It’s Tuesday, Nov. 4. Lil Jon is on the phone with his “auntie” Whoopi Goldberg, who asks if he’s watching “Dancing with the Stars” again.
Quite the contrary: He’s about to vote in this year’s hotly contested midterm elections alongside a star-studded group of good civic participants, including Lena Dunham, Darren Criss, Fred Armisen, and Natasha Lyonne.
Although a potential new president isn’t on the ballot, Dunham, or Lil’ Leena as she asks to be referred to, tells Jon she’s still turned out to vote solely because of reproductive rights. She then breaks it down to his hit song “Turn Out for What.”
Wouldn’t it be fun if this happened every time you showed up at your neighborhood voting precinct?
This new music video is Rock the Vote’s latest attempt to get young people to the polls. At the helm is Jon, who re-recorded his triple-platinum single “Turn Down for What” with DJ Snake as an anthem for the 2014 elections.
“For nearly 25 years, Rock the Vote has fused pop culture with politics to drive the youth vote, protect voting rights, and advocate for an electoral process and voting system that works for young people,” Rock the Vote President Ashley Spillane said in a press release. “’Turn Out For What’is the cultural game-changer for 2014 that Madonna wrapped in the American flag was for Rock The Vote in 1990.”
One thing’s for sure: After listening to Jon’s beat, you’re unlikely to stop rapping it in your head anytime soon.
Through this effort, Rock the Vote hopes to remind young voters that they aren’t any different from Dunham or Jon, who says he’s turning out to vote for the legalization of marijuana. One by one, the cast of celebrities reveals why they’re voting in a non-presidential election: issues like education, global warming, and racial equality are all name-checked.
“With all of our partners, we’re demonstrating the impact you can have when you care like crazy about an issue and vote,” Spillane said.
Or, as Armisen jokes, you may just want to impress your friends.
In order to make registering vote easy and accessible for millennials, Rock the Vote recently introduced an interface that allows people to register to vote on their mobile devices or tablets in less than four minutes. Reality TV star Kendall Jenner recently registered on her phone between her runway appearances at Milan Fashion Week.
Millennials could be the largest voting bloc in the nation, if they didn’t vote at a fraction of their size, according to Rock the Vote’s website. Currently numbering 86 million-strong, millennials now outweigh Baby Boomers. About 12,000 young people turn 18 on a daily basis in the U.S.
In addition to Lil Jon and Madonna, other musicians who’ve partnered with Rock the Vote over the years include Miley Cyrus, John Legend, Ozzy Osborne, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Joseph Neese