The rapper Common wants to take hip-hop in a new direction, he says, and he has an unsuspecting ally — President-elect Barack Obama.
 
Common says he was looking for a new sound on his eighth album, “Universal Mind Control.”

“I really do believe we as hip-hop artists pick up what’s going on in the world and try to reflect that,” he told CNN, outlining his belief that mainstream as well as so-called “conscious” rappers — the more socially aware — will pick up on what he sees as the more optimistic prospects of an Obama presidency.

“I think hip-hop artists will have no choice but to talk about different things and more positive things, and try to bring a brighter side to that because, even before Barack, I think people had been tired of hearing the same thing,” he said.

Likewise, “Universal Mind Control,” with its hook-heavy, synthed-out tracks, represents a “broadening” of hip-hop’s audience — one that demands evolution rather than hackneyed revamps of old beats, rhythms and rhymes, Common said. 

Not that Common, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., is altogether removed from the temptations of his hip-hop brethren.

He serves as a spokesman for Lincoln Navigator and purports on his new album to “rebel in YSL,” a reference to designer Yves Saint Laurent. Money is also a weakness, as Common — No. 14 on Forbes magazine’s 2008 list of richest rappers — regularly invokes the greenbacks he makes and spends.

Still, Common has come at hip-hop from a different angle from many of his colleagues. He was generally considered “underground” until he linked up with Kanye West, who produced his albums “Be” (2005) and “Finding Forever” (2007).

Even now, while paying homage at mainstream hip-hop’s altar, the Chicago-born lyricist also enters parishes where most rappers wouldn’t be seen. He’s helped front movements for HIV/AIDS awareness and vegetarianism, and he’s written two children’s books emphasizing the importance of self-esteem.

Lyrically, violence has never been his thing; soft-drug use has been mentioned but rarely glamorized; he removed homophobic references from his lyrics years ago; and while there have been hints of misogyny and the occasional N-word in his verses, neither has been a staple of his rhymes.

“I’ve always been conscious, honestly,” he said. “I made a choice on this album, ‘Universal Mind Control,’ to really make some music that was bright, that would be a little more lighthearted, just because of what was going on in the world.”

With a few exceptions, his latest lyrics are consummate Common. In his beat poet’s cadence, the 36-year-old rhymesmith aggressively courts the ladies, personifies hip-hop, aggrandizes himself and his hometown (lovingly, “the Chi”), and respectfully doles out props to hip-hop’s forefathers — most notably to Afrika Bambaataa on the album’s title track. 

The album’s sound, however, is atypical, moving — sometimes jerkily — from club-banger to anthem to ballad to Top 40. The latter even runs counter to the opening verse of “Everywhere”: “No pop, no pop, no pop, no pop/We gonna do this thing till the sky just drop.”

But the sound is part of “a whole new sound and a new movement” in hip-hop, something he explored out of disdain for repetition and predictability, he said. That might explain Kanye West’s relative absence on “Universal Mind Control.”

The Louis Vuitton don appears on only one track, the pop-drenched “Punch Drunk Love.” But West has long been credited, even by Common, with bringing his fellow Chicagoan to the mainstream after “Be” and “Finding Forever” went gold and leapt up the Billboard 200.

Of course, it’s not all Kanye, said Common.

“I’m a true believer that it all boils down to the music, because Kanye can endorse something, and if people don’t like it they ain’t gonna get with it — regardless of whoever endorses it,” he said.

He compared his working relationship with West to the collaboration he enjoyed with The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams on “Universal Mind Control.” Williams, whom Common casually likened to Quincy Jones, pushed him lyrically, much like West did, he said.

Between Williams and Mr. DJ — who composed backbeats for some of OutKast’s biggest hits — Common arrived at the evolution he sought, he added.

Common also is plotting a change, or at least a detour, in his career path. Though his past cinematic endeavors have been primarily gangster flicks, Common has landed a role in the upcoming “Terminator Salvation” and could play Green Lantern in “Justice League: Mortal” should the derailed movie get back on track.

“I would truly love to go increasingly in the acting direction,” he said. “My goal is to be a movie star. I want to be at Will Smith’s level. I want to be co-leading with Leonardo DiCaprio.”

