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Ghostface, Raekwon, Pharcyde Talk Obama At Rock The Bells Show

Posted 8/25/08 4:33 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Election, election 2008


NasBy Liz Nord and Kristin Grimmett

DENVER — If hip-hop and Barack Obama were on Facebook, their relationship status would be: "It's complicated." So when the ladies of Choose or Lose descended upon the Mile-High City Saturday to cover the Democratic National Convention, where Obama will officially be named the Dems' presidential candidate, we went backstage at the Denver Rock the Bells show — where we saw so much Obama gear that you'd have sworn it was an Obama concert — and talked politics with everyone from Ghostface Killah to the Pharcyde, and even got a special message for Obama from Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon. Read More...

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Hear Young Jeezy And Nas Stump For Obama On 'My President'

Posted 8/20/08 12:50 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Nas


I've known Young Jeezy for a few years now, and he really speaks the truth. Last week in Houston, he told me and my partner in Mixtape Monday, Rahman Dukes, that he enhanced a song we previewed a while back called "My President." The record is on Jeezy's upcoming album The Recession.

The Snowman recruited Nas for the last verse to give the song a steroid-like boost. One of my favorite lines from Nas? "She ain't a politician/ Honey's a pole-itician." And I have to big-up his reference to Hulk Hogan. Jeezy told us that Nas "went in," and indeed Esco did.


Jeezy comes off as well. And while the record definitely addresses his hopes for Barack Obama, Mr. 17.5 expanded the subject matter, talking about his relationship with UGK and even the rims on his Lambo, among other topics. Bruce Wayne has nothing on him. [In Jeezy's raspy voice] Haaaaahaaaaa!

Read more about the hip-hop community's role in this year's presidential election here.

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'Ren & Stimpy' Creator's Action Figures Get Medieval On Presidential Candidates

Posted 8/11/08 4:28 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Campaign '08, John-McCain


"The Ren & Stimpy Show," "The Goddamn George Liquor Show," "The Ripping Friends" and, of course, the infamous Tenacious D video "F--- Her Gently." There is only one John Kricfalusi, and when the demented cartoon genius turns his pen on you, you better hope he's in a good mood. (See the figurines after the jump!) Read More...

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Barack Obama's Vice President: I'll Be 'The First To Know' Who It Is!

Posted 8/11/08 11:28 am EST by in Barack-Obama


Barack ObamaBy Ocean MacAdams

Hey — I'm going to be the first to find out who Obama's VP is going to be! That's right, the senator is going to skip the whole "media" thing and just e-mail me. Here's what the e-mail that I (and presumably millions of others) got on Sunday from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said:

Dear Ocean --

Barack Obama is about to make one of the most important decisions of this campaign -- choosing a running mate.

You have helped build this movement from the bottom up, and Barack wants you to be the first to know his choice.

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Perry Farrell Reveals Lollapalooza's Best Seats In The House

Posted 7/30/08 4:51 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Lollapalooza


On Wednesday, two days before the start of this summer's Lollapalooza in Chicago, I had the chance to chat with Perry Farrell, the festival's mastermind. It's always awesome talking to Perry, especially since I count Jane's Addiction among my all-time favorites.

We talked about a lot of things: Will Obama be making a surprise appearance at the festival, as has been the popular rumor? Would Jane's be getting back together this year for an unannounced set? What changes were made to make this year's Lolla better than last year's? You can read all about that here.

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Ludacris' Obama Freestyle On New 'Preview' Mixtape Gets Politically Hardcore

Posted 7/28/08 2:23 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, ludacris


The presidential campaign is getting ugly. And, no, we're not even referring to the new ad from Republican Senator John McCain wherein he claims Democratic rival Barack Obama went to the gym instead of visiting troops.

Nope, we're talking about a new freestyle from Ludacris over Young Buck's "Get Buck" called "Politics (Obama Is Here)," in which the "Get Back" MC gives props to the freshman Illinois senator while throwing dirt on his rivals and, of course, giving himself a bit of shine as well.

Unlike Will.I.Am's uplifting Obama anthem from earlier this year, "Yes We Can" — which featured rousing quotes from the senator's speeches recited by a bevy of stars — Luda takes it to the streets.

