Ellison sponsors hip-hop concert on campus

Hip-hop artist Brother Ali headlined a Coffman Union concert Thursday night to promote voter registration on campus.
U.S. Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison , who represents the University’s congressional district, sponsored the event, called “Explode the Vote.”
“We’ve got to have people pumped up and I think music and art is a way to do that,” Ellison said.
Due to the financial crisis, Ellison didn’t attend the event, but he said it still represented an opportunity for students to focus on how they can influence politics.
“We’ve got some really good artists who are not only really good rappers, but they’re also folks who are going to provoke and inspire and get people really thinking about the possibilities for our country and our world — and to a funky beat,” Ellison said.
Tables promoting U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken and presidential candidate Barack Obam a greeted concert-goers as they entered.
Beyond that and the calls for voter registration, the event was mostly about music, as headliner Brother Ali said he expected.
“This is Keith’s party,” Ali Newman (Brother Ali) said. “He asked us to come and entertain. So we’re just going to entertain.”
Ellison and Ali have known each other since the early 1990s. They even attend the same mosque in Minneapolis, Ellison said.
Ali said supporting Ellison was an easy decision for him, but that’s not always the case with politicians.
“It’s kind of on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “For the majority of them, I have a really hard time believing that their intentions are pure.”
Students at the concert said they came for different reasons.
Aatif Mansoor , a first-year biomedical engineering student, said he came to listen to music and support Ellison.
“It’s an excellent way to reach the youth,” he said.
University first-year Melissa Mello said it was only music that drew her to the event.
“I didn’t go to it because it’s a political event,” she said. “I went to it because it’s a concert.”
Simi Murumba , the youth outreach organizer for Ellison’s campaign, said Ellison and herself were involved in crafting the concert.
It was an event to both entertain and inspire, she said.
“We’re creating a culture of young people whose involvement will last through future elections,” she said.
First-year chemical engineering student Dan Caron said he liked Brother Ali’s message.
“I like that he raps about the stuff that matters,” he said.
Ali said he actually adjusted his performing style for the political event.
Ali does have controversial lyrics in some of his songs, such as his song, “Uncle Sam Goddamn ,” in which he refers to the United States as the “united snakes .”
More controversial parts of his normal performance were changed to be more appropriate for the nature of the event, Ali said.
“With Brother Keith’s name being attached to this thing, I’ve chosen to be a little bit more strategic with what we do,” he said.
Ellison said despite promoting the concert, neither he nor Ali should be held responsible for the actions of the other.
“His job is to use music as a medium to lift people’s imagination and to just plain old entertain them. And my job is to legislate,” he said. “We do have very different roles in society that we play.”
Ellison did well in the 2006 elections on campus, winning over 63 percent of the votes in the University’s precincts.
In the district as a whole, Ellison won 55 percent of the vote.
“I feel like we’re matching up very well,” he said. “My values reflect the 5th Congressional District very well.”
But even some concert-goers were less political.
“I don’t even know who Keith Ellison is,” Mello said.