Fear not, Common fans. The aspiring thespian is confident he can pull off both, though hip-hop might ride sidecar to the silver screen. Acting, he said, seems to improve his music.

“I don’t take as much time overthinking it. Actually, since ‘Be’ I’ve been working on films and each album has been expanding and increasing, so I feel like I would still make music, but it wouldn’t be the main gig,” he said.

Selling albums, Common said, is about more than good music, and though he stands proudly by the music he made pre-West, he concedes he didn’t do enough to claw his way up from the underground.

“After you make good, quality music, then it’s your job to go out there and promote it and to market it and to get it out there to the people. I feel like I wasn’t doing that early on,” he said. “Now I am, and I feel like I’m growing as a songwriter and working with producers that are very incredible, so I feel all that is contributing to me getting the recognition that I’m getting.”

So Barack Obama is feeling like a pimp?

Online at "The Root," a Washington Post website for African-Americans, Obama supporter and Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell was sky-high. "Like every other hip-hop generation voter in America I went crazy when he did it," she wrote. "I almost couldn’t believe it. It was a perfect moment."

Harris-Lacewell read that moment as a sign of racial swagger and solidarity with "his base of young urban brown and black voters," and they loved it. "He displayed all the familiar self-assurance and bravado of the hip-hop emcee. The people who got it went nuts, while those who don’t know hip-hop just thought he was being funny and confident."

The video went viral and became a YouTube sensation.

What is it about this music that drove Obama to emulate it, and drove the Princeton professor crazy in the process? This Jay-Z song boasts about a "middle finger to the law." Harris-Lacewell touted that Obama would like the song "99 Problems," which has an entire verse about being racially profiled by the "mother f—-ing law" for "doing 55 in a 54." Jay-Z also tells critics to kiss his whole (rectum).

Sen. Obama claims to be a fan of Jay-Z and Kanye West, but he knows that he has to distance himself a little from the lyrical lows of this "art." He’s been gently critical in interviews. "I love the art of hip hop. I don’t always love the message of hip hop," he said. Even with the rappers he loves, "There’s a message that is not only sometimes degrading to women; not only uses the N-word a little too frequently; but also something I’m really concerned about, it’s always talking about material things."

"A little too frequently?" This is like saying a tsunami’s a little too wet.

Obama should take a look at a new report from the Parents Television Council about three popular rap-music programs that air in the afternoon or early evening — "Sucker Free" on MTV and "Rap City" and "106 & Park" on Black Entertainment Television for two weeks in December and a week in March.

In 41 and a half hours studied, analysts found 282 uses of the N-word. Is that "a little too frequently," too?

A little too much degrading of women? In those same hours, there were 143 uses of the B-word to describe women.

A little too much focus on material things? Here, Obama is gliding by the question of what material things are acquired. The rap shows included 205 depictions or discussions of drug sale or use and other illegal activity during the study period, for an average of 7.5 instances per hour, or roughly one instance every eight minutes.

Obama did not discuss the heavily sexualized world of rap in his answer. Sexually explicit scenes or lyrical references on these shows appeared 27 times an hour in December and 40 times an hour in March. No one could miss that drumbeat.

In just one week of programming — 14 hours in March — PTC analysts found 1,342 instances of offensive/adult content, or 95.8 instances per hour, or one instance of adult content every 38 seconds.

Who is being influenced by these messages? During the two-week December 2007 study period, children under 18 made up roughly 40 percent of the audience for these three BET and MTV rap programs. Because all of these programs re-air throughout the day, study results underestimate the percentage of unique children who are exposed to this flood of sexually explicit and violent and crime-glamorizing rapper swagger.

A year ago, Obama made an obvious point when he said Don Imus was fired by NBC for using degrading words that are all over rap radio, but rap mogul Russell Simmons cried foul: "What we need to reform is the conditions that create these lyrics. Obama needs to reform the conditions of poverty."

That is, of course, ludicrous. Poverty doesn’t "cause" violent gangsta rap any more than road rage is caused by Toyota. These messages are vile and contemptible, and black leaders like former Gov. Doug Wilder and Bill Cosby are true heroes for saying so, while suffering the inevitable blowback.

And Barack Obama is dusting off his shoulders to the applause of the crowd.

Food for thought.

