President Obama has never been afraid to add a bit of music to his campaign or acknowledge the power of Hip Hop. Yesterday the big man sat down with MTV’s Sway and gave the host some very strong thoughts on music and where he’d like to see it go.
Sway asked the president about his thought on politically conscious music like that from artist like Bob Dylan, Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine. He responded:
“You know, it’s an interesting question. We haven’t seen as much directly political music. You know, I think the most vibrant musical art form right now over the last 10, 15 years has been hip-hop. Some folks have kind of dabbled in political statements, but a lot of it has been more cultural than political. You’ve got folks like Springsteen who are still putting out very strong political statements, but I’d like to see a more explicit discussion of the issues that are out there right now, because music’s such a powerful mechanism.”
If you’re wondering what exactly Obama was jamming to in his college days? It was some Bob Marley. He says on the reggae king’s music:
“I remember in college listening, and not agreeing with his whole philosophy necessarily, but raising my awareness of how people outside of our country were thinking about the struggle for jobs and dignity and freedom,”
Lastly on the youth engaging in protest music, he says:
“I would hope that we’re gonna see more of that. You can set the world on fire in a positive way.”
Right on!
With the days to the election winding to down, it clear the president is reaching to the young generation and encouraging their participation in the upcoming election and politics in general.
Check out the president’s chat with Sway in the video above!
SOURCE: MTV
