Honoring rapper Kodak Black sparks tiff between Palm Beach County commission candidates

Palm Beach County Commission candidate Richard Ryles is blasting his opponent, state Sen. Bobby Powell, for his decision to issue a proclamation honoring rapper Kodak Black.

The dispute between the two men — both Black Democrats — highlights the enduring allure of celebrity and raises questions about how much grace should be afforded to those who were previously incarcerated, an important topic for many Black voters given the disproportionately high number of young Black men who are arrested and jailed in Florida and across the country.

Kodak Black, a Pompano Beach native whose real name is Bill Kapri, has an extensive history of drug use and criminal behavior, including convictions for making false statements on a federal form and for first-degree assault and battery. He pleaded guilty to the reduced charges of assault and battery after initially being charged with sexual assault in 2016.

Prosecutors in South Carolina said Black pushed a young woman against a wall and onto a bed, biting her neck and breast as she pleaded for him to stop. Black was sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to the reduced charge of assault and battery.

"I ain't have to come off no money," he later posted on his Twitter feed.

Black was sentenced to 46 months in prison on the falsifying documents charge, but former President Donald Trump pardoned the rapper on his final day in office, freeing him after he had served 10 months.

The tattooed, gold-grilled rapper has since sported Trump "Make American Great Again" and "45" paraphernalia, telling "Drink Champs" podcast hosts in October: "I (expletive) with that boy."

Black, best known for such songs as "No Flockin" and "Tunnel Vision," has been embraced by Florida Atlantic University's football program. The rapper hyped up the team with a locker room chant and has run onto the field with the players. He was honored by Powell during an FAU tailgate function before FAU's Nov. 11 game against East Carolina University.

The proclamation notes that Black "has stayed close to his community by improving the lives of West Palm Beach residents, despite rising to fame as an accomplished rapper."

Kodak Black was honored for these charitable acts, among others in West Palm Beach

• Supporting programs to address homelessness, hunger and juvenile crime.

• Paying the rent of 28 residents who were facing eviction.

• Distributing 100 air conditioning units to residents of his hometown.

• Paying for food, clothing and backpacks for homeless neighbors.

"Kodak Black remains focused on meeting the fundamental needs of the West Palm Beach community and is greatly appreciated," the proclamation states.

Richard Ryles: Rapper Kodak Black has 'yet to find his moral North Star'

For Ryles, however, Black's charitable acts don't erase the stain of his past criminal behavior.

"As an African-American, our community is well known for its forgiving nature and faith in redemption," Ryles wrote in an email to The Palm Beach Post. "As an African-American man, I do want to see a redeemed Bill Kapri in his future dealings. Nevertheless, his recent spate of arrests indicate that he has yet to find his moral North Star and may well be spinning out of control due to drug use. I believe that Senator Powell could have used the opportunity of meeting Mr. Kapri as a teaching moment by utilizing his experience as an upstanding African-American male and father to provide guidance rather than unwarranted accolades."

Ryles also noted that Powell honored a famous entertainer whose embrace of Trump could hurt their party's likely presidential nominee, President Joe Biden.

RELATED: As the GOP widens the gap, Democrats in Delray talk registering voters in an empty room

Recent polls have shown that Biden has lost some support among young and minority voters, critical constituencies for the president as he seeks re-election next year.

"As a leader within the Democratic Party, I would have thought that Senator Powell would have exercised greater caution than to allow photographs of he with Mr. Kapri outfitted in MAGA gear, head to toe," Ryles wrote. "Senator Powell’s decision by virtue of his position, as a state senator, in my opinion, validates Mr.  Kapri‘s, thereby further weakening the Democratic Party and the prospective presidential candidate for 2024 with the younger demographic."

Why Sen. Bobby Powell defends his proclamation honoring rapper Kodak Black

Powell, however, stands by the proclamation and his affiliation with the rapper.

