Obama campaign inspires music, artists to sing praises

Throughout history, high-profile political figures have attracted public curiosity, heated debate and worldwide attention. President-elect Barack Obama, the first black voted into presidential office, is no exception. And to up the ante from former administrations, the music industry has prepared a soundtrack.

Artists including rapper Ludacris and Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am were so inspired by Obama’s symbolic, political message, they released hip-hop ballads to inform the world.

“I came up with the idea to turn (Obama’s) speech into a song because that speech affected and touched my inner core like nothing in a very long time,” will.i.am said in a Huffington Post blog.

Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can,” which debuted online earlier this year and was performed live in Denver at the Democratic National Convention, depicts the singer’s hopeful sentiment toward new leadership.

The star-studded collaboration, produced in part by Jesse Dylan, features segments of Obama’s New Hampshire speech put to musical harmony. Celebrities including Scarlett Johansson, Kate Walsh, John Legend and Nick Cannon show support and sing along in the background: “‘Yes we can’ to justice and equality. ‘Yes we can’ to opportunity and prosperity. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world.’”

“I just wanted to add a melody to those words,” will.i.am said in the post. “I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over.”

He also created a follow-up music video, “It’s A New Day,” which was promptly released following Election Day. Both videos can be found on YouTube and dipdive.com.

“The world is ready for change because Obama is here,” Ludacris said in his poltically charged piece, “Obama is Here.”

However, the rapper stirred controversy with negative lyrics directed at Sen. John McCain and President George W. Bush.

“McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed,” he said in the rap. “Yeah, I said it ’cause Bush is mentally handicapped.”

The Obama campaign did not embrace the song’s message.

“Ludacris is a talented individual, but he should be ashamed of these lyrics,” Obama’s spokesman Bill Burton told BBC news in a July interview.

Obama tunes aren’t limited to big names in the industry. YouTube has become a popular site for those lacking professional resources to express their political beliefs via music.

Videos such as “Crank Dat Barack Obama,” a spin-off from rapper Soulja Boy’s 2007 single, have generated numerous hits, as well as “Obama Obama,” a parody of rapper Lil Wayne’s “A Milli.”

“I got a crush on Obama” made “Obama Girl” Amber Lee Ettinger famous when “Saturday Night Live” alluded to her video.

“You’re into border security,” she sings. “Let’s break the border between you and me.”

Junior Josh Wold, frontman for local band Pessoa, said he thinks unsettling events in past years might be a contributing factor.

“Songwriters and musicians write a lot about things they’re unhappy with in their personal life or society, and how they’d like change them,” he said. “I can see how Obama would fit in with that, because he’s pretty damn inspiring. I don’t have trouble believing that he inspires music.”