The story that is usually told by politicians is that rap music is a symptom of American culture in decline. In the 1990s, you could hardly find a politician on either side of the political aisle that wasn't itching to demonize hip-hop for its perceived ills.

Who could forget Vice President Dan Quayle in 1992 calling legendary rapper Tupac Shakur's acclaimed 2Pacalypse Now "a disgrace to American music?" Or when Pennsylvania Representative C. Dolores Tucker lead a national crusade against gangster rap music, citing the misogyny and negative depictions of black people were destructive to African-American culture. Over and over, politicians went out-of-there way to denigrate hip-hop, hoping to win cheap political points with their older rap-fearing constituency.

Two decades later, the world has changed. As hip-hop enters its 40th year in existence, it is hard to find a person under 50 that has not been influenced by hip-hop to some degree. Thus, it makes sense that you will find politicians that are hip-hop fans.

In celebration of Election Day today, XXL is looking at some prominent politicians that expressed their love of hip-hop.

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Sen. Marco Rubio

Likes: Eminem, N.W.A, 2Pac, Pitbull

Senator Marco Rubio wants to be President. In an attempt to sway younger voters, the Cuban-American Republican from Florida has admitted to enjoying hip-hop music. In November 2012, Rubio told GQ that his three favorite rap songs were "Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A. “Killuminati” by Tupac. Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” He went on to praise Eminem for his depth, crediting him for rapping about his struggles with addiction, coming from a broken family and fatherhood.

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Bill De Blasio

Likes: Jay Z, GZA, Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow

Speaking with XXL in September, New York mayoral candidate Bill De Blasio told us that he was a fan of old school hip-hop growing up, listening to artists such as Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow. He also said his favorite Wu-Tang member was The GZA and praised Jay Z.

"From growing up in Marcy to his rise to become one of our country’s leading artists and entrepreneurs, his success and hard work is an inspiration to all New Yorkers. He’s still going strong after all these years—how could you not have respect for that?," De Blasio said of Hov.

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Rep. André Carson

Prior to joining a career in politics and community organization, U.S. Representative André Carson from Indiana's 7th congressional district, was a "battlerrapper" in the 1990s that called himself "Juggernaut." After giving up his hip-hop pursuits, Carson preaches the power of hip-hop to change communities for good.

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Rep. Trey Radel

Likes: Eric B., Big Daddy Kane, Chuck D, N.W.A

Self-described "hip-hop conservative" Trey Radel is a U.S. congressman representing the Florida's 19th district. In June 2013, The Republican congressman penned an essay for Buzzfeed explaining his love for rap artists such as N.W.A and Public Enemy and described how that informs his conservative politics.

“Immediately, hip-hop artists did what artists have been doing for centuries – they opened my eyes up to a whole new world,” Radel wrote. "NWA was doing what blues, folk and rock stars have been doing for generations- they were describing hardship and pain."

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Kwame Kilpatrick

Likes: Eminem, 50 Cent

One of the earliest politicians to openly embrace hip-hop was former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. After being elected to the Motown mayorship in 2001 at a mere 31 years, Kilpatrick was dubbed "the hip-hop mayor" by the media across the country. Kilpatrick appeared on stage with Eminem at rallies and admitted to being a fan of gangster rappers like 50 Cent at the time.

Unfortunately, trouble seemed to find Kilpatrick at an alarming rate and Kilpatrick found himself indicted on a serious corruption charges including tax evasion, extortion and racketeering. He was convicted of these charges on May 11, 2013 and sentenced to 28 years in prison for his involvement in the crimes.

Rep. Yvette Clarke

Likes: Kanye West

U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke, Democratic congresswoman from New York's 9th district in Brookyn, was interviewed by Stephen Colbert in a comedic segment for The Colbert Report. In the interview, she admitting to enjoying rap music and shouted out her hometwoen of Brooklyn.Back in 2012 during a congressional submeeting on Agriculture, Clarke also quoted the Kanye West song "Heartless" referring to the rapper as "the prolific, poetic philosopher" on the floor of the House.

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Rep. Cynthia McKinney

Likes: Tupac Shakur

Former U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney, the first African-American woman to represent Georgia in the House, was noted for introducing the Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Collection Act of 2005. While the bill was never enacted into law, the bill attempted to provide for the expeditious disclosure of records relevant to the life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur.

"The public has the right to know because he was a well-known figure. There is intense public interest in the life and death of Tupac Shakur," McKinney wrote in a statement at the time.

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President Barack Obama

Likes: Jay Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Common, Jeezy

No politician has embraced and has been embraced more by hip-hop than the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. Over the years since bursting onto the national scene, the President has spoken about enjoying hip-hop including the music of such artists as Nas, Lil Wayne and Jay Z.

Meanwhile, the support that he's shown toward hip-hop has has been reciprocated rap artists in kind. Numerous rap songs have been dedicated to his honor while artists such as Jay Z, will.i.am and Common have lent their services to his campaigns and have appeared with the President on stage.

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