Hip-hop icon Nas stumps for Obama at Hampton University

Rap star Nas greeted some 900 people at Hampton University's Convocation Center on Sunday as part of a rally and registration event hosted by the Barack Obama campaign. The rapper is a sometimes controversial figure but is nonetheless considered one of hip-hop's most respected and politically minded figures.

Not that that means he's always been interested in politics, mind you.

"I have never voted before," the rapper said before addressing the crowd. He is 35 years old. The son of a jazz musician, Nas grew up in the housing projects of Queens, N.Y., and his opinions reflect the approach that rappers have historically taken toward voting and politics, which is to say none.

"I've never seen a reason to vote. I would speak out against voting. If you'd seen what happened in my community, it's a shame. People in jail, guns, drugs ... I always felt like there were thing happenings in my community that would have never been allowed to happen in other communities. There was no help. But now, it's a new day."

As a crowd formed waiting for Nas to address them, DJ Babey Drew, himself a Hampton grad, spun records. Students did dance routines, and some fraternities did short-step show routines. There were 13 registration tables set up in the lobby of the Convocation Center, the majority of them going unused.

"I think (Hampton) students have pretty much made up their minds," said 19-year-old sophomore Kiara Smith. She said she did not know anyone among her circle of friends who was not voting, and not voting for Obama. "Oh, wait, there was one guy," she corrected herself. He said he was not voting because everyone else was and therefore he didn't need to, which Smith said was dumb. "And there was one other girl, but we made her register."

Nas was preaching to an already enthused choir, said Matthew White, a 23-year-old graduate of the school. "A lot of them, it's their first election. When I was a sophomore, it wasn't like this -- it was just like, 'Get Bush out.' But now they're bringing celebrities," he said, referring to a similar visit by the actors Marlon Wayans and Jurnee Smollett just weeks ago, "and merchandising it to younger voters. These are 90s babies, and Nas is somebody they grew up with."

News about the event spread through fliers, word of mouth and Hampton students for Obama on the social networking site Facebook. Word spread off campus, too, bringing out a crowd that seemed almost split down the middle by gender.

White noted that black men have often been underrepresented in the electoral process -- when he went home to Ohio in 2004 he was told that he was the first to vote all day -- but things have definitely changed. He also didn't know anyone that wasn't registered. Even visitors to the campus who just really came to see Nas were on board.

"I'm here for Nas, you know, and the Barack thing is something special," said Tyriq Wolfgang, a 26-year-old whose exceptionally baggy trousers, long white T-shirt and do-rag did not make him look like the typical registered Democrat. But looks can be deceiving. "I voted in the last election, you know, when we got jerked. Most of my friends that are not felons -- it's about half that are and half that are not -- are registered and going to vote. And the people that can't vote are mad about it. I don't know anybody not talking about it."

Nas said the same thing, but when he came to the podium, he said the time for talk was over. "Everyone on the corner, in the barbershop, on the playground is like, 'You think it could really happen?' But they're not realizing it's up to them. This is the time for action."

Nas' music, overall, is a gumbo of uplifting mantras, black history, sex, drugs, youth empowerment and violence. In short, there are many songs, including some he performed Sunday, such as "If I Ruled the World," and "I Can" that are positive, hopeful hymns that wouldn't be out of place at a church picnic. And then there are some that offended some people so much that protests emerged when he was announced to be playing the benefit concert for Virginia Tech students in 2007. (The Dave Matthews Band asked Nas to perform, and he did go on to do the show.)

Nas was careful to draw a distinction between himself and his music.

"I think people will try to use methods to tear us down," he said. "Some people want to make us seem like monsters. But we are humans, we are taxpayers, we are citizens of this country. This is not a concert. This is not even about hip-hop, this is about Nasir Jones, the man. This is my first time voting. This means more to me than any concert."

Of the roughly 900 people that showed, campaign spokesperson Ashley Etienne said, 75 registered. Some volunteers said most people were students re-registering to ensure absentee ballots weren't going to be mishandled. Eighty percent of people that came were already registered.

Nas' most recent album, a harsh critique of America and a scathing self-analysis of black Americans, was originally titled the infamous racial slur; its cover depicts the artist's back whipped like a slave. The title drew fire from many black leaders, including Jeese Jackson, whom Nas has publicly called irrelevant to today's black youth. The title of the album, which sold more than 500,000 copies, was changed to "Untitled" after some stores threatened not to stock it on shelves.

"We are our own role models," he told the crowd. "We have a lot of power. There are no more excuses." He said he felt good standing at a historically black college, and having registered two days ago.

"Right here in Virginia is where they dropped off the first slaves," he said, "and now the state of Virginia could be the place where we elect the first black president."