I would recommend you pick up Jay's American Gangster album- inspired by the Denzel movie of the same name.

Specifically, listen to the Intro track and then track 9, 'Say Hello'(To The Bad Guy).

Here are some excerpts that speak to the point I'm trying to make here- Jay's point- that those in power in this country have not got there by following the rules- American Gangstermentality, you make your own rules:

Intro

[Gansters, Hustlers, Republicans and Democrats, Pimps and Hoes]/ Conservatives, Labor, the Seller, the Buyer, the Product, the Producer/.../ [American] Gangsterment allows you to make up your own laws and create brand new words/ An American Way created by the White, Mastered by the Black and absorbed by the Fiends/ Taxed by the Governmentality, Charted by Forbes/.../ You too can be a gangster by any means necessary, by owning that dream/ I mean it's a long walk to Freedom but/ while deep, deep, deep inside the Bush/ [the war on terror screams, damn it feels good]/ Damn it feels good to be a Gangster.../ Cut the Bullsh*t/ You know if it wasn't for this/ There wouldn't be no that/ which we call/ The American Gangster...

I'm cut from the cloth of the Kennedey's/ Frank Sinatra havin dinner with the Genovese'/

Ignorant Shit

I missed that part/ where it stopped being about Imus/ What do my lyrics got to do/ with this sh*t?/ Scarface the movie did more/ than scarface the rapper to me/.../ are you saying what I'm spitting/ is worse than these 'celebutantes'/ showing they kitten, you kidding?/ let's stop bullsh*tting/ til we all without sin let's stop the pulpittin...

Say Hello (To the Bad Guy)

We ain't thugs for the sake/ of just bein thugs/ nobody do that where/ we grew up Ni**a, duh/ The poverty line we not above/ out comes the mask and gloves/ cause we ain't feelin the love/ we ain't doin crime for the/ sake of doin crime/ we movin dimes cause we ain't doin fine/ one out of three of us is/ locked up doin time/ you know what that type/ of Sh*t can do to a Ni**a mind?/.../

Ya'll ain't give me forty acres/ and a mule/ so I got my Glock 40, now I'm cool/ And if Al Sharpton is speakin for me/ somebody get him the word/ and tell him I don't approve/ Tell him I remove the curses/ If he can tell me our schools gone/ be perfect/ when Jena 6 don't exist temm him/ that's when I'll stop sayin Bitch (bitch!)

American's are resourceful pioneers- we make the best with what we've got, and if we get to the top then we can turn around and dictate history, too.

and just barely voting age, and they "elbow" and "snicker" themselves about the 99 problems reference - they think it's funny - well, kids will be kids.

ah, well then I guess it wasn't quite as funny as I thought then...here I was thinking you were gently poking fun at the touchiness over sexism (and I guess by extension racism)in this race, but you're right, that joke was a little lame ;)

(I just realized that you probably thought I was laughing b/c I agree with the sentiment..that hillary is a ____. I don't actually, I thought you were being a little subversive, hence my amusement)

cheers!

Didn't this guy make a living out of rapping about selling crack and being a misogynist jerk? Wasn't he convicted of stabbing another record exec? I love his music and all, but I'm not sure this is the sort of endorsement you want, especially if you're a black candidate... what will Fox News say?

You care about ballot access so much you're choosing not to vote. I couldn't provide better evidence of the myopic idiocy of the green party if I tried.

I'm afraid I'll have to question your sense of humor, debaser.

Also, for the record, I didn't intend to the 99 Problems reference to be to the full lyric -- it was more like something along the lines of "I have 99 problems, and a good joke ain't one..." you can see why I didn't finish the joke in the post.

I think thats what Jay-Z was doing, no?

Alex you dirty, rotten sexist!!! The temerity of you, going and making a well placed joke like that! Well now I KNOW you hate Hillary...you've confirmed that SEXISM is stronger in America than "racism"! I mean really, the nerve of some people!

;)

(actually I thought that was some well placed comedic gold there Alex...good work :)

I wish that Jay-Z would robocall me. Instead, I have gotten *three* Obama robocalls in the past 24 hours. I only listened to the first one, and by the third, I was tempted to rush out and vote for Hillary today just because I am tired of getting calls on my mobile phone during prime hours. I don't even know how the campaign ended up with my number. I'm not voting today, though, because I am signing a petition for the Green Party. No, I am not a Nader supporter. But I do believe in ballot access, which is going to be particularly difficult this year due to the high primary election turnout (especially because the media has not been reporting on the fact that voters cannot vote in the primary and then sign a petition for another party).

This white woman's robo-call was in Obama's famous baritone. I think my left eardrum might have swooned, almost.

About Obama needing to reach out to white women.