ENSTARZ EXCLUSIVE: Jeezy Names This Rapper As Inspiration To Rap About Politics At 'Hip-Hop And The White House' Premiere
Produced by Jeezy, 'Hip-Hop and the White House' narrates the story of how hip-hop culture went from "ignored and misunderstood" by presidential administrations to embraced for its influence on American youth.
Written and directed by Jesse Washington, this street-conscious film examines the relationship between the most powerful American cultural movement of the past 50 years and the most powerful position on the planet — the President of the United States.
ENSTARZ met with the Grammy Award-winning rapper on the red carpet last week, who the Young Money rapper Curren$y comically declared "elected the f****n president" in the film's commentary following his chart-topping hit "My President" in 2008.
"I want a leader that's going to bring us all together," Jeezy, 46, began. "We got to know what this next generation wants, because they're the new voters."
"We have to sit down and have some conversations with them, "Jeezy, real name Jay Wayne Jenkins, said. "We've already been in this world long enough let's see what they want, because we have to set it up for them and the generation after them... and the generation after them."
The 46-year-old admitted writing the lyrics "my president is Black," five months before the election was risky, but the words "came from a real place."
"I wanted to be the first to write about that — to capture that moment [my president is Black]," he said during the film's panel.
RELATED: Beyoncé 'Puts Her Foot Down' With 'Rules' For Jay-Z After Alleged Previous Affairs: Report
The documentary also discussed some of hip-hop's biggest political moments, including the release of Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" (1990), which was called one of the top 500 greatest songs of all time by 'Rolling Stone.' Aside from N.W.A.'s 1988 "F**k Tha Police" revolutionary track and rapper Eazy-E's luncheon with George H.W. Bush in March 1991, Jeezy credits the late rapper Tupac Shakur for his introduction to politics.
"I had that reassurance from Tupac," Jeezy stated, detailing that the "Keep Ya Head Up" rapper wrote lyrics that he felt were speaking directly to him.
From "Jeezy the snowman" to Jeezy the film producer, the father of four says he's learned to "never stop learning."
The hip-hop documentary is available to stream now on Hulu.
