Vince Gray Gets a Diss Track

Adrian Fenty loyalist Ron Moten has finally released his long-awaited Vince Gray diss track ahead of next week’s Democratic mayoral primary, and the music video is a worthy follow-up to Moten’s 2010’s earworm, “Don’t Leave Us Fenty.”

The video for Moten’s new song, “Moving Forward,” opens with a re-enactment of an alleged August 2010 meeting between Gray and businessman Jeffrey Thompson during which prosecutors say Gray asked Thompson to cut a big check for get-out-the-vote operations. (In the video, the actor playing Gray asks for the entire $668,800 Thompson admitted to spending, although according to the real Thompson’s guilty plea, Gray allegedly presented a $425,000 budget.)

The intro finishes with the actor playing Thompson asking Gray—“Slim Grady,” as a sign in the background reads—to call him “Uncle Earl” in a reference to the code name that the real Gray and others used to mask Thompson’s support. Pseudo-Thompson also slips on one of the “Uncle Earl”-branded caps Moten has been selling recently.

Like “Don’t Leave Us Fenty,” Moten’s new song is performed by Weensey, of the go-go group Backyard Band, and uses a beat lifted from Blackstreet’s 1996 single “Don’t Leave Me.”

Moten has been dogging Gray for four years, and the lyrics of “Moving Forward” hammer the mayor for his ethical scandals. But not mentioned is the Gray administration’s lawsuit against Moten claiming that his anti-violence group Peaceoholics received city grants based on falsified tax documents. Moten also leaves out any mention of Muriel Bowser, who he’s been supporting in the mayoral election.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.