Hip-hop and the power hustle and bustle of St. Louis: Ferguson, Tef Poe and T-dubb-o borrowed a little from Kendrick Lamar a decade later to create a climate of urban political power.
Ten years ago, the body of 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr. was lying on Canfield Drive in the heat of Ferguson, Missouri for four hours. This moment will forever change the trajectory of Midwest cities and racial estimates in the United States. Ferguson’s “Upstein” was one of the early and important flash points of the Black Lives Matter movement. A new generation of political awakening organizers and artists emerged.
The distance between Ferguson and St. Louis is about 15 miles.
Tef Poe and T-Dubb-O are products of St. Louis natives and new sport, and are still lightning rods in the city’s latest battles. The recent mayoral race brings St. Louis into a new social and political civil war.
“This is probably the most controversial mayoral competition in St. Louis history,” said Tef Poe, a rap artist who regularly participates in Allhiphop. “For St. Louis, it’s a lesson about our power, narrative, and where our narrative and Ferguson uprising were ten years after Mike Brown Jr.’s death.”
At the heart of the 2025 Whirlpool is the city’s first black woman to serve as the office Mayor Tishaura Jones.
Her election, known as the city’s long-standing symbolic and strategic victory, was separated by race, class and power. For Poe explains the closed-end meeting between Jones and 50 “the most powerful black men in the city.”
“In this case, I chose the heart of politics,” he said. “Tishaura Jones is a black woman like my mother. She looks like one of my sisters.”
Jones’ opponent is the white Al-Fakara Spencer, an instantaneous community of black activists in St. Louis. Poe cites her alliance with corporate interests and law enforcement. All of this and more sparked fear of return policy. In particular, she supports a proposed bill to prohibit public critics from deeming racial bias.
“I was asked to object to this bill,” T-Dubb-O said, the only non-elected voice on the 2023 City Hall panel. “My comments made her look like she was a racist. In return, she sent me the police…my car was surrounded and my fellow countrymen were arrested.”
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Although no lawsuit was filed, the incident was gone. St. Louis’ hip-hop resistance is once again high in the face of hostility. Calling Cara Spencer’s office did not return immediately.
With Spencer’s campaign gaining traction, Poe abandoned “The Ghost of Ivory Perry,” an original track that invoked the spirit of the late civil rights leader. Perry has been fighting in the city for decades. This song provides the same radical energy as the 106 & Park Freestyle Friday Battle Rap champion.
“In my city, it’s my job to die on the cross with Black St. Louis,” Poe said. “We use hip-hop to attack mayoral candidates, just like Kendrick was in Drake.”
Comparison is not casual. Poe publicly borrowed Kendrick Lamar’s “TV” and “Don’t Like Us” instruments to inspire voters. Ultimately, only 18% of cities voted in the election.
“It’s a Kamikaz mission,” Poe admits. “But we fought. Despite the millions of dollars they’ve spent, they can never actually defeat the war es.”
In interviews and social media, POE and T-DUBB-O accused Spencer of “styling” the city’s black population. They provide advance optics oriented forward, but collaborate with historically marginalized black systems. When Spencer’s camp called police in response to Poe’s songs and immediately criminalized the protest.
“Now, I’m going to be in direct conflict with the system of raising awareness to my rap lyrics,” Poe said. The investigation eventually gave up, with Spencer’s earlier efforts to get law enforcement involved in the T-DUBB-O protests. Wild behavior, but without considering the current political environment.
“It’s not just an attack on black people,” Dub said. “But black women are in political power in particular.”
Jones eventually lost the bid for reelection, but the battle began again. Poe said it was an advantage of a battle. Both said the mission was and continues to be related to the legacy.
“After 100 years after history books, they would say that when the black woman mayor was attacked, hip-hop stood up.”
The consequences continue to unfold. Starting from the frontlines of Ferguson, fight for New St. Louis.
“We will never stop resisting tyranny and oppression,” Poe said. “Hip-hop is a weapon, and we prove it.”
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This is the overall statement of Tef Poe and T-Dubb-O.
Tef Poe.
This is probably the most controversial mayoral race in St. Louis history. For St. Louis, it’s a lesson about our power, our narrative, and our true situation – Mike Brown Jr.
Tishaura Jones is the first black woman mayor in our history, elected at the backbone of the community and the Black movement. I disagree with her on a few things, but ultimately, at the local level, black people deserve black leadership.
