Tagged As: Concert, Will.I.Am, Obama, Sampling

What would have happened if Barack Obama had not won on Tuesday? Not in terms of the economy, constitutional questions, or social issues. No nothing like that. I am sure CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News had all those areas covered.

I am talking about the silent issue that would have gone unnoticed. What would have happened to Will.I.Am if Obama had lost? No other artist seemed to have put so much effort in attaching his celebrity to a presidential candidate than the hip hop solo artist and Black Eyed Peas frontman and songwriter. Sure, Hank Williams Jr. played at a few McCain rallies, including the depressing denial-fueled “party” in Arizona where McCain gave his concession speech, but Will.I.Am is well on his way to completing an albums worth of songs for his presidential choice.

Here is the McCain-Palin Tradition at a rally via YouTube…

Will.I.Am’s “Yes We Can” is the ultimate sample, taking advantage of Obama’s incredible public speeches. This is the other celebrity-bonanza “song” that is more about sampling a chanting crowd and a collection of celebrities looking pretty with a beat in the background than actual lyrics.

Here is “We Are The Ones” via Youtube…

I predict that the planned third song will just be Obama’s speech from Grant Park after he won. There may not even be a beat this time, but Will.I.Am is sure to make an appearance in a black and white at the end praising him.

I think Will.I.Am would be better served writing actual material. I may or may not be as gleeful as a little kid holding an ice cream cone (I am), but I prefer to see artists creating art as a political statement rather than using a political statement as art. I think he should hand the Emmy he won for “Yes We Can” to Obama since the presidential-elect did most of the work (also because it would be pretty cool to have an Emmy Award winning president.)

Maybe this is the beginning of a political career though. He could be the campaign manager for Al Franken in the next election on the “celebrities we recognize, but cannot quite place without the rest of their ensemble” ticket.

So while this website may go on selling concert tickets for performers like Madonna, Coldplay, and AC/DC, Will.I.AM can go out and start campaigning via Music Video and pick up a second daytime Emmy along the way.