Well it looks like Hip Hop is about to take on a real battle. Toss all that Ja Rule vs. DMX crap away. It's gonna be LL Cool J in one corner and P-Diddy and Russell Simmons in another. Now we'll see if all those radio stations that claim to be the place for Hip Hop and R&B will do big blow out weekend promotions around this new 'difference of opinion'. Hopefully they do because the stakes are high. Russell Simmons was the first to throw down the gauntlet at Monday's Hip Hop Speaks event at Harlem's Riverside Church. He told the packed audience that P-Diddy had committed himself to pulling out all the stops to make sure NY Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Carl McCall got elected to office. If successful this longtime NY State Comptroller will be NY's first African American governor. P-Diddy recently told reporters that because he has kids he has a responsibility to be politically conscious.

Now it seems like there's a rapper from Queens who is also entering the political fray-LL Cool J. He's just announced that he will be throwing his weight behind New York's Republican incumbent governor George Pataki. LL told news reporters that he's backing Pataki because he was impressed with the way he handled the 9-11 situation and he felt that Pataki has done great things for his hometown of Queens. He felt that Pataki has stepped up and has been all about action and even though McCall is African American, race has nothing to do with his decision.

It's interesting to note that LL underscores a new mindset held by many within the Hip Hop community in terms of who they back and won't back. It's no longer a situation where folks will automatically back a candidate because he's Democrat or Black. This was first realized when Russell Simmons entered into the political arena and threw his support behind McCall's early Democratic challenger Andrew Cuomo. His endorsement rattled many 'established' African American leaders who felt that Simmon's endorsement would undermine the years of long hard work they had put into grooming McCall and get him ready for this run.

When asked about why he wasn't backing McCall, Simmons ran down a long list of well researched concerns that ranged from who McCall awarded contracts to as state comptroller to him not showing up and being down with the Million Family March. Simmons at that time noted that it wasn't about a candidate being Black, instead it was about whether or not a candidate was willing to step up and be down for things he found to be important. Simmons said he wanted to back cats who have heart and he felt that McCall wasn't showing that based upon certain positions he took at that time. Now that Cuomo is no longer running, Simmons a long time Democrat has put his weight behind McCall.

Now the big question is can LL, P-Diddy and Simmons pull people to the polls? During the recent primaries there were record low turnouts. Also the question remains how will these Hip Hop superstars be visible in the respective campaigns of their chosen candidates. I have yet to see a TV commercial featuring P-Diddy or Simmons. Nor do I know if there are plans. I don't know what Pataki's reaction is to LL coming out in support. One thing we should note is that all three Hip Hoppers have lots of resources to bring to the table. P-Diddy just recently purchased a polling company. He can let McCall know how he's doing and where he needs to tighten up. He may even give him a discount since polling can be expensive. Simmons of course has the Hip Hop Summit Action Network [HHSAN] and Rap The Vote. As for LL, he can pretty damn persuasive and with him saying he's going for Pataki a lot of folks are going to take a second look at the incumbent governor.

On another note, I'm just curious as to whether or not McCall or Pataki will step to the Hip Hop community or shy away for fear of voter backlash. That backlash of course could come from a rival candidate or folks who believe all the negative stereotypes about rappers. It would only be a matter of time before someone pulls up a lyric sheet, album cover or point to past activities and ask a candidate if he supports the activities or actions of the rapper supporting him? For example, lets say P-Diddy is seen on stage with McCall, I can see some reporter raising the issue as to whether or not he [McCall] likes hanging around a guy who curses on his albums or had some run ins with the law.

Of course those concerns will not play within the Hip Hop community, so it will be interesting to see what sort of resources and what sort of aggressive campaigning takes place amongst the Hip Hop community. In other words, will we hear LL or P-Diddy busting freestyle verses about how dope McCall or Pataki is on the next K-Slay tape? Will any of the candidates show up at Hip Hop functions and get down with the folks?