Crib Notes

Every week the New York Times puts someone in its editorial department in the hot seat to take questions from readers. This week, jazz and pop music critic Ben Ratliff drew the short straw. He’s answering questions emailed to askthetimes@nytimes.com through Friday.

Here’s a sample:

Q. Now that Barack Obama has said there will be jazz in the White House — does that mean we’re at the end of stupid and the beginning of smart?

— James Brinsfield

A. I think that we tend to look at our president and think, this is us. If that this-is-us perception includes President-elect Obama’s interest in John Coltrane, say, it might be a meaningful thing. If he installed a “secretary of culture” who knew a lot about jazz and Afro-Latin music, there might actually be concrete results.

I don’t know yet what Mr. Obama is going to do for jazz. I thought it was clever that after his acceptance speech he used one of the same Brooks & Dunn country songs (”Only in America”) that George W. Bush had used on the campaign trail in 2004. Maybe that’s the jazz process: using an old song to new ends.

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While Sarah Palin was preparing for her guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” rapper Lil Wayne took the liberty to throw a lyrical diss at the Republican VP candidate and McCain while rapping onstage at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta.

It was certainly a pro-Obama night at the Atlanta Civic Center, where the third annual show was taped. Even during a performance meant to honor women in hip-hop (which required calling ’80s and ’90s rappers Salt N Pepa and DJ Spinderella, the Lady of Rage, MC Lyte and Yo-Yo out of semi-retirement) a classic tune like Salt N Pepa’s sexually implicit “Push It” became a rallying cry to Barack the vote.

“In 2008, we’re pushing for change in America, and we’re pushing for Barack Obama,” said Cheryl “Salt” Wray.

The partisan show of support was no surprise, but still sorta ironic considering the BET network’s founder and former CEO Bob Johnson vehemently opposed Barack Obama’s candidacy during the Democratic primaries when he was a staunch Hillary Clinton supporter.

You can read more about how hip-hop and politics mixed at the BET HHA in this AJC story.

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Yep, you read right.

In a recent interview with Marie Claire, Michelle Obama was asked what she’s rocking in the iPod and she gave Atlanta’s own Anthony David some major play:

I have a pretty eclectic mix of everything, from Beyoncé to Stevie Wonder. He’s my favorite artist of all time, so I probably have every song he’s ever recorded. But if I hear something I like somewhere, I’ll add it. I just heard this CD by Anthony David, who’s an R&B guy — I put him on there. That’s brand new, so I’m kind of enjoying that a lot now. I also have some old Mariah Carey; the girls have reintroduced me to some of her older stuff. So I have a good mix: some pop, some R&B, some jazz.

AD released Acey Duecy at the beginning of the summer via friend and long-time collaborator India Arie’s new Soulbird Music label, a Universal Republic venture. Click here for a sample on his MySpace page.

And is it just me or does Anthony David not give off a cool presidential vibe on his album cover? Shoot, Barack better watch out.

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Talk about change.

I never thought I’d live to see the day that Yin Yang Twins would be advocating to get out the vote. HAAANHH?!? But Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy seems to have that kind of effect on people — especially African Americans.

Atlanta, aka Black Hollywood, is not exempt.

The new testimonial video Believe. Vote for Change features a laundry list of Atlanta-based athletes, politicians, intellectuals and musicians including rapper Yung Joc, Jermaine Dupri, choreographer/executive DeVyne Stephens, singer Q from 112, producer Bryan Michael Cox, Spelman professor/writer Jelani Cobb, actor Idris Elba of “The Wire,” Hot 107.9’s Rashan Ali, writer/former CL contributor Ronda Racha Penrice, and yes, one-half of the Yin Yang Twins.

Produced by Condraversy Films and Tycor International Film Productions, the video weaves together black-and-white footage of the artists voicing their support for Obama and discussing the monumental significance of his candidacy.

Click here to see the full video. The Yin Yang Twins might surprise you.

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First Congressman John Lewis, now rapper Young Jeezy.

In the August issue of Vibe magazine, Young Jeezy is quoted in the cover story as saying, “No disrespect to Barack, but I fuck with John McCain.”

Turns out, he meant to say the opposite. At least, that’s what he’s saying now in a classic what-had-happened-was moment. He’s even posted a YouTube video statement to clarify his position, saying “somewhere down the line my words got misconstrued.”

In the video, he wears a shirt printed with the words, “My president is black,” and aligns himself with the Democrat party, saying “I represent the streets, the struggle. I represent Democrats.”

In a not-so-ironic twist, his upcoming CD scheduled for release this summer, is titled The Recession. The high cost of gas is just one of the topics he plans to address.

The quote in question came after Jeezy met Senator McCain in May on the set of Saturday Night Live where they briefly shook hands. McCain was hosting the show and Jeezy was there performing “Love in this Club” with Usher. In the YouTube video posted last week, Jeezy disses McCain while addressing Senator Obama with the cool moniker, “Barack-O.”

Whether it’s a pure publicity stunt or a genuine flub Young Jeezy wanted to correct, it shows how much of a pop phenomenon Obama has become that a rapper of Jeezy’s commercial caliber would go so far to align himself with a presidential candidate.

But here’s something I can’t help but wonder: Can the support of a rapper like Young Jeezy — who’s been alleged to have ties to the BMF drug syndicate and nicknamed himself ‘the Snowman’ (hint, hint) earlier in his career — do more harm to Obama’s campaign than good? Or will the dope boy constituency be politically ignited to vote en masse, thereby countering those who might otherwise be offended?

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