L. Brent Bozell III is the president of the Media Research Center. To find out more about Brent Bozell III, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

The song’s chorus requests that the "Commander in Chief" bring our troops home. Its verses tell the story of three people intimately involved with the Iraq war – a child whose mother is on active duty, a soldier fighting in Iraq and a grandmother concerned about her grandson’s interest in enlistment after having lost her son in the Gulf War. Throughout the song, the repeated cry is, "We’re just looking for peace Mr./Ms. President."

The song’s feature artist, Nex Millen, says, "We believe that hip hop culture has a voice in the Pennsylvania primary, other primaries and caucuses and in the general election. The song is an expression of the will of a majority of Americans, and I consider myself the ‘Hip Hop Super delegate.’"

"Music has always been an important aspect of American culture and a means of political expression. ‘Troop Song’ goes beyond mere politics and gets to the heart of the issues facing our troops, their families and our country-at-large," said Marci Krufka, the single’s Executive Producer.

"Troop Song (Cause Unknown)" is available for purchase via Itunes, cdbaby and other distribution outlets. A free stream of the song is available on www.myspace.com/troopsong . Free mp3 files of the song are available for download to the press upon request.

Respect The Culture released the following statement regarding Troop Song: "We support our troops in Iraq and throughout the world and thank them for their hard work, dedication and service as they preserve, protect and defend the United States. But after five years, the time to end the war is long overdue. For the sake of the troops, their families and friends, and the future of our country, we ask the President and Presidential candidates to please, ‘Bring Our Troops Home.’ Our country is at war. We can’t continue to ignore that our troops risk their lives every day. Nearly 4,000 U.S. troops have died and tens of thousands have been injured – not to mention all of the personal sacrifices that our military and their families have made for the sake of freedom. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have perished and continue to live with the repercussions of war daily. Yet our network news broadcasts begin nightly with politics and Hollywood antics, while updating us on the war in their last story, if at all, almost as an afterthought. Our cable news features political debates, celebrity interviews, financial news and sensational stories that get ratings. Most of us believe the war should end and our troops should come home as soon as possible."

Nex Millen/Retrospective is a Philadelphia-born hip hop artist, producer and DJ. He was a co-founder of Camden, New Jersey-based Breakbread Projects and a member the critically-acclaimed group Nuthouse. Millen has performed across the United States and throughout Europe and was the Music Coordinator for the Digable Planets 2005 Reunion Tour UK.  Formerly an engineer with Sony Studios (New York) and Sigma Sound Studios (Philadelphia) and Artist Development Representative for EMI/Capitol, he has released several recordings as an artist with former groups, produced numerous singles, albums and mix tapes for other artists and was the Music Supervisor for the very successful And1 B-ball mix tapes.

Poesh Wonder is a New Jersey-born hip hop artist. He has two solo albums, "Like This," and the recent release, "No You Haven’t And You Never Will Again (The Motion Picture). His current single, "Selectah" (El Chavo/Juno Records UK) was a featured release on Itunes Hip Hop. Poesh Wonder has made guest appearances numerous recordings including "Breakbread Radio," "Balance is Back," and "Almost Famous." His work has resulted in worldwide acclaim, resulting in featured appearances on "Historias De Q," the latest CD of Spanish hip hop phenom Quiroga and starring with Quiroga in the video for "Wah/Fuego en tu Interior."

"taragirl" is a Philadelphia-based soul artist. She has shared the stage with legendary artists, including Chaka Khan, Angie Stone, Jill Scott, Chrisette Michele, the Brand New Heavies, and Amy Winehouse. Her album, "The 26th Power," produced by Simon Illa, is currently available on Itunes.

Respect the Culture LLC is a Philadelphia-based record label and multimedia company – globalizing hip hop culture through music, fashion and art.

For more information contact Marci Krufka at Respect the Culture at 610-550-9705 or marci@respecttheculture.com  or see www.respecttheculture.com .

“You’re  like a hip hop song, you know?” Remember that famous line uttered by hip hop pioneers, A Tribe Called Quest, to describe the infamous Bonita Applebaum and how enamoring she was? They chose to compare her to hip hop because that was the best way they could describe her completeness; perfect in every way. Like a tight verse over a hot beat.

I would say Barack Obama is much like the diluted, hybrid version of hip hop today. But for those of us from the Northeast, myself included, who appreciate the real hip hop of old, we understand the importance of lyrical genius.  It wasn’t just about the beat or the hook. It was about the lyrics, the substance of the song. 

