Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security Turns LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” Into Government Propaganda

LL Cool J’s Grammy-winning knockout blow just got a sinister remix — courtesy of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In the latest example of the administration hijacking artists’ music for political theater, federal agents used LL’s 1990 classic “Mama Said Knock You Out” to score footage of U.S. forces storming a Venezuelan oil tanker at sea.

The 45-second clip — posted by the Department of Homeland Security — shows agents rappelling from helicopters onto the massive vessel as the song’s iconic drums blast beneath bold text reading KNOCKOUT. DHS doubled down in the caption:
“If you threaten America’s national security, we will find you.”

KNOCKOUT.

If you threaten our nation, or break the law, there is no place on land or sea where we won’t find you.

Thank you to the brave service members from @USCG, @ICEGOV, @FBI, @DeptofWar, and @TheJusticeDept. pic.twitter.com/KUCRjES267

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 11, 2025

The operation, involving Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Defense, resulted in the largest ship seizure in U.S. history, according to President Trump. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker had been tied to an “illicit oil network” allegedly linking Venezuela and Iran.

But the government’s enthusiasm for Hip-Hop as a soundtrack to militarized spectacles is raising alarms — and LL Cool J is just the latest unwilling participant.

“Mama Said Knock You Out” was born out of LL’s fight to reclaim his artistry after critics trashed his 1989 album. Following advice from his grandmother — “Baby, just knock them out” — LL reloaded, teaming with Marley Marl for a fierce rebirth that earned him a Grammy and cemented one of the most defiant lines in rap history:
“Don’t call it a comeback. I been here for years.”

Now those same lyrics are being used to dramatize federal enforcement.

The video continues a troubling trend in Trump’s second term: the administration aggressively co-opting popular music to hype up immigration raids, arrests, and military-style operations — almost always without the artist’s consent.

Just this month:

• Sabrina Carpenter condemned the White House’s use of her song “Juno,” calling the move “evil and disgusting.”

• SZA blasted officials for “rage baiting artists for free promo” after they paired her “Big Boys” skit with ICE arrest footage.

• The administration has also used tracks from Olivia Rodrigo and Usher, deleting the clips only after public backlash.

For now, LL Cool J hasn’t commented — but the pattern is clear. The Trump administration is increasingly using artists’ cultural capital to sell aggressive enforcement narratives, even when those artists want no part of it.

And Hip-Hop, once again, is being used as a tool for someone else’s agenda.