Hip Hop Caucus pushes youth vote with music

As the 2008 presidential election draws near, the hip-hop community urges everyone to take part in the election with the “Respect My Vote!” bus tour. The tour will make stops in Indianapolis and Gary today.

“The goal of the tour is to energize young people around the country to go to the polls and vote on Election Day,” said Jody Miller, president of JLM PR Inc., a public relations company specializing in the music industry. “The bus is slated to do a rally with a local Indy Radio One station and then a GOTV (Get Out the Vote) Rally in Gary.”

The tour was part of the initiative of the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus, and has teamed up with Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Grand Hustle, Atlantic Records, Allhiphop.com, BET and AKOO clothing.

“This community has been important in registering many new voters and inspiring inner-city and suburban young and young adults to engage in the political process,” said Portia Maultsby, professor and chair of the IU Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. “It will be a big factor in the outcome of the elections and will play a role in future social change in society.”

The “Respect My Vote!” campaign was launched on July 28 in Washington, D.C., and has mobilized more than half a million registered young voters (18 to 39 years old) in urban communities, according to Hip Hop Caucus’ Web site.

Many A-list celebrities have participated in the tour, including Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, T-Pain, Keyshia Cole, MTV stars Angela and Vanessa Simmons, and T.I.
There has been no confirmation of the celebrities who will appear at the rallies in Indianapolis or Gary, Miller said in an e-mail.

Miller said rapper T.I. has been instrumental in the tour through his record label, Grand Hustle. The convicted felon found that he is allowed to vote based on a Georgia law that states felons are eligible to vote if they are not currently serving probation or a prison sentence.

“The fact that there is real activity for political change and potential socio-cultural change from a generation that has been dismissed for being politically neutral and disinterested is a good thing,” said Fernando Orejuela, professor in the IU Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. “Hip-hop began as youth movement for change, and it truly has not stopped being that. It just moves in consistent waves as opposed to a steady line.”

Some rappers today use their songs for political action, such as Young Jeezy and Lil’Wayne.

“The difference between early days and today has to do with the approach,” said sophomore Robby Racette, a member of Hip-Hop Congress. “It’s become less physical action and more verbal action.”