(The Root) — Barack Obama needed hip-hop in 2008, and, well, today not much has changed. Historically, a candidate who relies on the youth vote ends up on the losing side. But two years ago, Obama’s youth-oriented campaign proved triumphant. In fact, Obama did what many thought would be political suicide: He made it a priority to connect with the hip-hop community in order to rally young voters. And with hip-hop’s help, Obama received the strongest support — 68 percent, to be exact — from 18- to 29-year-olds. Five days after Obama won the election, Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy told NPR: “I was convinced from Day 1 when I found out he was running. It’s kind of really rough out here for a lot of people, and I think he gave ’em hope. He was a new voice; he had a new message.”
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