Donald Trump hung out with Philly rapper OT7 Quanny over the weekend

Former President Donald Trump had a Philly rapper donning a “Make America Great Again” hat in his entourage Saturday while he campaigned in the city.

OT7 Quanny, who earlier this month performed at the Roots Picnic, tagged along with the Republican presidential candidate during a surprise stop at Tony & Nick’s Steaks in South Philadelphia, posted photos of himself on Trump’s private plane, and got a shoutout during the rally at the Liacouras Center on Temple University’s campus.

“We have a Philly rapper, he’s going places, I’ll tell you,” Trump said during his remarks. “He has so much cash, he doesn’t know what to do with it. OT7 Quanny … And I love that [MAGA] hat on you. That hat looks great.”

Trump has courted other rappers to endorse him and to serve as campaign surrogates. Casada Sorrell, known as Sada Baby, joined the former president onstage during a campaign event in Detroit two weeks ago. And drill rappers Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow — both under indictment in a gang case — appeared with him during a rally in the Bronx, N.Y., last month.

» READ MORE: Trump rallies in North Philly as he tries to win over voters in Pennsylvania’s bluest big city

A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign told NBC News last week that his appeal with rappers is “completely organic.”

“While Joe Biden gaslights Black voters with nonsense ads, empty promises, and unrelatable messaging, President Trump is showing up in these communities and listening to the leaders within them, including rappers, pastors, and business leaders,” said Janiyah Thomas, the campaign’s Black media director.

Trump is making a concerted effort to expand his appeal with Black voters, who have traditionally backed Democrats. Polls show that he has made inroads with Black men in particular compared to when he ran for president in 2020 — but President Joe Biden still leads with the demographic.

The former president’s rally at the Liacouras Center was the first time he ever held one of signature events within Philadelphia city limits.

Earlier this month, his campaign held a “cigars and cognac” event aimed at engaging Black voters. Trump’s surrogate, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R., Fla.), came under fire after the event for comments he made about the Jim Crow era of racial segregation.

Biden’s team has described Trump’s courting of Black voters as inauthentic.

During a news conference organized by the president’s campaign Saturday, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat whose district includes Temple, said Trump fueled the “birtherism” conspiracy theory about former President Barack Obama, then “spent his entire presidency trying to … undermine the security that Black working families depended on.”

”This is about Donald Trump thumbing his nose at Black and brown communities and about him believing that Black people are somehow dumb,” Kenyatta said, “like we don’t remember his record.”

Inquirer staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.