BEP’s will.i.am and Bob Dylan’s son, Jesse, transformed Obama’s famous “Yes, We Can” speech into a song. The video features a star-stuffed cast that ranges from Common and John Legend to Nicole Scherzinger and Scarlett Johansson.

You can read will.i.am’s backstory on the song at dipdive.com.

Regardless of your background, status, or party affiliation, just sit back and enjoy this video. This is unbridled optimism at its collective best.

Obama gets a gangstafied seal of approval from the Dogfather. Real recognize real.

More of Snoop’s Larry King Interview below: (more…)

Obama gave an electrifying speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where MLK once preached.

Kweli didn’t reference Obama on “Say Something” for nothing. In a recent chat with the Detroit Free Press, Talib explained that though his stance on voting hasn’t changed, he likes what he sees in Obama (and Hillary) so far.

Peep game:

DFP: A lot of your lyrics have a political consciousness. However, you’ve been pretty forward about not voting in elections because the system is broke and you typically don’t believe in any candidates. Has Barack Obama changed your mind or is it politics as usual?

Kweli: Obama is very inspiring. Certainly I am considering whether or not I am going to vote for him, which is a big step for me. When I was younger, I might have voted for Bill Clinton in his first election, but haven’t since. There is still a long time to go before Obama even gets nominated; we just have to see what is going to happen. But I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t impressive. I still feel the same way I do about voting, but I have never seen anyone like Barack Obama before. I’m equally impressed with Hillary Clinton as a person, but she to me is definitely part of the system. She doesn’t inspire me the same way he does, you know?

Game recognize game.

For some reason, Clinton and her supporters deem it fashionable to sling mud at Barack Obama when they should be outlining their vision for this country. Here’s what BET co-founder and Hillary supporter Bob Johnson had to say about Obama at a Clinton campaign rally in South Carolina:

“And to me, as an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood –­- and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book -–­ when they have been involved.”

Johnson is saying two things here that deserve some attention: 1) He assumes that Black people are indebted to the Clintons because of what Bill did for minorities when he was president; 2) Obama was busy smoking weed on the block while Bill was fighting for Black people. (more…)

BET will air a special one-on-one feature with Barack Obama tomorrow evening.

On Tuesday, Jan. 8, BET News profiles the man on a mission to become the first Black man in the White House: Presidential Hopeful Senator Barack Obama. Tune in to “WHAT’S IN IT FOR US? BARACK OBAMA AND THE BLACK VOTE,” airing Tuesday at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).

A revealing half-hour sit-down interview provides a rare glimpse into the Illinois Senator’s life, his family, and his political aspirations as he embarks on an impressive quest to change the complexion of politics forever.

I wonder why BET is suddenly interested in Obama. After all, he’s still going to reiterate the same pro-change, pro-hope talking points he’s been making ever since he joined the race 11 months ago. Oh wait, something changed. Whereas Obama was previously considered a flash in the pan, many now deem him electable. Not to mention now that he’s won Iowa and is said to be surging past Hillary in New Hampshire, other candidates, Democrats and Republicans alike, seem to be swaggerjacking his pro-change theme. So, BET has no choice but to get on the bandwagon or get left behind.

Give Sheila Johnson some credit though. She endorsed Obama back when everyone else (including her ex husband) decided to back Mrs. Bill Clinton. It is also possible that BET was busy kicking the tires and checking under the hood before deciding whether or not Obama deserves attention.

Common endorses fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama for the White House. Comm, who was the first to namedrop Obama on a rap record (to the best of my knowledge), says he’s voting for the Illinois senator on February 5th.

Who are you voting for?

The Daily Show didn’t miss an opportunity to ether GOP candidates over their decision to skip the debate at historically black Morgan State University. It’s a given that the Republican Party never really gave a damn about minority issues, but the front-runners’ decision to skip the black debate will only amplify the racial division that exists in American politics.

(more…)

I’d like to thank Lee L. Mercer Jr. for inspiring the content of this post. After learning about Mercer’s presidential bid under the Random Word Association Party platform, it dawned on me that some of my favorite rappers may even have a fair shot at this White House thing. With a bit of optimism and just the right amount of scrilla the possibilities are endless. And I’m not trying to knock LLMJ’s hustle. In fact, I think Mercer and Miss. Teen South Carolina would make a winning combination.

But, Mercer has already lost mad points on originality. One of his campaign objectives–”To prove The Klu Klux Klan and the Communist Party are gangsters and organize crime in Business and Commerce”–has already been established by Ras Kass, Talib Kweli, and others.

So, here’s a question for you: If you could nominate one hip-hop artist for President, who would you pick?

This is actually the show in its entirety. Obama’s interview starts at 10:12.

Obama took some subliminal shots at Hillary when Jon raised the issue of experience vs inexperience. “When people talk about experience,” says Obama, “what they really want to know is, ‘Does he have good judgment?’ And you hope that when one has more experience it gives them better judgment. But everybody knows a lot of 50-, 60- and 70-year-olds that don’t have good judgment…”

Sounds like he’s referring to Hillary who’s obviously in her late 50s and voted in favor of the war (bad judgement), whereas he opposed it from the jumpoff. He also reiterated one of his favorite crowdpleasers: “Nobody has a longer resume than Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, and that hasn’t worked out so well.”