Popular music of today is a hollow shell of what it once was when lyrical content actually meant something. Nowadays, all you need is thumping bass and a simple, oftentimes ridiculous, hook and you are guaranteed a platinum album.

Let’s take that wildly popular, overplayed ad nauseum, crossover mega hit, by Soulja  Boy, “Crank Dat.” We all know it. We’ve all seen the dance that goes with it. Black and white, young and old, in the club or at a sporting event, we’ve seen people singing along and doing the Superman dance. Now, has anyone really taken the time to actually listen to the words of the song? It was even nominated for a Grammy, the highest honor in music. I guess that is supposed to give this nonsense legitimacy.

Socially corrosive and ignorant songs like Soulja Boy’s represent everything that’s wrong with music today. But it spread like wildfire. Similar to how Obama’s rhetoric represents everything that’s wrong with liberalism and big government. But the masses love him, even though many of his supporters, and some surrogates, cannot name a substantive reason why. 

That is what we have in Barack Obama. Some would say he’s all rhetoric. Eloquent speeches but no solutions. But just like that current favorite song you’re blasting in your car, you know the beat and the hook, but have you really listened to the content? Do you know what you’re singing along too? Or what you’re allowing your children to sing along to?

Sen. Obama’s real policy positions and plans for America are masqueraded by his hypnotic rhetoric. He has managed to serenade the electorate, and most of the mainstream media into a trance with his charismatic speeches and witty one-liners. Too often, voters’ attention spans aren’t long enough to get past the feel good hype to actually examine, or even care about, the details.  “Don’t believe the hype!” Isn’t that what Public Enemy cautioned us against?

Just like popular music today. If you were to remove the beats and just read the words of most songs, you would be horrified by what you’ve discovered.  And you begin to ask yourself, is this what I’m spending money to download? This is what I’m letting my children sing along to?

For some folks, this type of “ignorance is bliss” existence works for them. If it makes me feel good at the time, just do it, right? The “Obamamania,” sweeping the country makes his supporters look like fanatical teenagers swooning over the latest hot new actor or musician. Fainting spells, high pitched screams, video groupies. You’d think you were at an N’Sync concert in the late 90’s! But why?

Many aren’t quite sure. Obama talks about change and a new direction for America, but how exactly? With $850 billion in proposed new spending resulting in an increase in your taxes to foot his “new direction” bill, some may want to listen to another station.

Last night’s primary results exposed some kinks in the mighty Obama’s armor. Hillary’s decisive wins in Ohio and Texas put a halt, at least for now, on his momentum. Exit polling shows late deciders broke for Hillary primarily because she was able to get voters to take a second look at Obama.  Clinton finally figured out a way to snap the media out of its Obama trance to actually begin examining his record and ask some tough questions. Whether it was questioning how well-equipped he is to tackle a national security crisis, to his relationship with Chicago slumlord Tony Rezko — currently on trial for corruption — to his association with controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Sen. Clinton benefited from a confluence of recent events which exposed some Obama weakness.

The honeymoon may be over for Mr. Obama. Up until now, he has skated through this primary season relative unscathed because of the love fest he’s enjoyed from unabashedly biased networks like NBC News.  So much so, it has become a staple of Saturday Night Live skits. However, at a press conference on Monday, the usually calm and collected Obama, lost his cool somewhat with reporters after being bombarded with tough, legitimate questions surrounding his campaign. Now, now, Sen. Obama, never let them see you sweat.

It’s no surprise that in today’s instant gratification society, a feel good candidate like Obama can actually challenge a political juggernaut like the Clinton political machine. Now that Hillary seems to be the “Comeback Chick,” (since “Comeback Kid is already taken in that household) the rest of the race should prove to be fascinating to watch.

But just like that one-hit wonder with the hot beat and catchy hook, does Obama have the sustainability factor to stay on the top of the charts? Will the fickle electorate still be singing his tune seven weeks from now? Stay tuned.

By Tara Setmayer, Thedailyvoice.com

Tara Setmayer is a conservative commentator and the communications director for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).

 by biko bake

In 1988, Jesse Jackson’s Presidential campaign lit the world on fire. Okay, maybe not the whole world, but 20 years ago black neighborhoods from Compton to Columbus were buzzing because of Jackson’s historic run for the White House.

