RUSSELL SIMMONS - JAY-Z AND SIMMONS BRIDGE POLITICAL GAP WITH OBAMA

JAY-Z AND SIMMONS BRIDGE POLITICAL GAP WITH OBAMA

Music moguls RUSSELL SIMMONS and JAY-Z are bridging the gap between hip-hop and politics thanks to an unlikely fan - U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate BARACK OBAMA.
The Illinois senator has praised the pair as "great talents and great businessmen", insisting he's happy to have the support of the duo in the upcoming November (08) election.
But Obama admits he still has reservations about the current state of music in the U.S., and hopes the industry will begin to take its cues from the business-minded music duo.
He says of his concerns of hip-hop culture: "I am troubled sometimes by the misogyny and materialism of a lot of rap lyrics, but I think the genius of the art form has shifted the culture and helped to desegregate music.
"It would be nice if I could have my daughters listen to their music without me worrying that they were getting bad images of themselves."
The Illinois senator is father to daughters Malia, nine, and Sasha, seven, with wife of nearly 16 years, Michelle.