Today In Hip-Hop: President Obama Brushes The Dirt Off His Shoulders
On this day, April 17, in hip-hop history...
2008: President Barack Obama references Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" in a Democratic primary speech. In the middle of the Democratic primaries in 2008, Hillary Clinton - Obama's biggest rival - had been going on the offensive and attacking the Chicago senator in her speeches at the time. When asked about the criticisms, President Obama responded, "When you're running for President, you've got to expect it; you've just kinda got to let it...," at which point he re-enacted Hova's infamous 2003 hand signal.