Illustration by xnideax
In his weekly column, rapper John Brown—the self-proclaimed "King Of Da Burbz"—will be offering his insight into politics and current events to the Complex readers. Check out "Politickin With John Brown" every Thursday.
Although Obama received enormous support as a candidate, there have always been skeptics from all political sides who question who he truly represents. Now that he's officially running shit, there's been growing chatter that he is in fact a member of the infamous "Illuminati."
What exactly is this murky secret society, casually mentioned by baked college students, self-educated street sages and Ted Kaczynski sympathizers? In brief, this behind-the-scenes clique is apparently filled with government and corporate puppet-masters, intent on manipulating elections and controlling the media as a way to enact the "New World Order". Sounds pretty lame, right? Well I tried to ignore the choir of criticism, but it keeps reappearing in public dialogue. So it's only fair to review some of these more high-profile accusations against the Pres...
#5: OBAMA FLASHES THE "SATAN SIGNAL"
• In quite possibly the most absurd—yet most circulated—form of evidence, various forums and websites have zeroed in on Obama throwing up the "Satan Signal". The extensive archive of other suspected Illuminati members flashing the same sign is used as evidence to link Barack to their cruel organization. For me, it merely dilutes the significance of this particular hand gesture and portrays these theorists as fringe crackpots.
#4: OBAMA BOWS TO SAUDI KING
• Many commentators, journalists and conspiracy theorists were aghast at Obama's diplomatic chess game on his recent trip abroad. Nothing seemed to stir critics up more than his deep bow to Saudi King Abdullah. At the least it was an act of embarrassing subservience unprecedented for a sitting American President. At the worst, it was further proof that the lanky kid from Oahu was really an agent of evil—eager to show his loyalty to draconian monarchs.
#3: PRODIGY ACCUSES JAY-Z OF BEING AN ILLUMINATI SYMPATHIZER
• On Halloween of last year, URB magazine posted a letter sent by Prodigy that accused "J.Z." of being an accomplice to the Illuminati by cozying up to members of the sinister elite. So is Obama guilty by association? His public alignment with Jay-Z was highlighted when he figuratively brushed the dirt of his shoulders during the campaign. It's deeper than rap.
#2: LORD JAMAR SPARKS THE OBAMA ILLUMINATI DEBATE ON TWITTER
• Now Lord Jamar and I have a well-documented history of philosophical differences. So I was curious when he informed his twitter followers about a controversial documentary making rounds on the web called "The Obama Deception". Agree or disagree, it's fairly interesting to watch (see it here).
#1: KRS-ONE FREESTYLES ABOUT OBAMA'S ILLUMINATI TIES
• It's the Commander-in-Chief vs. The Teacher and the blast-master definitely got bars for Barack. Here he goes off the dome to offer his opinion of Obama and how public opinion is manipulated. Hip Hop History at its finest.
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Ra the Sun God April 9th, 2009 at 05:44 PM
I wander why a president would want to throw that sign up anyhow. (The Satan SIgn) that is pretty wierd if you think about it. Why in the hell would they want to do that, do they think it is cool or something, or does it actually represent some kind of secret society we don't know about?
KC April 10th, 2009 at 03:09 PM
Are you kidding me? That "sign of satan" that everyone online throws around are pictures of obama as well as bush at the University Of Texas in Austin...it's their "hook-em horns" sign!!! I firmly believe in much of Alex Jones theories, but, let's keep facts, facts...don't take one picture and "assume" it is satanic!!!! Keep your facts real!! Then perhaps people like Alex Jones and others may be taken seriously...it's just like the "executive orders" about government takeovers that many webites show...most of those orders go clear back to the '60's and if you research them thru govt archives, you'll find most were revoked! Just get your facts straight!!
Easter Bunny April 9th, 2009 at 06:33 PM
Its clearly an easter bunny sign. In Asia, that the sign of the wolf, in Italy, its to ward off the evil eye which might why Italian-Americans like Ronnie Dio and Frank Zappa flashed it so much. If you are a Republican Evangelical with money, its the Sign of Molech.
LetsStayGrounded April 9th, 2009 at 07:27 PM
Whether there is Illuminati or not doesn't matter. It is all too clear however that Obama is just another tool of the ruling establishment. Look at all of his appointments who are key members of the globalist think tanks and organizations like the Bilderberg Group, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission. These are the organizations that direct public policy and are comprised of financial elites and royalty. Look at everything Obama has done so far. Just a continuation of Bush's same extra-Constiutional, unilateral executive policies. Who have the bailouts favored? The bankers - the same financial elite that funded Obama's campaign. Obama has covered Bush's ass on every level. When I think of a great black leader it is not Obama that I think of. He is simply a white establishment stooge in black face - Illuminati or not.
xiuox April 10th, 2009 at 12:44 PM
if y'all on twitter folow @hankshocklee he's dropping jewels
mrG April 10th, 2009 at 01:04 PM
Barack is from Hawaii (kinda) -- isn't that also a surfer sign? HOLY MOLY a SURFER CONSPIRACY!!! What I find most interesting of all is why no one is asking any questions about Alex Jones and the interests that HE represents. Wikipedia has quite a dossier on him. Second to that, it is disturbingly interesting how 177,000 websites immediately jumped in, all at the same time, to post the identical word-for-word verbatim "critical acclaim" press-release 'review' without citing its source, and then literally millions of blogs immediately threw their endorsement behind every detail of the film. Yes, there is an infowar, but it appears to be staged not by the Illuminati, but by the organization behind Jones.
KAY SERA SERA April 10th, 2009 at 02:00 PM
GREAT BLOG BROWN I THOUGHT YOU BROKE IT DOWN WELL. FOR YEARS THE MYTH OF ILLUMINATI HAS DISTRACTED US FROM REALIZING THAT THE POWERS THAT BE ARE NOT INVISIBLE AND ARE ACTUALLY STEALING FROM US RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. BARACK DOESNT NEED TO BE IN A VAGUE ILLUMINATI FOR HIM TO BE SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. HE ALREADY IS ON FULL DISPLAY DOING THAT!!!!BY GIVING UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNTS OF CASH TO THESE CROOKS. THEY SHOULD BE IN JAIL. FREE PRODIGY!!!!!!
nancy April 14th, 2009 at 12:41 AM
Come-on! The sign is "I Love You" in American sign language. End of story.
rich April 14th, 2009 at 01:20 AM
Helen Keller invented the I LOVE YOU sign and she was also an illuminati. look it up
James April 15th, 2009 at 05:04 PM
What KRS 1 says has some truth and he has a lot of passion, but he's just not informed enough. Especially the last part about the economy and the federal reserve. It sounded to me like he really does have a grasp on the fed's role in the economy and how government behavior and policy affects the economy.
tre May 10th, 2010 at 10:13 PM
If Obama is illuminati; fuck it I am too! Fuck Bush!!! You guys should read more.
BRI September 30th, 2010 at 04:58 PM
There are ways for presidents and prominent figures in the government to show their appreciation without it being inappropriate. That sign is just one of them. Many other people use it, too. I used to do it when waving good-bye to my grandmother. I am pretty certain I do not associate myself with Satan in any way. I agree with KC. Bring me the proof of all these conspiracies before throwing around wild accusations.