Please do not tell me that you are surprised about this news. There are reports that one of the artists performing at the Presidential inauguration this year is none other than Jay-Z. 

Remember, Beyonce put her bid in early and she’s supposed to be performing too, as well as Leona Lewis. 

What songs should he perform? I say “Encore,” but encore for Barack, not Jay. I really hope he doesn’t do the “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and show Barack on the screen doing it in the background. What do you think?

Last night, the Hip-Hop community celebrated, as Barack Obama was elected the first Black president of the United States of America. For those who don’t know, I’m back at BET.com and yesterday, it was great to be there to experience this historic victory. We had Murphy Lee, Killer Mike, Bun B, Rhymefest, and Dr. Todd Boyd blogging live on election day. We conducted in person interviews with people in Hip-Hop, from big celebs to newcomers, Russell Simmons, Rosa Clemente, Papoose, Q-Tip, Charles Hamilton, DJ Scratch, Sylvia Rhone, and more all talked about the significance of this day. Hip-hop did its thing this election and here’s a recap of the Hip Hop moments during this election that had us either laughing, crying or just shaking our heads.

Diddy Blogs - You can’t deny that Diddy played a role in this election. His open letters and stops in various cities made us proud that he spoke out when it mattered. But it was the damn Diddy blogs that he uploaded to Youtube that I just couldn’t get enough of. We got some of the best Diddy acting we’ll ever see, from his Blair Witch-inspired Sarah Palin blog to his twin daughters endorsement of Obama.

Ludacris Song – Sigh. Ludacris released a mixtape song, “Obama Is Here,” that criticized McCain and disrespected Hillary Clinton. Now, we know that rappers are going to go off at the mouth in their rhymes, but couldn’t Luda just wait until Obama was elected?? And maybe if he didn’t have that pic of him and Obama, it would have went unnoticed and the Obama campaign wouldn’t have had to distance itself, but when you know you’ve met him and there’s proof of that you should tread lightly. Help him help you!

Obama “The Next Contestant Up On That Jay-Z Screen” - The last time we saw Jay-Z throw someone up on that big screen at one of his concerts, it was Prodigy in a tutu. But during his tour with Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z took a step in a direction he’s never really gone. He endorsed Obama in a big way.

Young Jeezy Meets McCain - We recognize that McCain had very little celebrity endorsements, and that Young Jeezy supported Obama. But to see them shake hands on that Saturday Night Live stage when they met at a late night talk show was moving, entertaining and awkward all at once.

Queen Latifah as Gwen Ifill - Speaking of Saturday Night Live, we can’t forget Queen Latifah’s role as Gwen Ifill. No one could outshine Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, but to handpick Latifah in that spoof of the debate was big for hip-hop.

I was going to mention CNN and their ridiculousness of beaming in Will.i.am, but I’m trying to give them credit for being ahead of the curve with the technology.

Here’s my question. If you are a rapper supporting Barack Obama, why would you choose to do so in a song that uses profanity, lines like “hillary is a irrelevant bitch” and the like, knowing you and your song are going to be subject to so much scrutiny? (????) Well, for those of you living under a rock, Ludacris dropped a mixtape song entitled “Obama Is Here.” (Listen to it here). With the lyrics on the record, it’s like an open invitation to Bill O’Reilly and others to throw stones and turn this whole thing against the Obama campaign. Newsflash: it’s not helping.

We may not think that they are paying that much attention, but in the midst of this election campaign, the hip hop community need to be just a little more savvy when shouting out Obama or “supporting” him. the wrong move will backfire on the entire campaign. Now, I’m not even one to get political, but even I know that.

Here’s what Obama’s camp had to say and it wasn’t nice.

KO