Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment
EntertainmentMusicPoliticsVideo

Nas Stars in Voting PSA

Posted byBy Kevin Webb | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Rapper Nas stars in a new initiative motivating young Americans to vote. The Queensbridge born artist is the latest celebrity to star in a series of public service announcements sponsored by OurTime.org, a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization focused on young adults and children. The ad premiered on Tuesday, the eve of the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and his opponent, GOP candidate Mitt Romney.

“The future of this country is in the hands of young people,” Nas says in the video. “We have the power. We can go to the polls in droves … and vote to get the person that we want. We can do that.”

Usher, Renee Zellweger and Steve Carrell are some of the other stars brought on by OurTime.org as a part of their voter registration initiative. Nas spoke on his new sense of agency, having voted in the last election. “Now that I’ve voted I feel so much power that I didn’t feel before,” Nas said. “I feel like I got power, like what I say matters,” he said.

Tomorrow’s debate will be held at the University of Denver, starting at 9pm. Live coverage will span across all of the major networks including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and several other cable channels.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top