MillionFace

Needless to mention, Atlanta is the adoptive home of the BET Hip-Hop Awards, and this effect Atlanta’s own T.I. and Ludacris opened to a packed house at the Atlanta Civic Center Saturday evening. But before long, the third annual show was shaping up to be as much of a Barack Obama rally as an awards ceremony.

Here are some highlights from the rally, um, ceremony:

Rapper 50 Cent and actress Kerri Washington handed out the show’s first award — The Alltel Wireless People’s Champ Award — to Lil Wayne. Washington, a staunch Obama supporter, encouraged the audience to get out on Nov. 4 and “Barack the Vote.”

The presidential references continued with Young Jeezy, who performed his hit “Crazy World” in front a gigantic projection of an American flag. Next to him was very presidential lectern, also adorned with the flag.

A dedication to women in hip-hop was filled with onscreen images of the Democrat nominee. Rapper MC Lyte did a medley of her hits wearing a fitted Obama T-shirt. Then Lyte, along with Yo Yo, Lady of Rage, Salt N Pepa and Spinderella, dedicated the hit tune “Push It” to Obama.

“In 2008, we’re pushing for change in America, and we’re pushing for Barack Obama,” said Cheryl “Salt” Wray. The entire group of lady rappers then joined in to “What a Man” as monitors showed photos of the Obamas together on the campaign trail.

Lil Wayne did a freestyle a cappella rap that included knocks at both John McCain and Sarah Palin. Each time he came onstage to accept an award, (he also won for lyricist of the year and 2008 MVP), he encouraged people to go out an vote.

In a surprise scheduling change, Atlanta’s T-Pain replaced comedian Katt Williams as MC.

On the black carpet before the show, T-Pain said he would not work from a script: “You don’t need a script when you’re an original like me, baby.”

Producers showed a sneak preview of “Notorious,” a film to be released in January on the life of Christopher “Notorious B.I.G” Wallace. In introducing the clip, the film’s star Jamal “Gravy” Woolard called it “hip-hop’s first ‘biological’ feature,” which prompted laughs and snickers from the audience.

Producers then let Woolard retake the segment so that he could say “biographical” instead.

Award winners

Oddly, BET handed out only five of 15 awards during Saturday’s taping. There were:

• Best Hip-Hop Collaboration: DJ Khaled for “I’m So Hood” remix featuring Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta, Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Birdman and Rick Ross.

• Alltel Wireless People’s Champ Award: to Lil Wayne

• Lyricist of the Year: Lil Wayne

• MVP of the Year: Lil Wayne

• Myspace Music Rookie of the Year: Atlanta’s Shawty Lo

With the presidential elections coming close on the heels we have a splurge of negative twist going around in a presidential campaign air filled with worst accusations of race-baiting and gutter politics

Here we have John McCain’s campaign accusing Barack Obama of playing racial politics. The twist in the campaign for the November 4 election was prompted by a McCain television advertisement that called Obama a celebrity akin to star-crossed U.S. personalities Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

“Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It’s divisive, negative, shameful and wrong,” McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said in a written statement.

Obama responded firmly and said McCain was trying to scare voters away from him by pointing out he has “a funny name, and he doesn’t look like all the presidents on the dollar bills and the five dollar bills.”

Looking at the current scenario, last thing Obama would have wished for is to stay away from the firm support of black rappers in his favor. Obama must be cursing himself for acknowledging Ludacris as his favorite rapper. And look what Luda comes up with, a profanity laced song “Politics (Obama is Here)” that also takes pokes at George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

Obama camp isn’t exactly embracing the Song. In past interviews, Obama has stated that he likes Luda’s music.

In the song, Ludacris raps of himself:

“You never should have doubted with a slot in the prez’s iPod/I’m one of his favorite rappers.”

Later, he adds: “You can’t stop what’s about to happen/The first black president/We going to paint the White House black/The world is ready for change because Obama is here.”

Luda “Chris Bridges”, calls the current president “the worst,” refers to Clinton using a less than genteel definition of a female canine and mocks McCain’s age and suggests he needs a wheelchair.

On The Politico.com, political blogger Ben Smith reports that the Obama camp is condemning the song. The site posted the following quote from Obama spokesperson Bill Burton: “As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn’t want his daughters or any children exposed to. This song is not only outrageously offensive to Senator Clinton, Reverend Jackson, Senator McCain, and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics.”

Be it a race card or a funny name, or no resemblance to all the presidents on the dollar bills it doesn’t change my opinion on who I’m going to vote for!