Common’s performance at the White House stirs up controversy

It's no secret that President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are fans of hip hop and rap music. Just recently Michelle Obama danced the Dougie for her Let's Move initiative.

It was recently announced that rapper Common would be one of the performers at the celebration honoring American poetry Wednesday at the White House. He will join Jill Scott, Elizabeth Alexander and Alison Knowles for the poetry-inspired day.

The event will be hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama, and it will include a number of workshops for students. Common will participate in the workshops before performing in the evening.

The news that Common will be performing at the White House has caused some controversy among right-wing political websites. They are calling Common a gangster rapper and accusing him of only rapping about violence.

Fox News Nation called Common vile. The website uses his poem A Letter to the Law as an example of this. They cite lyrics about communities stuck in poverty and police brutality as it relates to America's political system. In the poem, Common, whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn, also takes stabs at former President George W. Bush and the war in the Middle East.

Common posted a response via his Twitter account.

So Sarah Palin and Fox News doesn't like me, he tweeted to CNN political analyst Roland Martin.