"On (Nov. 11), we presented a proclamation to Kodak Black at Florida Atlantic University, and at that event he donated $10,000 to a VFW group," Powell wrote to The Post. "We acknowledged him for paying the rent of 28 families who were facing eviction from Merry Place in WPB. We acknowledged the 100 AC units that he secured for families facing sweltering heat in the summer at the Golden Acres Apartments and the more than $100,000 in charitable donations that he has given back to the community, including his sponsorship of charity basketball games such as the one last year at Dwyer High School. Furthermore, Kodak Black led the Florida Atlantic University Owls football team onto the field that very same day."

The state senator lamented that "the simple act of honoring Mr. Black has become a campaign issue for my opponent, who is doing his best to dismiss the good deed of a man like Mr. Black in order to highlight the troubles of his past."

RELATED: New poll from FAU shows Trump topping Biden in Florida despite disapproval ratings for both

Powell said he is not the first elected official to honor Black, noting that Broward County Commission Dale Holness honored the rapper in 2021 for donating $20,000 to the daughter of a police officer who faced complications from COVID-19.

"By Mr. Ryles’ elitist logic, a man is to be strictly judge by a single act, not the totality of his life," Powell wrote. "There is no forgiveness, no second chances, no redemption, just ongoing punishment, the kind that brought us an overpopulation of Black men in prison with no future and no hope."

Powell took exception to Ryles' argument that honoring Black boosts Trump and hurts Biden. The state senator noted Ryles' founding of a political group whose aim is to boost candidates of any party who commit to backing positions important to Black Floridians.

Ryles has said his goal is to make sure the Democratic Party does not take Black voters for granted, but Powell, a former chairman of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, said: "As the leader of a group, you don’t energize them by taking a knee and bowing out when it counts. We have to stand up and fight as the loyal opposition for the people we represent."

The complicated bedfellows of politics and celebrity

There has long been a nexus between politics and celebrity, as elected officials have brought attention to themselves by associating with others who are far better known — and, in some instances, far more popular.

That's been true for Republicans and Democrats, though there are risks, particularly in cases where the celebrity does or says something fans view as inappropriate or over the line.

Some Republicans, for example, were quick to embrace the rapper Ye, who wore MAGA gear and backed Trump. But when Ye's racist and anti-Semitic remarks brought condemnation, some of his Republican backers disavowed him.

Shantel Gabriel Buggs, an assistant professor of sociology and African American studies at Florida State University, said she understands and agrees with the notion that those who have been incarcerated should be given a second chance.

"I am committed to the belief that people should be given a chance at redemption," she said. "I don't necessarily disagree. If we're going to hold Kodak Black's history against him, there are a whole bunch of people sitting in government who should have their history held against them."

Still, Buggs argued, Black isn't the redemption hill she thinks anyone should be willing to die on at this point.

Buggs noted the details of the alleged sexual assault and his stated disdain for Black women with dark skin tones, who have long been marked for unflattering stereotypes.

"I love African American women, but I just don’t like my skin complexion," Black, whose skin is of a dark complexion, once said during a TV interview. "We too gutter. Light-skinned women more sensitive.”

Buggs said all of Black's words and actions should be taken into account in considering how to interact with him.

"I also think how, in legitimizing him with a proclamation, people might think you're legitimizing his actions and his views," she said. "Are you implicitly valorizing the harm that they've done? Is it minimizing violence against women?"

Buggs noted that, just as politicians have looked to embrace celebrities, they, in turn, haven't been shy about using splashy good works to counter negative coverage of their misdeeds.

In rap, misdeeds are often seen as evidence of a rapper being "hard" or "tough," setting the performer apart as an up-from-struggle success.

There are less well known, and perhaps more worthy, people to honor with a proclamation than Black, Buggs argued.

"I don't think we have evidence that his person or career have been hurt by these cases," she said.

Ryles agreed.

"Mr. Kapri's past misdeeds are well known and very public, and to provide a proclamation by honoring him for the charitable giving of turkeys, in my opinion, was more harmful than helpful to his potential redemption as a citizen," he wrote. "Mr. Kapri is a very talented local artist and deserves our prayers, encouragement and support to address his issues. At this time in his life, it appears Mr. Kapri needs a mentor ready to provide strong consistent leadership, not proclamations and youthful adulation."

Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rapper Kodak Black focal point of Palm Beach County commission race