Tom Steyer danced on stage to a live performance of the rap song “Back That Azz Up” during a campaign rally held for the Democratic presidential hopeful Friday night in South Carolina.
Mr. Steyer, a businessman seeking to unseat President Trump, joined hip-hop artist Juvenile on stage during a rendition of the latter’s suggestive 1999 hit single.
Video of Mr. Steyer awkwardly dancing to the song while dressed in a white button-down shirt and trademark red plaid tie was viewed more than a million times by Saturday morning.
“We were having a rally, and I was having a good time,” Mr. Steyer explained during an interview on MSNBC afterward.
“I know that seems strange in American politics that someone could relax and have a good time, but that’s all that you’re seeing, and actually it was a lot of fun,” he said.
Juvenile — real name Terius Gray — performed the tune during a rally held by the Steyer campaign at Allen University, a historically black college in Columbia, S.C.
Released as a radio single in early 1999 under the edited title “Back That Thang Up,” the song ultimately claimed the second place position that September on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Friday’s performance took place in a “half-empty gym,” BuzzFeed News reported from the scene, on the eve of South Carolina holding the state’s Democratic presidential primary.
Other entertainers who performed at the event included gospel singer Yolanda Adams and DJ Jazzy Jeff — the latter best known for his work with Will Smith decades earlier.
Polling released this week by Emerson College and Monmouth University each ranked Mr. Steyer in third place in South Carolina among fellow Democratic presidential candidates. Those same polls placed former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and Sen. Bernard Sanders in first and second place, respectively.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.