve on safety in Detroit… Detroit isn’t a place that I go to campaign. Detroit’s a place where I go to work. Detroit’s a place where I go visit my family.”
James, who went to Bloomfield Township’s Brother Rice High School, said his Detroit roots run deep. He pointed to the shop on the city’s east side where his father started his trucking company in 1971.
“I care about Detroit, because I was raised by Detroit,” he said. “I love my people, and regardless of how we were born or where we ended up, you and me are in the same car right now.”
The rapper on Wednesday in a post he quickly deleted said he isn’t for Republicans or Democrats, but who would do the most for Detroit. The rapper told a Michigan Chronicle reporter at a downtown clothing store in July he was supporting James, who he referred to as, “the Black guy.”
James’ campaign said the video came together organically.
“Coolest day of the campaign for me,” said Alyvia Bailey, the press secretary for James’ campaign said on social media in response to the collaboration. “Been a fan of 42 Dugg for years. Genuine guy trying to make a difference in his community.”
Dugg admitted in July he didn’t have a plan to vote, saying he didn’t know ex-felons can still vote in Michigan. Once a person is released from jail or prison, their right to register and vote is restored immediately upon release, even if you are on parole or probation.
Dugg on Wednesday encouraged his followers to challenge Benson, the Democratic nominee, to show up in a similar way: “These people feel like they ain’t gotta work for ya’ll vote man, Jocelyn Benson, she probably feels like I don’t have to do as much as John James. Why is she not as desperate as John James to win our vote? Why is she not going to the hood and doing the same… She feels like she’s already got your vote… It should be both of them in the hood. She should be next to come kick it with me.”
He also explained why he removed the ride-along video with James from his profile: “My page not for that. My page is for to motivate, my page is for entertainment, and that post was only to bring awareness to this governor candidacy going on… I’m not into arguing with old bitter ladies.”
Benson on Wednesday with Detroit rapper Icewear Vezzo toured his Gracious Hands transitional housing facility Wednesday. The facility is made up of two homes on Icewear Vezzo’s childhood block on Sanford Street. Vezzo and Benson talked about delivering more resources through the state, finding additional housing assistance and mental health support to facilities like Gracious Hands.
Dugg on Instagram also criticized commenters who used explicit language in response to his meeting with James.
“I didn’t disrespect nobody with that post,” Dugg said.
In comments on Instagram, Dugg harshly responded to his critics, local political advocates Chantel Watkins and Brandi the Millennial Manager, who used expletives in videos telling the rapper he was being used by the Republican gubernatorial candidate.
Randi Rossario Maples, a social media influencer from Detroit, said she was more upset with the way Dugg responded to women criticizing him for supporting a Republican candidate in lock-step with President Donald Trump’s policies.
“I’m not bothered by someone having a different political standpoint than me. That’s their right. But there’s a difference between having a different opinion and supporting policies that can directly affect someone else’s rights, freedoms, and quality of life,” Rossario Maples said. “When your politics have real consequences for other people, you have to respect that people are going to have strong feelings about it.”
Rossario Maples said 42 Dugg supporting John James was disheartening not because of his opinion, but how he handled critics.
“Calling someone an “angry Black woman” or a “typical disrespectful Black woman” is wild to me, especially when Black women have supported and helped build so many of these entertainers’ careers,” Rossario Maples said. “Black women have bought the music, streamed the albums, shown up to the shows, defended these artists and supported the culture that helped make their careers possible. So when those same women have questions or concerns, they deserve to be heard — not stereotyped or dismissed.”
It wasn’t 42 Dugg’s first time promoting conservatives.
In 2024, he performed at a free concert put on by Turning Point USA attended by a handful of guests. TPUSA members stood outside of Masonic Temple with “free 42 Dugg concert” signs.
He performed two songs and left.