Auto-Tuning The Candidates, Hip Hop In The 2012 Election, And The Citizens Band

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Monday, November 05, 2012

The Gregory Brothers are most known for their hilarious Auto-Tune The News videos. (Danny Renshaw / courtesy of the artist)

Tonight on Soundcheck: With Election Day finally here, we take a look at a few ways music and politics have intersected this cycle. First we hear from the Gregory Brothers, the guys responsible for the "Songified" presidential debate videos that went viral this fall.

Then music from The Citizens Band, a sprawling troupe of musicians including The Cardigans' Nina Persson, who make politically and socially-driven songs to fire up voters.

And Sowmya Krishnamurthy gives us a look at hip hop's role in the 2012 election and how artists from Jay-Z to Kendrick Lamar have shown support and disapproval of the President in the the days leading up to the election.

Guests:

The Citizens Band

Contributors:

Sowmya Krishnamurthy

Why Joe Biden Should Have Been A Pop Star: The 2012 Election In Song

Joe Biden is a "rock star" -- according to The Gregory Brothers, at least. The Brooklyn group best known for turning viral internet videos into catchy hits pledged to "songify" each of the debates leading up to this year's election -- and they delivered on that promise. We talk with them about their pitch-correcting technique, and why they prefer Joe Biden's voice over any other.

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Nina Persson performing in the Soundcheck studio with The Citizens Band.

The Citizens Band Swing The Election

Members of the cabaret troupe The Citizens Band bring democracy-themed songs to the Soundcheck studio.

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Once Rhymed About, Obama Finds Less Support from Hip Hop in 2012

Before the 2008 presidential election, hip hop stars like Nas, Young Jeezy and Sean "Diddy" Combs enthusiastically endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama through speech and song. But four years later, the hip hop community's support of President Obama's re-election has seemed somewhat muted. Hip hop writer and Soundcheck bullpen member Sowmya Krishnamurthy joins us to discuss how rappers like Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco and Nicki Minaj have demonstrated their feelings of political support, apathy and disapproval leading up to election day.

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