In the October 2008 issue of OZONE, we published a small piece on Jeezy registering
to vote (reprinted below). But he didn’t stop there. In addition to recording
the anthem “My President,” featuring Nas, Jeezy actively campaigned for Barack
Obama. Obviously it worked, because Obama was elected and remains our
forever President.
HOOD DEEDS
WORDS & PHOTO ABOVE BY ERIC PERRIN
In 2004 it was the Vote or Die campaign that Hip Hop cosigned. But
nobody voted, and nobody died. Perhaps it was the lifeless candidates
that failed to energize rap fans to flock to the polls, but whatever the
problem was, this time around “Change” has come—literally. While last
election Diddy was the most vocal figure, this year a surplus of rappers
have used their star power to encourage their following the register to
vote in this years election.
Houston radio DJ Madd Hatta spent three days broadcasting live—
and sleeping—at Sharpstown Mall just so he could meet his goal of
registering 5,000 voters. All over the country, rappers reached out to
their fans to encourage them to register to vote. In Atlanta, Young Jeezy
registered to vote at his own voter registration drive at Diddy’s Justin’s
restaurant in Buckhead
Jeezy attributed his desire to vote for the first time to the poor economy.
“The economy has got to change,” stressed the rapper who recently
released his third solo album appropriately titled The Recession.
“We gotta do something about it,” he added. “I see a lot of cats out here
spreading the word now. Even if they can’t vote themselves they’re trying
to get others to get out and vote, and that’s what we need.” //
30 // OZONE MAG
In the days leading up to the 2008 election, Jeezy (joined by
other celebs such as D. Woods of Danity Kane, above) did his part
volunteering for the Obama campaign, calling voters to encourage
them to come out to the polls. (Is that a flip phone?!?)
Photos: Thaddaeus McAdams/ExclusiveAccess.net
/ExclusiveAccess.net