At the height of his ‘88 campaign, Jackson made a stop at the Westlawn Projects, a low-income housing development just blocks from my parents home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My father, an elevator mechanic and proud union member, took my seven-year-old younger brother and me to see the civil rights activist. At nine years old, I wasn’t able to fully understand what all the hoopla was about. I mean, I watched the news with my parents every night and I knew that Jackson was running for President, but I didn’t understand why everyone was so excited.

As we waited for the presidential candidate to show up, you could feel the electricity. All around me, black people — both young and old — anxiously waited for an opportunity to get a glimpse of the man who could potentially become the first black president. Not to sound corny, but it was like the scent of hope lingered in the air. For the first time ever many of the folks in the crowd believed that change could come through the electoral process.

Fast forward two decades later and Barack Obama has remixed Jackson’s message of “keeping hope alive” for 21st Century audiences. And it’s working. All across the country hundreds of young people have dropped out of school, quit their jobs and have joined up with Obama’s Hope Express. But while Obama is a more viable candidate then Jackson ever was, many African Americans have been slow to warm up to the junior Senator from Illinois.

By now we’ve all seen the attacks by noted black leaders like Congressman John Lewis and BET’s Robert Johnson. Of course, some media pundits have ascribed this to hater-ation, but I wouldn’t go that far. Actually, it’s no secret that many of the nation’s most recognizable black leaders have a 20-year relationship with former President Bill Clinton. Who can blame people like Congressman Charles Rangel for not wanting to turn their back on their friend?

But it’s not just Clintonites who have been critical of Obama. In a recent radio interview on KPFK, Rosa Clemente a veteran activist and public intellectual criticized his campaign, “Young people are coming out and they’re white, I think to sugar-coat it at this point is detrimental to young people of color.” (Writer’s note: the interview took place before the South Carolina primary in which black youth turned out in force for Obama.)

Clemente isn’t alone. Since Obama threw his hat into the race, critics of all backgrounds have questioned whether he would be able to connect with voters of color while also staying “electable.” Others, like famed academic Cornell West, have even publicly questioned whether Obama’s campaign staff was too white for him to stay relevant amongst black folks.

That’s why it is no surprise that many of the Hip-Hop Movement’s most influential individuals, including influential author and activist Bakari Kitwana, believe that Obama’s run for the White House has been bittersweet.

“It is the biggest breathe of fresh air that we’ve seen in a presidential race since Jesse Jackson’s campaign in ‘84 and ‘88,” said Kitwana who is currently on the road with “The Rap Sessions Town Hall Tour. “But I’d like to see him do more to reach out to a hip-hop voting block, and develop a more progressive platform across all background, but he’s not running as an Independent, he’s running as a Democrat.”

But it’s not just political boundaries that have prevented Obama from getting Jackson-like love in black communities. It’s also his timing. By the time Jesse Jackson ran for President he had nearly 20 years of relationships in diverse communities all across the country. As a civil rights and labor activist, Jackson walked with the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez, and was a familiar face to African American voters. Obama, on the other hand, has only been in the national spotlight for four years, hardly enough time to develop organic relationship all across the country.

But according to veteran radio personality and multimedia guru Davey D, young urban activists shouldn’t have a closed mind about Obama’s campaign. “People can say what they want about Obama, but when I was in South Carolina, young people in the hood were feeling him,” says Davey D who spent time in the southern state leading up to Obama’s historic victory. “You can’t be so cynical that you aren’t listening to what the people have to say. Yeah, I have issues with some of the things that Obama’s campaign is doing and I want him to be more progressive, but I can’t act like I am smarter than the people that vote for him.”

Perhaps Davey D is right. Maybe it’s all right if Obama doesn’t resonate the same way with the Black community that Jackson did. For the first time in history a person of color is poised to become the leader of the free world. And while he may not be running a perfect campaign, Obama is inspiring folks of all backgrounds to believe that real change is possible. Plus, it’s hard to believe that little black kids won’t have more self-confidence knowing that a person of color is in the White House.

