Afroman Is Officially Running for President

The 48-year-old rapper (whose given name is Joseph Foreman) initially shared his intentions of running for office in December during a concert in Missouri, posting the clip to Instagram with the following caption: “I’m running for president of the United States of America vote for Joseph afroman, foreman recreational cannabis in all 50 states mandatory body cameras on all police officers or no paycheck.”

Afroman's initial message sounded pretty good. “There comes a time in the course of human events when change must be affected. That time is now. Americans are suffering, and the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Jason Savage, his campaign manager, wrote on Instagram the following day. “It is my immense honor and pleasure to formally announce Afroman as an independent candidate for President of the United States of America.”

On April 21, the Grammy-nominated rapper submitted the paperwork required to run for the 2024 election as an Independent candidate to the Federal Elections Commission, officially entering the race. According to documents obtained by TMZ, his presidential committee is named "Joseph Afroman Foreman for President.”

Related | Marianne Williamson Teases 'Important Announcement' in March

“Afroman’s ongoing persecution by the overtly corrupt Adams County Sheriff’s Department perfectly highlights that this corruption of leadership has trickled down to law enforcement all across the country,” Savage told TMZ after the announcement. In August of 2021, police raided Afroman’s house on suspicion of drug trafficking and kidnapping, though they found no evidence and didn’t charge him. In response, Afroman released a song and music video about the raid, which includes surveillance footage that his wife took of the incident. Some of the Ohio police officers involved are suing Afroman, and the ACLU recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of the rapper.

“Criminal Justice Reform and Federal Marijuana Legalization remain two of the primary planks in his campaign platform,” continued Savage. "We are asking for your support as Afroman takes on this great and worthy cause as our Cannabis Commander in Chief.”

While it is clear Afroman will be focusing on reforming law enforcement and the national legalization of cannabis, it remains unclear where he stands on any other matters, though I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

Photo via Getty/ Gregg DeGuire