BARACK OBAMA - JAY-Z PROMISES TO KEEP IT REAL

JAY-Z PROMISES TO KEEP IT REAL

Rap superstar JAY-Z has become close friends with U.S. President BARACK OBAMA - but insists he will not tone down his hard-hitting lyrics to please his politician pals.
The Run This Town hitmaker admits he has Obama's number "on speed dial" in his cell phone since joining the Democrat's election campaign last year (08).
But he is adamant his close association with policy-makers in Washington, D.C. will not stop him keeping it real in his songs.
He tells the BBC, "Sometimes there are hard truths in rap, they're not packaged with pretty ribbons. Sometimes the realities of the situations are harsh and they need to be told.
"We're the poets of our generation! Those truths and those honesties need to be told and sometimes that will rub people the wrong way but that don't mean you don't tell them... I think when rap is done brilliantly it can inform you of a problem, things that are going on."