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Will.i.am Won't Be Bailing Out If McCain Wins

Hip-hop artist and political activist says he will not give up on his country, despite who is running it.

By Marc Malkin Oct 23, 2008 1:47 AMTags
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Hip-hop artist and political activist will.i.am won't be pulling a Tina Fey any time soon. The high-profile Barack Obama supporter says he's not leaving the U.S.—or the planet—if he's unhappy with the outcome of November's presidential election.

"Whether Obama's president or McCain's president, it's still important for people to be just as passionate and just as involved in moving and shaping their communities," he said last week at the SHIN restaurant grand opening. "I'm going to do that regardless of who is president. You don't just bail the f--k out."

He added, "This political cycle isn't like Christmas. On Nov. 4, it isn't like I got my presents, and now I'm not gonna pay attention anymore."

The Black Eyed Peas main man's celeb-filled pro-Obama music videos, Yes, We Can and We Are the Ones, have incorporated the likes of Ryan Phillippe, John Leguizamo, Jessica Alba, George Lopez, John Legend, Kate Walsh, Taryn Manning, Nicole Scherzinger and Common. According to a spokesperson, Yes, We Can garnered more than a million views on YouTube and 10 million on host site YesWeCanSong.com in its first week

So can we expect to see more of will.i.am's star-studded viral videos?

"Not anytime soon. If I start making songs just like a factory, then they're not the truth," said the hip-hop star. "You have to be inspired to do that kind of stuff, and when an inspiration calls, I'll answer it and do it again."

—Written by Dahvi Shira. Marc is in Europe running the marathon in Amsterdam