But at the end of the day, it really isn’t about any of the candidates. If there’s one thing that has become clear to me since Jesse Jackson came to my neighborhood 20 years ago, it’s that change doesn’t come from elected officials. Time and time again politicians of all backgrounds and identities have proven to be both unaccountable and uninspiring after they’ve been elected. If change is going to truly happen we have to make sure we turn out to vote while also fighting for the issues that we are most passionate about after the election is over. Because no matter who gets elected, it’s up to all of us to “keep hope alive” everyday of our lives.

By contrast, the hip-hop supporters of Hillary Clinton, who include Timbaland, 50 Cent and Lupe Fiasco, have yet to create songs for her campaign.

By Davey D

Taking ‘Em To Church

The short trip from South Central L.A to Hollywood has been a smooth ride for the 38-year old Ice Cube. After making his mark as a greasy- talking rapper in the quintessential anti-establishment supergroup N.W.A, and further solidifying his legacy in rap history with the Westside Connection, Cube’s hustle has hit the big screen. Finding his niche in family-friendly comedies has been the secret to his success as of recent, but make no mistake, O’Shea Jackson hasn’t gone pincushion on us. As he gets ready to debut his recent film First Sunday alongside Katt Williams and Tracy Morgan, we caught up with Cube to talk about the movie, gangster vs. comic book rap, the difference between real and fake and his disdain for Dubya.
By Joe La Puma

Complex: The majority of "First Sunday" takes place in the church, are you a religious dude?
Ice Cube: I’m spiritual; I’m not really religious. Spiritual means you believe in God, you trust and love God, but you’re not really into the rituals of religion and doing all the things religion has a person do to prove your love for God.

C: How would you recommend going about paying back a 17 thousand dollar debt in real life?
Ice Cube: How would I do it? At this point I’ll just write a check, but for others, I say don’t rob a church, because it’s not going to turn out like a movie. But I mean, sell something; you got a car, you got to sling it. You got to sell something, that’s when the brain gets to clicking, you have to prove that you’re worth it. You got to figure out who’s going to pay you to do what you need to do to get money. You have to hustle.

C: Do you feel like you still need to use comedies like "Are We There Yet" and "First Sunday" as stepping-stone films to prove yourself in order to land more serious roles?
Ice Cube: I don’t think I need to do these to get those more serious roles. What happens is, I do these so good, and people want more. When I go do a new deal with a new company, the first thing they say is to give them what we do best. I’m the guy who can deliver different kinds of movies, and that’s what people want. But I’m always looking to do other things- the XXXs of the world or a movie like Three Kings. I got this movie I’m doing right now called The Comeback, a drama.

C: How would say your movie opportunities have changed over the last 15 years?
Ice Cube: I mean you get more things offered; But it really comes down to relationships in this business. When it’s time to do a movie, guys are going to think about people that they’ve worked with before. You have to go and make relationships with people you want to make movies with and I don’t think that’s going to change, no matter how big you get or how many movies you do. I think I’ve gotten more offers because I’ve been successful.

C: Do you feel like your movies get pigeonholed as black films?
Ice Cube: I hope so; I’m black [laughs]. All races enjoy my movies, if they take the time to check ‘em out. But, you know there’s nothing I could do to stop that part. I’m not going to try to be whiter in my movies for people not to consider them black movies. That doesn’t make sense.

C: Do you think putting out "black movies" affects movie and DVD sales?
Ice Cube: No, because I think people find good movies and they leave bad movies on the shelf. I think DVDs allow people who normally wouldn’t go to the theatre to see a movie, watch the film, and enjoy it. People might feel funny about going into a young black movie, if they’re a senior citizen, but they may say "I want to see that movie, but I’ll just get it when it comes out on DVD."

C: So are you and Chris Tucker cool?
Ice Cube: Yeah, he just came to my suite a couple days ago for the Laker game. He came up there, hung out for a while. We talk about working together, but I don’t know if he’s ready for a Friday. He does want us to do a movie together, so to me that’s the first step.

C: Why do you think he’s been so reluctant to do Friday again?
Ice Cube: I don’t know if he had a good time making Friday. He didn’t make a whole lot of money from that movie because it was his first movie. So I don’t know if the overall experience was good for him. He never told me this, but it’s the only reason why I would say that he didn’t want to come back to it. But shit, he’s Chris Tucker now! He’s going get paid top dollar, and he going have a ball if he do another one.

