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VOTE
OR DIE: THE HIP HOP VOTE
By Ryan Shaffer
From the waves of radio to television, it seems
near impossible to go a day without hearing some
type of encouragement for generation Y to vote.
There is the 14-year old “Rock the Vote”
campaign, and MTV's “Choose or Lose” movement,
but they have a new partner in this years
election and it comes in the form of Bad Boy
Records foreman Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.
Combs' “Citizen Change” campaign is a
non-partisan and non-profit organization, which
has pushed the urgency of voting to a new level.
With its slogan of “Vote or Die!” Citizen Change
has joined media moguls MTV, BET and Clear
Channel in pushing Americans aged 18 to 30 to
have their voices heard and shed the moniker of
the “forgotten ones.”
This is not the first time a celebrity has
pushed their way into the political circle
attempting to get out the vote. Madonna has
worked with Rock The Vote and hip-hop magnate
Russell Simmons has moved his Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network across the countries to push
voter registration.
"I think that Rock the Vote and the Hip-Hop
Summit Action Network has given birth to this
organization," said Combs. "[But] I wanted to
launch a new energy at a new time."
Combs has tackled this task by succeeding where
past movements have failed and that is in their
appeal to the younger generation. Citizen Change
has pulled together a who's who of entertainers
such as Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey, Ashton
Kutcher, 50 Cent (and G-Unit), Mary J. Blige and
Mya among others. They will be seen wearing
their “Vote or Die!” emblazoned T-shirts which
were designed by the coalition of some of
America's top designers in Tommy Hilfiger, Marc
Ecko, Russell Simmons (Phat Farm) and of course
Combs (Sean John). Suddenly the event of voting
is not only a civil duty but a fashion statement
as well.
Hitting college campuses has also been a goal of
Combs who has toured the nation as if he were
promoting another album. “This is not just about
talk, this is about action. The Forgotten Ones,
the over 40 million minorities and young people,
will decide who will be the President of the
United States. And I have the numbers to prove
it,” Combs said while visiting New York
University. “According to the latest CBS/The New
York Times poll Bush and Kerry are running neck
and neck. The last election was decided by just
537 votes. We will make a difference. You do the
math.”
Other hip-hop oriented organizations pushing the
youth of America to vote November 2nd include
the Hip-Hop Political Convention, which
specifically addressed the election in their
June gathering this year. This incorporated a
Hip-Hop Youth Summit which featured speakers MC
LYTE, Doug E. Fresh, and Roc-A-Fella recording
artist Rell. The hip-hop generation was
definitely the focus of the meeting as they were
encouraged to get more involved in “electoral
politics and grassroots activism.” Then there is
Simmons' Hip-Hop Action Network.
Carolina sophomore Keena Lynch feels as though
the efforts of the hip-hop movements are
effective. “I think they are doing a good job as
far as attending the conventions and stressing
the issue with the tees and commercials,” said
Lynch adding that he noticed the efforts of
Combs especially on BET.
Freshman Emerson Evans has seen the change first
hand. “I see a lot of people registering to vote
and I feel as though the hip-hop campaigns
definitely have something to do with this.” On
the influence of Combs and the group of
entertainers he has assembled Evans commented,
“They are using their power to promote voting by
making it seem `cool' and necessary for the
advancement of our generation. Even the voting
slogans have now become urban fashion.”
The most important factor in all of these
efforts to mobilize the hip-hop youth is if they
are effective come November. “I think the
campaigns are working for sure,” commented
Lynch. “It helped change my views [on voting]
and is the reason I will be voting in November.”
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