As if Obama hadn't already captured the admiration of young audiences in America and abroad, this latest news will surely serve as an additional boost to Obama's street cred.

If elected President of the United States in 2008, Barack Obama says he plans to utilize hip-hop artists to educate people. In fact, he has already met with several hip-hop artists, including Jay-Z and Kanye West, expressing to them his hope for Hip-Hop as a tool for change.

"I've met with Jay-Z; I've met with Kanye. And I've talked to other 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 (is massive)," Obama told Jeff Johnson during an interview on BET's television show What's In It For Us?.

"There are times, even on the artists I've named, the artists that I love, that there is a message that's sometimes degrading to women, uses the N-word a little too frequently. But also something that I'm really concerned about is (they're) always talking about material things about how I can get something; more money, more cars."

While we shouldn't hold out hope for an Obama-Kanye-Jay-Z collaboration album anytime soon (though that'd be awesome), Obama's embrace of hip-hop culture, and his willingness to openly reflect on Hip-Hop's potential, is both impressive and courageous.

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