Presidential Candidates Weigh in on Hip-Hop Education?

For anybody who missed it, early this year presidential candidate Barack Obama weighed in on the educational power and potential of hip-hop music in an interview with Jeff Johnson on BET’s “What’s In It For Us?” Here is an excerpt:

Jeff Johnson: “The reality is that hip-hop can engage the very young people that you have to deal with about education and incarceration. Would there be a place [in your White House] to explore how hip-hop can be effectively used?”

Barack Obama: “Absolutely, I don’t think there is any doubt that it can be. I’ve talked to artists about how, potentially, to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking and the thing about hip-hop today is its smart, its insightful and the way that they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable. Hip-hop is not just a mirror of what is. It’s a reflection of what can be.”

John McCain is yet to really weigh in on hip-hop music (let alone its use in education). But he was endorsed by Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee.

That has to count for something. And Palin has now officially starred as a back-up dancer in a popular hip-hop video.