'Hip-hop bigger than politics'
2004-10-10 22:09
Washington - The hottest new voting bloc is the hip-hop generation, said rap empresario Sean "P Diddy" Combs, who criticised the major US political parties on Sunday for not courting the urban youth vote.
"I call ourselves 'The Forgotten Ones' because politicians don't speak to us - they don't handle our true needs because they don't think we're going to This Week programme.
"You want to talk demographics like "soccer moms" and "Nascar dads?' We're larger than them," he said.
"You want to talk about focused interest groups like the NRA (National Rifle Association) and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)?
"We eat them," said Combs, "and you see how much Bush and Kerry are sweating those groups."
Combs said politicians ignore urban America at their own peril.
"We know we're going to be the deciding factor in who is the next president," he said.
"Why? Because it's simply in the numbers - We have not voted in these numbers before.
"You know, (rap star) 50 Cent has more power than a Kerry or Bush in these communities ... We're bigger than Kerry. We're bigger than Bush," said Combs, who estimates there are more than 40 million hip-hop voters.
His pitch was made as he promoted his "Citizen Change: Vote or Die" campaign of public service announcements to urge greater youth turnout at the ballot box.
The cable music TV channel MTV later on Sunday was to air Combs's "Choose or Lose" program discussing issues of greatest interest to urban young people, and encouraging them to turn out in force at the polls on November 2.
"On November 2, we're facing a matter of life or death. Is it that serious? Hell yes, it's that serious," said Combs sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Vote or Die!"