In his grimier take, the Atlanta rapper — who has actually broken bread with Obama — first carves out a minute to big-up himself (and his Bentley), then gets down to business. Read More...

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Barack Obama's And John McCain's Independence Day Messages Supporting Our Troops

Posted 7/3/08 5:16 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Campaign '08, election 2008, John-McCain, veterans


by Rya Backer

Independence Day offers Americans a long weekend, fireworks and summer fun — but it's important to remember what the holiday actually stands for: the freedom provided to us by generations of men and women who have fought for our rights.

Almost 70 percent of young Americans know someone fighting in either Iraq or Afghanistan, and the wars have become a huge factor in what shapes the story of this generation. More importantly, they've become a defining moment in the history of our nation. Unfortunately, media attention on the wars has waned in recent months — and we've decided to do our part in changing that.

It's in this spirit that MTV's Street Team '08 — 51 citizen journalists from every state and the District of Columbia — have compiled "Soldier Stories." These works introduce us to some of the nearly 1 million men and women who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces. These stories can be found at www.chooseorlose.com.

We've also published stories about the GI Bill and Ashwin Madia, an Iraq war vet who's running for Congress.

But don't just take our word for it. Two guys you might've heard of — named John McCain and Barack Obama, a.k.a. the Republican and Democrat presumptive presidential nominees, respectively — have filmed messages urging support for the troops and our efforts to give them the attention they deserve. Take a look at what they have to say, and be sure to let us know what you think.

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Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Join Forces For Rally In New Hampshire

Posted 6/27/08 6:55 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Campaign '08, Hillary Clinton


Barack Obama and Hillary ClintonBy Matt Harper

As I write this, rain is pouring down on Western New Hampshire. But this torrential downpour held off for a few hours this afternoon so that a historic union could take place in the sleepy town of Unity, New Hampshire. Of course, I'm talking about of the joint appearance of Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator/presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The two Democratic candidates ran a primary battle for close to a year and half, and with Obama recently stepping up as the presumptive Democratic nominee, there's been a fair amount of speculation as to when and how the Democratic party would unify.

Well, the answer is here: June 27, 2008, in Unity, New Hampshire. You couldn't really ask for a more blatantly symbolic spot for Hillary and Barack to take the stage together. Apart from its name, the minuscule town near the Vermont border was the place where both Democratic candidates received 107 votes apiece during the state primary in January.

As expected, the event was heavily attended and obsessively orchestrated by an army of college-age Obama volunteers. While I waited in the approximately half-mile-long line to get into the event, I was offered fresh-picked strawberries by a lady moving up and down the line, was warned by another lady that Barack was a Muslim and should be avoided at all costs, and had about 10 separate petitioners warn me that MoveOn.org is funded by George Soros, who had apparently made millions from investments in Halliburton. I could tell right away that this event had brought out a diverse crop of passionate New Englanders. Read More...

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Fox News Sets Off Michelle Obama 'Baby Mama' Chyron Drama

Posted 6/13/08 5:45 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, election 2008, John-McCain


(by Bernard Lumpkin)

SwayThey say a picture is worth a thousand words, but how much is a chyron worth? Apparently, for Fox News, a whole lot. During an interview Wednesday with conservative columnist Michelle Malkin about attacks against Michelle Obama, Fox News ran a graphic on the lower third of the screen that read, "Outraged Liberals: Stop Picking on Obama's Baby Mama!"

The comment — both crass and, for those who know anything about 21st-century slang, just plain wrong! — has set the political blogs abuzz. To those of us here in the Newsroom accustomed to using chyrons day in and day out in our on-air reporting, we thought we'd take this opportunity to draw your attention to the use (and abuse?) of this television tool.

News producers generally consider chyrons our friends. That informative text on the lower part of your screen allows us to feed you even more info — from sports scores to AP wire reports to upcoming programs — than what you're seeing and hearing on the upper two-thirds of the screen. Chyrons summarize, condense and crystallize. And in these times of short-attention spans, the quicker you can absorb the news the better. In other words, chyrons are meant to complement the story, not comment on it. Right?
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