Michael Bloomberg has Bono. Bill Thompson has Andre Harrell, and soon, the “hip-hop party.”
Thompson’s campaign has paid $30,000 since August to Harrell Entertainment, the company founded by hip-hop mogul Andre Harrell.
Harrell, in my book, is best known for giving a start to, and then firing, an up and coming producer named Sean Combs, aka P. Diddy. (It’s not unlike Salomon Brothers firing a 31-year old in their tech division who ended up doing pretty well on his own.)
A Thompson campaign spokeswoman emailed to say “Andre is a consultant for the campaign focused on youth constituency outreach.”
And Harrell is not alone in that effort.
Yesterday, among the people representing public housing residents who were endorsing Thompson was 24-year-old Omar McCray of the Bronx. McCray said he was the president of the Bronx chapter of the Hip-Hop Party’s Bronx chapter, who were coming out next Monday to support Thompson.
“We know that Bill Thompson will do a great job,” McCray said. “Artists and executives and organizations that I represent will hold a press conference to make an official announcement in regards to the Hip-Hop Party.”
McCray declined to elaborate on the group after the event.
I knew this guy couldn’t be the only one.
