Obama Looks to Hip-Hop As An Educational Tool
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.”

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