WATCH: Ben Shapiro Releases a Rap Song, and the Memes and Trolling Have Already Begun

By Bonchie | 2:37 PM on January 26, 2024

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*Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool*

In a move that's shaking up the charts (literally), Ben Shapiro has released a rap song with Tom McDonald. For around 30 seconds, the podcaster spits lyrics as sweeping camera shots punctuate the scene. Incredibly, the song is now sitting at number four on iTunes in the rap genre.

To be fair, I did warn everyone that 2024 was going to be bonkers.

Tom MacDonald and Ben Shapiro collab for “FACTS” rap song pic.twitter.com/exj0HU7ULe
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 26, 2024

Wait, is the song actually...not that bad? You be the judge, but it didn't take long for the memes and trolling to begin.

Hey, @NICKIMINAJ, it's great to join you atop the iTunes rap charts. Sorry, correction, you're a few slots lower. pic.twitter.com/6XXou5Znge
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 26, 2024

Ben Shapiro spittin’ https://t.co/LCsPyXFbHn pic.twitter.com/arcbmar322
— Prison Mitch (@MidnightMitch) January 26, 2024

“How do you do, fellow rappers?” pic.twitter.com/yWWbKQ7HeN
— The Right To Bear Memes (@grandoldmemes) January 26, 2024

I could spend a few paragraphs dogging on this, but you know what? I like it. I'm not saying I like the song because I don't even like what would be considered objectively good rap. It's just not my style of music, but I like that Shapiro was willing to make fun of himself a bit while also trolling the industry.

Like it or not, culture drives politics. Obviously, the most famous proclamation of that came from Andrew Breitbart over a decade ago, but it remains true today. So yeah, it's a little cringe to see Shapiro wearing a hoodie and trying to flow, but it got everyone's attention, didn't it? It'd be nice if our culture didn't revolve so much around spectacle, but it does. You have to play the game to influence it, and if you don't, you inevitably end up losing ground.

Plus, it's just funny to think that Ben Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew and political commentator, is currently charting above Taylor Swift (at least one of her songs) and Nicki Minaj. Will the song end up at number one? Let's find out.