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CNN Live At Daybreak
Hip-Hop Vote
Aired January 12, 2004 - 06:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On the subject of actually voting -- as in getting people to hip-hop on over to the voting booth -- wait. Rapper and record producer Russell Simmons has an idea. He's out to mobilize an entire generation of new voters.
Here's more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is said hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has the golden touch. He hopes that translates into success of his hip-hop team vote campaign.
RUSSELL SIMMONS, HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK: The idea is to register at least two million voters between now and the end of next year, and millions of voters over the next five years.
UDOJI: That's 20 million young voters through 2008 -- ambitious, considering less than 30 percent of voters under 24 cast ballots in the last general election. The lure? His hip-hop superstar friends, 50 Cent, Beyonce, and Eminem, among dozens of others.
The Detroit rapper brought in thousands to one of the two dozens summits planned nationally. Fans get in free with a voter registration card. If not, they can register on arrival or online.
Ever the CEO, Simmons has also partnered with traditional grassroot organizers and others.
SIMMONS: You get Clear Channel and its broadcastings, and you get MTV and BET and the Wrestling League, and we push until we get, you know, enough voters that young people's voices are heard.
UDOJI (on camera): The campaign plans to keep in touch, track who votes. How? Well, they're collecting voters' vitals -- their e- mail and home addresses, along with their cell phone number.
(voice-over): Executive Director Ben Chavis.
DR. BENJAMIN CHAVIS, HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK: When a person from our demographic gets an e-mail from P. Diddy Combs or Russell Simmons or Jay-Z (ph) or Beyonce, they pay attention to that e-mail.
UDOJI: Election analysts are cautious, saying other campaigns -- Rock the Vote or Rap the Vote -- have only been moderately successful. CURTIS GANS, ELECTIONS EXPERT: What is going to make a difference? On the short haul is whether there are big issues to be decided this time around and whether somebody who is a candidate speaks to those big issues in a way that young people trust.
UDOJI: Simmons says that's exactly right, but first those young voters must believe the process matters, and that's what he's out to prove.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 12, 2004 - 06:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On the subject of actually voting -- as in getting people to hip-hop on over to the voting booth -- wait. Rapper and record producer Russell Simmons has an idea. He's out to mobilize an entire generation of new voters.
Here's more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is said hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has the golden touch. He hopes that translates into success of his hip-hop team vote campaign.
RUSSELL SIMMONS, HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK: The idea is to register at least two million voters between now and the end of next year, and millions of voters over the next five years.
UDOJI: That's 20 million young voters through 2008 -- ambitious, considering less than 30 percent of voters under 24 cast ballots in the last general election. The lure? His hip-hop superstar friends, 50 Cent, Beyonce, and Eminem, among dozens of others.
The Detroit rapper brought in thousands to one of the two dozens summits planned nationally. Fans get in free with a voter registration card. If not, they can register on arrival or online.
Ever the CEO, Simmons has also partnered with traditional grassroot organizers and others.
SIMMONS: You get Clear Channel and its broadcastings, and you get MTV and BET and the Wrestling League, and we push until we get, you know, enough voters that young people's voices are heard.
UDOJI (on camera): The campaign plans to keep in touch, track who votes. How? Well, they're collecting voters' vitals -- their e- mail and home addresses, along with their cell phone number.
(voice-over): Executive Director Ben Chavis.
DR. BENJAMIN CHAVIS, HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK: When a person from our demographic gets an e-mail from P. Diddy Combs or Russell Simmons or Jay-Z (ph) or Beyonce, they pay attention to that e-mail.
UDOJI: Election analysts are cautious, saying other campaigns -- Rock the Vote or Rap the Vote -- have only been moderately successful. CURTIS GANS, ELECTIONS EXPERT: What is going to make a difference? On the short haul is whether there are big issues to be decided this time around and whether somebody who is a candidate speaks to those big issues in a way that young people trust.
UDOJI: Simmons says that's exactly right, but first those young voters must believe the process matters, and that's what he's out to prove.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