C: He’s in a different space now?
Ice Cube: Before he was a comedian trying to get seen and get known, so he might have looked at it as "that was my worst movie experience," but that was only because he was a new actor. We always get treated like rookies. It happens. I got treated like one in Boyz N Da Hood. But when you prove your worth in Hollywood, the treatment is better. That’s my speculation on it. He’s never told me any of this.

C: On your last album you kind of poked fun at kids coming out of pocket and acting hard in the rap game, do you think things have gotten worse since then?
Ice Cube: I feel like you got a different kind of rap. You got real serious rap and you got comic-book rap. And, you know most of them dudes just fall in the comic-book section of this whole thing.

C: What do you mean by that?
Ice Cube: You have people that are way over the top with it, and fake with it no matter what they do, and you got people that are real with it. I’m not saying that gangster rap is real, and ring-tone rap ain’t, because both rap is real. I don’t want you to be fake and just trying to do anything you need to to get over. Those are the rappers I don’t like the ones that do anything to get over. They got to be popcorn they’ll be popcorn, they got to be hard they’ll be hard. That’s fake. My style ain’t never change.

C: What do you say to a dude like Bow Wow who’s trying real hard to shatter his boyish image and become more gangster?
Ice Cube: Be yourself. You know that’s the best advice. People could get in your head, tell you who you should be and what you need to be; nobody should be a part of that, just be yourself and everything will turn out how it’s supposed to.

C: You said your new album would be more political than usual, what was the reasoning for heading in that direction?
Ice Cube: I just hate the commercialized game, I hate being worried about what the program director’s thinking. All that kind of stuff doesn’t make any difference. What makes the difference is what the fans think, what the intelligent hardcore, mature Hip-Hop fan wants to hear. Get it to them and let’s make music. I’m at a point where I’m not just grinding at this record, like "Yo, I got to eat off this," so I could have more fun with it, and do what I feel and not do it for other reasons. When you’re on the record label, they are worried about that kind of stuff. You know, like where’s the single? Where’s the single? You just want to give them a single kick in the ass, and tell them to get the fuck out of the studio [laughs]. I’m just going back to the essence, doing it from the heart, doing it from the gut, and being happy with the results.

C: On your last album you went kind of hard at George W. Bush, what caused you the frustration?
Ice Cube: He doesn’t give a fuck about anybody. That’s my main frustration. He cares about making his families rich and his friends. That’s how his daddy is, and that’s how he is. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. They don’t care about nobody, they just want to be rich, and use their position to get richer. They know they have four or eight years to snatch and grab all they can and they did. And people are going to say "worst president ever," and he’ll say "who gives a shit? I’m rich."

 C: Who do you think is the most Hip-Hop-friendly candidate for 08?
Ice Cube: I haven’t see any of them embrace Hip-Hop. If they were smart they’d embrace it, but if they want to keep shit they way it is, they’ll probably stay away. I think the government treats Hip-Hop as a threat to their ultimate plan whatever it may be. I think they’re doing more things behind the scenes that we don’t see, to kill music.

C: In NWA, you guys said what you wanted to say and you never held back-how different is it today?
Ice Cube: I don’t know if it’s different. I don’t know if rappers are holding back. I think the rappers are going with the audience. At some point mainstream media decided to promote hardcore gangster rap to the masses on a big level, and you can’t blame the rappers for that, it was something that [the media] did in the mid ’90s. Now they want to blame us for them taking it and blowing it up. The Viacoms and all these people in the world got to take the blame too. They ain’t no innocent bystanders in this shit either. So if it got out of control or whatever, it ain’t just because of the artist.

C: Interesting…
Ice Cube: What it is is that they kind of pushed escapism rap, and they pushed the political rap to the back. Political rap is more of a threat than shake-ya-ass, titties, get drunk, take an X pill, whatever the hell type of music-so that’s what they wanted people to be focused on. They didn’t like things were said in the early ’90s, late ’80s,that have been lost until now. In the late ’90s there was no market for this kind of rap. Now through YouTube and people getting their own information through the computer and things like that, people are getting what they really want and they’re not being programmed. This kind of music that’s coming back is real. There was a wave to stomp it out. But it never went all the way out.