Her rivals work with several companies that deeply reflect the white power infrastructure we have been fighting in St. Louis. I grew up here so I know what the public lynching looks like, and that’s exactly what they were going to happen this time.
I organized a meeting between the mayor and the most powerful black people in 50 cities. We talk, meet, we reconcile. In this case, I chose my heart over politics. Tishaura Jones is a black woman like my mother. She looks like one of my sisters. She herself is a single mother, so I agree with part of her story.
After the meeting, the brothers gave me a green light. From there, I can continue to do whatever I need to do so in this case there is a chance for a fighter. In primary schools, only 18% of cities voted – many racist whites basically look on us.
Tishaura’s opponent is a white woman named Cara Spencer. Her campaign slogan might also be “Make St. Louis great again.” After we met, I said, we had to double the fact that Spencer was the enemy. In my opinion, she feels indulgent about using propaganda to manipulate the black community.
So I said, let’s go to war. I was nervous to do this because I knew we had to polarize the entire city – Kinder geographically put St. Louis in a social and political state of civil war.
You are either with us or not with us. Black St. Louis – They finally raised their stakes and came for us! If the mayor is going to fight, then we want to fight her. Disagreements with one side, understand that this is a direct political work.
The first track I released was produced by Hugo Bawse, titled “The Ghost of Ivory Perry”. I personally feel like this game is symbolic – whether we are entering the Hall of Fame as organizers of our city. Ivory Perry is a legendary St. Louis organizer who fought these forces throughout his life.
It’s an honor to name this song after him because it makes me feel like I briefly resurrected one of our ancestors to help us in the battle. But this is the song that initially triggered Spencer’s reaction. I’m a retired 106 & Park Freestyle Friday Battle rapper, so we know how to stir.
We know how to reshape the narrative. I said to myself, what if I used this same type of momentum to raise awareness and at least make Cara Spencer insult Cara Spencer to the Black Millennial voter community in St. Louis as much as possible? Some in our community think it’s sold. From the beginning it was a Kamikaze task…but in my city it was always my job to die on the cross with Black St. Louis.
So we use hip hop to attack mayoral candidates, just like Kendrick did at Drake. I chose my side, and that was Black St. Louis-worthy. The community replied: “Keep going” – so I keep moving forward.
On Sunday morning, my lawyer told me that I was under a public investigation and that I was closed soon after that in determining that my constitutional rights would take any action on several political rap songs in law enforcement. Now, I go from raising awareness to conflict directly with my lyrics.
I used Kendrick’s beats because they carried the energy I felt necessary for now. I doubled down, knowing that I ended up using this moment to tell my city – whatever that was going on, we struggled. Despite their millions of dollars, they can never actually defeat the war es. Tishaura Jones lost tonight, but we fought – 100 years after history books, they would say hip-hop stands up when the black woman mayor is attacked.
Needless to say, I was inspired – tupac, K. Dot, Nipsey. Overall, I know there are invisible consequences to doing something like this. Especially since Cara Spencer attracted police officers to participate. We broke the matrix of a weekend in Saint Louis and created a complete pandemonium pie in the city. If nothing else, it means the true power of our culture. Even if Tishaura Jones lost, we did our best to give her a glorious discharge in the eyes of our people.
We will never stop resisting tyranny and oppression. Hip-hop is a weapon and we prove that it can use our perspective nonviolently. People have never said something like this before: Rap battles with future mayors are used to boost politics throughout the city.
t-dubb-o.
This began in 2023.
Some Al-Friends asked me to speak at the City Hall and testify against a bill proposed by Cara Spencer that would prohibit the opening of state rights to carry in the City of St. Louis.
I am the only one who is not elected because of my knowledge of Second Amendment rights and I understand that limiting these rights will not reduce crime. My remarks make her look like she is her racist. In return, she sent me the police. She claimed she was threatened by me. My car was surrounded by police and my relatives and I were arrested. We let go three hours later.
That night, I was supposed to perform with DJ Trackstar and Poe at the Art Museum. But after being imprisoned, I was not in a mood. Kara appears again in search of me – police.
Fast forward, she announced the mayoral campaign. The lady had a major gentrification intention and had no real plans for black citizens. Poe gave up on the record and she pulled the same “crying wolf” behavior. Called Chief Poe, but our lawyers started as soon as possible and killed the investigation before they killed him like me.
This is not just an attack on black people, but an attack on black women’s position on political power. So we decided to link and take this S ### a notch. This is something hip-hop should do at these moments–leading accusations better than the two hosts who have led it over the past decade?
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