ABSTRACT
This chapter utilizes agenda-setting theory to analyze how the music entertainment industry created an agenda for young African American voters. It examines one of those organizations in particular, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), the largest national coalition of hip-hop artists and recording industry executives. The chapter explains the political agendas created by hip-hop music in Decision 2004. Traditionally, agenda-setting theory has been tested in a variety of news media such as newspapers, television, radio, digital media, and, recently, social media, but this research paper expands this scope to other communication venues like entertainment. Africans imported to the Americas to provide the physical labor required to cultivate the land and build the infrastructure found themselves without civil liberties or political voice. African American music forms evolved to include gospel, swing, bebop, rhythm, and blues, and rap/hip-hop. The outcomes of the present study determined that the top three issues in HSAN’s agenda were war with Iraq, economy, and criminal justice.
