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toral politics it will have to develop a more sophisticated appreciation of the high stakes gamesmanship in political electioneering.

That includes understanding the importance of a finely orchestrated ground game and the power of emotions in motivating a bloc of constituents to actually vote.

The challenges facing hip hop’s entry into politics are immense.

First and foremost, the movement will have to define and identify

its constituencyâ€"who it proposes to speak for. Doing so leads to the second and equally important challenge, defining its political mis-sion and vision. That is, what will hip hop stand up for? If politics are driven by the science of marketing (identifying voters) and the power of emotions (knowing what they feel) hip hop has some serious

catching up to do.

The challenges facing hip hop are easy to identify but there is

nothing simple about resolving them. Hip hop has always been a com-

munity of diĆłerent voices, experiences, and perspectives. In a hip

hop world divided by race and region, pop culture and political as-

pirations, age and perspective, the challenges are deep. Reconciling these tensions, however, is crucial, especially now that a number of dif-ferent initiatives are struggling to control hip hop’s political destiny.

Despite all of the challenges it faces hip hop is poised to seize the political moment. It has access to the financial, political, and intellec-tual capital necessary to make a diĆłerence in electoral politics. No one understands the art and science of marketing better than hip

hop’s entrepreneurial elite. Hip hop has a grassroots constituency

that is passionate about the movement and what it potentially represents. And yet applying these resources and skills to the world of politics, especially on a national level, demands a level of focus, intensity, and organization that has not been forthcoming.

But even as hip hop develops a finer appreciation of its political

future and possibilities it will also have to develop a more astute understanding of a steadily changing world. The key issue that has always permeated hip hopâ€"providing young people real life chances

and choicesâ€"is and always has been bigger than hip hop.

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