‘Yes We Can: American Hip Hop Artists and the Lyrical Endorsement of Barack Obama’ will discuss and analyze the American hip-hop community and their overwhelming support for the election of Presidential Nominee Barack Obama. During his campaign, numerous hip-hop artists, including Mos Def, Young Jeezy, and Jay-Z openly expressed their support for his election by mentioning his name and/or his political affiliations in their song lyrics. This has arguably created a greater interest in politics amongst the hip-hop community and at the time, strengthened support among hip-hip fans for his election.
The research aims to answer two sets of questions. 1: In what light is Barack Obama mentioned in these song lyrics? Are the lyrics supportive or unsupportive of his election? 2: Are these lyrical endorsements perceived as positive or negative to the average person? Did support by hip-hop artists hurt or help Obama’s public image and motivate young voters?
Two methodologies will be used to conduct research for this project. Discourse analysis will be used to answer the first set of questions, while 5-10 in-depth interviews of students of the McMaster community will be carried out to answer the second set of questions noted above. The researcher will seek approval from the McMaster Research Ethics Board prior to interviewing subjects.
Current research on lyrical endorsements is very limited and as such this research paper aims to build upon an existing body of research around the influence and persuasiveness of celebrity endorsements during political campaigns. Current research by scholars such as Veer, Pease, Austin, and Lammie, as well as popular press articles will be used as a starting point to steer this project in the right direction.
An example of hip-hop songs to be examined include Jay-Z & Mary J Blige’s “You’re All Welcome”, Jadakiss’s “Why”, Common’s “The People”, Ti$a’s “Obamaway”, Young Jeezy’s “My President”, and Nas’s “Black President”. The songs that will be examined are either completely about Barack Obama or mention his name in some form.
My creative energy and interest in American politics and hip-hop music will be the driving force behind ‘Yes We Can’, and I am certain that this research project will be innovative and successful.