Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, of Georgetown University, said increased activism is a transformation of hip hop culture’s “radical political potential.”

“It’s one thing to talk about it on a record, it’s another thing to tag it in graffiti, it’s another thing to be involved in knowledge distribution and wisdom accumulation that is characteristic of certain forms of hip hop. But at the end of the day, the transition into the pursuit of political power in a formal setting in parliamentary politics is quite an interesting transition,” said the author. Such activism could also end exploitation of young people by “unprincipled elites” who use elements of hip hop, but fear “political energy that cannot be controlled,” he said.

Many artists have embraced Sen. Obama’s candidacy and used their ability to reach millions to offer supportive messages. Rapper Nas released a song called “Black President.” In a trend started by Will.i.am, artists like John Legend, actress and singer Tatyana Ali, CeCe Penniston and others have created songs with variations of Obama’s change message.

Panelist Angela Woodson, co-chaired the National Hip Hop Political Convention 2004 which brought together close to 4,000 young activists to create and implement a hip hop political agenda. She and Tonja Stiles, founder of Politicalswagger.com, said the power of individuals to come together collectively and make change is real.

Students for Barack Obama began in the summer of 2006 when young people began using Facebook to petition Sen. Obama to run for president. The effort and energy of the students resulted in a group that became the official student organization for Obama for America once he decided to run.

Ms. Styles recounted how the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan hosted a hip hop summit in 1997 after deaths of rap rivals Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. Rappers were brought together to discuss using their creativity and power for good, she said.

Actress Tatyana Ali has traveled to college campuses encouraging voter registration on behalf of the Obama campaign. She plans to vote and is confident young people will turn out for the Nov. 4 election.

“I think young people have showed up in great numbers during the primary and I think they are going to do it again because the issues that are really important in this election are really important to young people—like bringing our friends and loved ones back home from Iraq and taking care of them once they are back. Like education and making sure it is affordable health care and the environment,” said the 29-year-old actress.

While not dismissing the hip hop generation’s enthusiasm and activism, BET talk show host Jeff Johnson wants to see more sustained activism. “I’ll be very honest, we go through this every four years,” he said. “There’s an extra dose of energy as a result of Obama being the candidate, but we had excitement with ‘Vote or Die’ (in 2004) so the real issue is not only will the young people come out and vote, but will these young people rally when it’s not an election? I’m more concerned about these young people rallying tomorrow about police brutality, and lack of resources in their communities than I am about them voting in the November. Because if they’re not willing to fight for the issues in their communities now, it doesn’t matter if Barack Obama, John McCain or Jesus is in the White House, because at the end of the day, if we aren’t fighting for our own communities nobody is going to do it.”

Related links:

Hip hop pushes a political agenda (FCN, 08-25-2008)

Hip Hop & The Power of Cultural Expression (FCN Video, 03-06-2007)

Rap COINTELPRO: Subverting the power of Hip-Hop (FCN, 07-24-2005)