How Obama will influence the genre
On his posthumously released hit Changes, 2Pac rapped, “Although it seems heaven sent, we ain’t ready to see a black president.” The song addresses problems like police violence, drug use, poverty, and the epidemic of incarceration in the black community. Blasting what he sees as the offenses of a racist government, he called on listeners to “make some changes” to these problems. Over ten years later, at least one big ‘change’ has been made. But it is only one of many, and rap in the age of Obama reminds us that hip hop’s score is far from settled.
Mutual Respect
President Barack Obama campaigned, after all, on a different kind of change, but his campaign — and election — appeared to be a rapper’s dream. The hip-hop community was one of the first to embrace his candidacy, and in March 2008, Russell Simmons admired Obama’s “unprecedented, national movement comprised of people from all ethnic, racial, political, social and economic backgrounds.” That summer, Ludacris sang, “The world is ready for change because Obama is here,” followed by considerably crueler assessments of candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain.
Obama has reciprocated the affection. Tutored by his 27-year-old body man, Reggie Love, supposedly responsible for broadening Obama’s hip-hop horizons, Obama named Jay-Z as one of his favorite artists; and it was Jay-Z who quipped at concerts during election season, “Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run … .” Jay-Z was not alone: the prospect of a black president was the subject of many songs released even before the election.
Summer of Shout Outs
Young Jeezy, in collaboration with Nas, released one of the most popular Obama-themed songs, simply entitled My President. The refrain begins, “my president is black,” even though it was produced in the summer of 2008. Young Jeezy dabbles in political commentary with lines like “Bush robbed all of us, would that make him a criminal?” and “We ready for damn change, so y’all let [Obama] shine.” Political remarks and boasts about the good life are interspersed with humbler remarks about absent parents, voter discrimination, and paying the bills. The Obama theme is significant, but still plays second fiddle to Jeezy’s humbler concerns.
Nas also released his own tribute to Obama. Black President, which features an excerpt from 2Pac’s Changes, reflects in more detail on pervasive social problems. Many are similar to those discussed in Changes: police brutality, racist institutions, and high incarceration rates. However, Nas challenges 2Pac’s pessimism: “America, surprise us, and let a black man guide us.” The song ends with an excerpt from an Obama rally, in which he is introduced as the next President of the United States.
New rapper B.o.B. released a collaborative single, Change Gonna Come, late last year. The song more earnestly asks questions such as “How did all the honest people vanish from the planet?” B.o.B. takes a positive tone, rapping, “I feel honored to be a part of this change that is taking over these great states.” He and the other young contributors on his track do not convey the sense of personal hardship and gritty struggles that other rappers do, but are more eager than any to announce that change has “been a long time coming.”
The end or the means?
It is impossible to overlook the similarities between the problems raised in 2Pac’s Changes and its recent counterparts. For hip-hop, Obama is not just an aesthetic change, but a black President is significant for the genre because of what he is expected to do for the demands of the community these artists address.
The initial energy that the Obama candidacy and election gave to hip-hop — as with many of his supporters — has waned. However, the true measure of Obama’s hip-hop legacy will not be measured in the number of mentions he receives in hip hop songs, but rather the social and political problems they discuss, and the tone that they take. The Obama presidency has the potential to influence hip hop music insofar as he can bring about solutions — both through policy and a longer-term cultural shift — to the problems 2Pac felt over a decade ago, and which aggrieve hip hop to this day.
Image Credit: Pete Welsch (Flickr)