1/9/2008 By Dave Synyard

Senator Barack Obama plans to make use of hip-hop artists to educate the American people if he manages to win the Democratic candidacy and become President.

Obama, who lost to Hillary Clinton in yesterday’s New Hampshire primary, says he is a huge fan of hip-hop and has already talked with two of his favourite artists, Jay-Z and Kanye West, regarding ways in how to use their music and the genre in a positive way.

"I’ve met with Jay-Z; I’ve met with Kanye. And I’ve talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking (is massive)," Obama told Jeff Johnson during and interview on What’s In It For Us?.

The Democrat showed he was also aware of hip-hop’s negative side too, acknowledging the themes that tend to hinder the music’s message at times.

"There are times, even on the artists I’ve named, the artists that I love, that there is a message that’s sometimes degrading to women, uses the N-word a little too frequently. But also something that I’m really concerned about is (they’re) always talking about material things about how I can get something; more money, more cars.”

Copyright Exclaim Magazine

Last summer, Barack Obama took a lot of heat for skipping a candidate forum in Iowa sponsored by the AARP, choosing instead to attend a hip-hop event starring Usher.

But Obama clearly knew something others didn’t, and that zig where others zagged now appears to have been a shrewd move on the path to a dramatic achievement. Obama’s youth-oriented campaign drew under-25 voters to Thursday’s Iowa caucuses in record numbers, and these first-time voters gave him most of his margin of victory.

Turnout among the youngest slice of the electorate more than doubled from 2004, when Howard Dean’s intense campaign on college campuses produced far more modest results. This was part of an overall surge in Democratic participation — but while overall Democratic turnout jumped 90%, the number of young Democrats participating soared 135%.

According to surveys of voters entering the caucuses, young voters preferred Obama over the next-closest competitor by more than 4 to 1. This suggests that the under-25 set — typically among the most elusive voters in all of politics — gave the Illinois Senator a net gain of some 17,000 votes; Obama finished roughly 20,000 votes ahead of former Senator John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton.

"Conventional wisdom" — reflected in an article by this reporter earlier this week — "has a name for candidates who rely on the youth vote: loser," said Michael McDonald, an expert on voter turnout at George Mason University. "Clearly, this was different."

Because of the arcane rules of the Democratic caucuses, this success was self-reinforcing. All candidates were required to draw at least 15% of the vote in a given precinct; if they failed, their supporters had to line up behind their second choice. The unprecedented large turnout put the 15% mark out of reach of candidates like Sen. Joseph Biden and Sen. Christopher Dodd, and many of their backers turned to Obama.

A close reading of the numbers suggests that the youth vote was widely dispersed across the state and not concentrated in college towns, as some might have assumed. Turnout in Johnson County (home of the University of Iowa) and Story County (home of Iowa State University) was up compared to 2004, but less dramatically than in many other counties. Iowa-bred students were apparently voting at home, and the specter feared by some pundits, of an army of out-of-state students jamming campus precincts, seems to have evaporated.

The youth appeal of Barack Obama was evident in the big crowds he drew as he campaigned across Iowa. There were a lot of fresh faces in those audiences, and many of them left wearing one of his extremely cool t-shirts.

But according to McDonald, rallies, concerts and merchandise weren’t the reason for the campaign’s success. Obama applied lessons learned — re-learned — in recent years about the importance of face-to-face grassroots organizing.

After decades of relying on phone banks and mass-mailings to motivate voters, "the Republicans began experimenting in 2001, comparing face-to-face contacts to the other methods. They found that having a trusted neighbor or peer make the personal appeal is a far more effective way to get voters to the polls," McDonald said. "Obama has keyed into that and built his campus organizations. It’s really a return to the way we used to organize in the 19th century heyday of political machines."

Moreover, Obama’s appeal to young voters fits seamlessly into his larger campaign themes of change and renewal. His support radiated upward to voters in their 30s and early 40s, the entrance polls indicated.

"So he is not relying entirely on the youth vote," said McDonald, who believes this will be important to Obama’s fortunes next Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary. There, he points out, the mid-range of the electorate, voters 30 to 60, have traditionally formed a larger slice of the turnout than in Iowa.

"Hillary Clinton" he said, "may be the one in danger of having all her eggs in one basket. She was strongest with elderly voters in Iowa, but they also play a smaller part in New Hampshire."