Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr., D-N.J., has launched a new radio show, created to find connections between hip-hop and government, and for his first show he welcomed Congressional Black Caucus chairman G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., and discussed a range of political issues.  

The “Payne Report” airs on WRNU Rutgers Radio in Newark, N.J. Payne started the inaugural show on Feb. 5 with a simple, “10th District, what’s up?” and played Jay-Z’s “Streets is Watching” to kick things off.  

Payne said back in 2005, when he decided to run for councilman in Newark, N.J., people saw him as the second generation. He is the son of the late Rep. Donald M. Payne, who served in Congress from 1989 to 2012. The younger Payne succeeded him.  

This song epitomized what he was going through in his first campaign, he said on the show. He read the lyrics, “If I shoot you, I’m brainless. But, if you shoot me, then you’re famous,” adding that he played it every morning when he got in the car during his campaign.  

Payne and Butterfield discussed President Barack Obama’s last State of the Union address. “To sit there and to see an African American president deliver the State of the Union is beyond words,” Butterfield said.  

Payne told Butterfield that “young folks” considered that State of the Union as Obama’s “mic drop moment” and asked Butterfield about his interactions with “our leader,” the president.  

“President Obama has not been a perfect president, there have been times that we’ve disagreed with pieces and bits of his policies. But overall, he has been our guy,” Butterfield said.  

Adding that blacks “have a lot of influence within the Democratic Party,” Butterfield said he was supporting Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination and predicted Donald Trump would snag the GOP nod.  

Before Butterfield’s segment, Payne mentioned the GOP candidate himself. “Donald Trump is probably one of the most sensitive people that I’ve ever seen that wants to go into public office,” he said. “First of all, he doesn’t understand what it takes, which is why he’s acting and responding in the manner that he is.”  

The congressman will appear on a monthly basis and his next show is on March 4.  

According to Payne’s office, they are working on Black Thought, from the band The Roots, to be on the next show.  

Contact Gangitano at AlexGangitano@cqrollcall.com and follow her on Twitter at @AlexGangitano.

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