During a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, podcast host Joe Rogan floated a theory connecting the defunding of USAID to the current state of popular music charts, specifically the apparent absence of rap and hip-hop from the top positions.
The conversation took a sharp detour from a discussion about government aid and foreign policy when Rogan brought up the work of analyst Mike Benz, a recurring guest on his show. According to Rogan, Benz has argued that USAID was not simply “the agency for international development,” but also played a role in funding subversive rap groups overseas that were intended to encourage populations to challenge their governments.
“It funds rebels. It funds newspapers. And there was a lot of it, like funding rap music,” Rogan said, describing Benz’s claims.
From there, the discussion shifted to a longstanding conspiracy theory that claims gangster rap was deliberately promoted by elements within U.S. intelligence agencies when it emerged in the 1980s.
Rogan explained that supporters of the theory believe certain government factions wanted “to create more cr*me, wanting to fill more private prisons, wanting to erode the fabric of society so they could push for more laws to keep you safer.”
He was quick to acknowledge how speculative the claim is, calling it “one of the most tinfoily of tinfoil hat conspiracies.” Still, he pointed to what some observers have described as an unusual moment in music, noting that rap has seemingly disappeared from the top of the charts.
“They’re saying, well, how does this coincide with USAID?” Rogan asked. “Was USAID actively promoting rap music? Was that one of the reasons why rap music was so popular?”
Rogan then joked that the theory sounded more believable before the rise of mumble rap.
“I believed that until I heard mumble rap,” he said, suggesting the genre’s decline into near-inaudibility felt less like artistic evolution and more like an effort to dull audiences.
Rogan played along with the joke.
“Imagine if everybody heard Nas and was like, this guy’s too smart,” he said. “We’ve got to dumb it down a little. We’ve got to promote some people that could barely talk. We’ve got to promote some people that are on cough syrup, apparently.”
