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Barack Obama Addresses Hip Hop; Meets With Jay-Z And Kanye West

Senator Barack Obama plans to use Hip Hop artists to educate the American public if he wins the Democratic candidacy and becomes President.

Obama, who lost to Hillary Clinton in yesterday's New Hampshire primary, says he has been a Hip Hop fan for years. Although neither Jay-Z nor Kanye West have come out to publicly support Obama's candidacy, Obama has already talked with the two regarding ways in which they can use their music in a positive way, and also how to branch out and fill the gap between older generations who dismiss Hip Hop as a negative, inferior art form.

"I've met with Jay-Z; I've met with Kanye. And I've talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking (is massive)," Obama told Jeff Johnson during BET's political special What's In It For Us?.

Though he supports using Hip Hop as a catalyst for good, Obama is also aware of Hip Hop's negative side too, acknowledging that messages of crime and misogyny overshadow the many positive aspects of rap music.

"There are times, even on the artists I've named, the artists that I love, that there is a message that's sometimes degrading to women, uses the N-word a little too frequently. But also something that I'm really concerned about is (they're) always talking about material things about how I can get something; more money, more cars."

With the primaries in full swing, the voice of young Black America and the Hip Hop vote will continue to be a focal point in the media. So far, rappers including Common, Rhymefest and Talib Kweli have voiced their support for Obama.

Boss fires staff for not smoking

BERLIN (Reuters) - The owner of a small German computer company has fired three non-smoking workers because they were threatening to disturb the peace after they requested a smoke-free environment.

The manager of the 10-person IT company in Buesum, named Thomas J., told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper he had fired the trio because their non-smoking was causing disruptions.

Germany introduced non-smoking rules in pubs and restaurants on January 1, but Germans working in small offices are still allowed to smoke.

"I can't be bothered with trouble-makers," Thomas was quoted saying. "We're on the phone all the time and it's just easier to work while smoking. Everyone picks on smokers these days. It's time for revenge. I'm only going to hire smokers from now on."

'Priest' with 7.7 lbs of coke arrested

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A man claiming to be a Catholic priest was arrested Friday at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after he was caught carrying 7.7 pounds of cocaine under his robes, a spokesman for Dutch border police said.

The suspect, whose identity was being traced, initially refused to undergo a routine body check "for religious reasons," spokesman Robert van Kapel said.

He said the man was then spotted lining up at a different entrance gate. He was searched and the drugs were found in packages taped to his body.

"We've seen a lot of things, baseballs filled with cocaine, wine bottles, plaster casts, but this is a first," Van Kapel said.

He said the man, who was traveling from Bolivia, continued to insist he is a priest and did not confess any wrongdoing, arguing his rights had been violated by the search.

Van Kapel said that was bunk.

"If you want to enter (Europe) you have to pass a security check, you have to cooperate and you can't refuse a body search," he said. "He'll be brought before a judge today."

Sources: Yahoo.com, HipHopdx.com