Anyone remember August of 2008? It seems like a distant memory, but there are certain times in your life you just don’t forget. One year ago the hip-hop generation was rallying together all over the country, taking the necessary steps to elect our first black President. Hip-Hop’s biggest names were doing free shows, recording songs showing support and getting outright serious about making a difference in the upcoming election. As we know, these efforts worked. We made enough t-shirts, talked up enough friends and bumped “My President is Black” enough times to make an unimaginable impact on the 2008 election.

Here we stand a year later and to the hip-hop generation, Barack Obama may as well not exist. In less than a year we’ve given up all the momentum we gained as a force in politics and have effectively left our boy to fend for himself rather than continue to influence the change our country desperately needs.

Recently, Obama, along with a number of other Democrats in Congress, have been the center of one of the most brutal right wing attacks we’ve ever witnessed. In the fight for health care reform we’ve seen mobs of leftovers from those creepy McCain town hall meetings come together in packs to try to convince the world that Obama’s proposed health care plan is going to turn our country into a Socialist nation. And we’re basically letting these people win.

The fight between the left and the right on the issue stems from Obama’s intention to make proper health care affordable to everyone in the Country.  It kind of sickens me to have to say that there is a debate on this issue at all. Forget all the numbers for a minute and just think of this based on moral principle. Why should the amount of money someone makes dictate their ability to receive health care? What kind of sick fucks would stand over someone and watch them die before they would give that person a few dollars to save their life?

This is why I question why the hip-hop generation is not doing more to support Obama’s policy. It’s no secret that hip-hop music has always had trouble with certain moral issues. At the same time, hip-hop artists have been some of the biggest trendsetters when it comes to philanthropic work. One would think that there are enough of these trendsetters in the hip-hop community who have seen the evils of America’s health care system to want to help the fight on this issue.

Paul Wall may have been on to something quite provocative when he uttered the line “No 401K for a hustler.” While it seems like a simple line, when looking at in context there’s some deep meaning to the concept. For many musicians, industry folks and other entrepreneurs there are no employment benefits. While many make enough money to (barely) survive, the job does not come with a retirement plan, paid vacations or health care coverage. It seems to me that quite a few of these people could really benefit from an affordable health care system. Why isn’t anyone stepping up for the “hustlers”, the entrepreneurs or even the people who work 40+ hours per week and still don’t have access to proper health care? Why is Jay-Z making songs about the Death of Autotune when he could be rapping about the Death of the HMO? I know it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but the point is that the hip-hop community needs to stop sitting on the sidelines during this debate.

The legislation President Obama is trying to pass will benefit us and many future generations to come. When we rallied together to put Obama in office, we all supported the fundamental idea of change. This is exactly what Obama is trying to do and as we expected, the right wing and even members of the Democratic Party are not ready to accept the sort of changes we have asked for. It’s on us to make sure the right voices are heard and we don’t let this issue die as it did during the Clinton administration. Hip-Hop was still in its adolescence the last time the issue of Health Care Reform came around. Hip-Hop culture has since matured into a responsible and powerful adult. Let’s exercise that power and make a difference this time around.

It’s amazing how quickly we’ve gone from a President that refused to take questions while at the White House (except from reporters he planted) to a guy who is willing to talk to just about anybody. I believe we picked a winner folks.

THERE ARE NO MORE ROC-STARS!!!
Maybe the world is balancing out.
Finally the leader of the free world is cooler than any musician/artist.
- The Broke Mogul

This quote was pulled from a funny review of the abomination that Kanye apparently pulled on American Idol this week (which I’ve yet to watch because I want to keep loving Kanye).

I’m not sure who the Broke Mogul is, although his profile says he’s the Music Supervisor for Entourage in which case I think we have a mutual friend, but check out his whole review on the Kanye performance. It had me

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

This was the status for Jacksonville Jaguars Kicker Josh Scobee this week on Yahoo Fantasy Football:

The Associated Press reports some agents of Major League Baseball players are considering asking for more money in signing bonuses due to President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed increase of the top federal income tax rate. Obama proposed increasing the top federal tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent on families making more than $250,000. A free agent making $10 million in 2009 could see a tax increase of $400,000 or more.