"It doesn't look like it has been tampered with," he said. President Mark Watson said he had seen the debated image on YouTube and could confirm its authenticity. Tag Team's label, DM Records in Miami Beach, said no one on staff could recall the name of the extra who showed up for the video shoot nearly two decades ago. It's hard to say he was in Atlanta and said, 'Ooh, I want to be in the Whoomp! (There It Is) video.' "īut, Glenn said, "I can't be for sure because that was a real big video shoot and thousands of people showed up." Glenn said he doesn't think the man in the video is Obama. The video was filmed at an Atlanta fairground. A friend also put out an open invitation on a local radio station. Glenn recounted the taping of the video in Atlanta, saying he gathered extras through word of mouth. "You can't pay for that kind of publicity." "This is like an episode of South Park," Glenn said. He first heard of the Obama video rumor on Saturday, and has since received calls from New York magazine and Inside Edition. We tracked down half the Tag Team, the rapper DC the Brain Supreme who also goes by the name Cecil Glenn. We wondered: Could it be him? To paraphrase the Tag Team, we decided to go upside-down and inside-out and show you folks what it's all about. "Are you sure that's not him? Because all black people look the same," deadpanned one Huffington Post commentator. Many noted that Obama is a self-professed hip hop fan who drew wide support from rap artists during his presidential campaign, but some critics accused the bloggers of perpetuating racial stereotypes. The Tag Team postings were mostly good-natured musings. Critics have claimed he continues to misrepresent his religion, country of birth and political beliefs despite evidence to the contrary, such as his birth certificate from Hawaii. The discourse follows years of intense scrutiny and disagreement over Obama's background. "Pay close attention to his ears poking out, the shape of his nose, and skin color," said a posting on Tennessee Sons of Liberty, a Tea Party blog. The image stirred impassioned debate on hip-hop and political sites such as Tha Corner, Gawker, The Huffington Post and Something Awful, with commentators overwhelmingly declaring that the unidentified baller must be a young Obama, or, at the very least, a passable look-alike. But much of his face is obscured by a pair of wayfarer sunglasses. (Not a campaign contribution, we hope, because the FEC frowns on cash.) With a Compton cap on his head, a stud in his earlobe, an array of gold rings on his hand and an antiquated, huge cell phone attached to his ear, the young black man flashes a wide grin that evokes Obama's toothy smile. He appears for just a few seconds during a scene where a wad of cash is shown resting next to a game of dominoes. The speculation centers on an Obama doppelganger who appears in the video by the Atlanta rap duo Tag Team. It includes the refrain "Can you dig it?. The evidence is on VH-1 (and now YouTube).īumping and bouncing through the blogosphere Tuesday was the claim that President Barack Obama appeared in the 1993 music video for Whoomp! (There It Is), the catchy ode to raucous dancing and sexual promiscuity that became a fixture at sporting events. This article originally appeared in our March 2015 issue.No need to go to Hawaii (or Kenya) to verify this Internet rumor. It’s popped up in movies (“Elf”), TV shows (“Scrubs”), and ads for iPhones and diapers (“Poop! (There It Is)”). After money woes for both and a prison stint for Gibson (busted with 600 pounds of weed), there’s been a “Whoomp!” resurgence. Thanks to a flawed contract, the duo earn only a fraction of the zillions generated by their hit-ranked sixth on Rolling Stone’s “20 Biggest Songs of the Summer: The 1990s” list. A record deal followed, and “Whoomp!” earned the number two spot on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 chart and went quadruple platinum. It became a smash at Magic City (where Glenn deejayed) and clubs throughout Atlanta. ![]() Inspired by an expression used by the dancers at the Magic City strip club, best friends Glenn and Gibson recorded the song with a loan from Glenn’s parents. The thumping bass, gleeful spirit, and endless chants of the title phrase have made 1993’s “Whoomp! (There It Is)” one of the most enduring party songs of the past 25 years. As Tag Team, Cecil Glenn, aka DC the Brain Supreme, and Steve “Rolln” Gibson may be one-hit wonders, but oh, what a hit.
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