Obama at Lolla? We Can Dream, Can't We?

Photo: Vishwanat/Getty

Rumors are swirling about the chance that Barack Obama might take the stage at Lollapalooza on Sunday night to introduce Kanye West. Lolla organizer Perry Farrell says he knows nothing about an Obama cameo, but we're keeping our fingers crossed. After all, it would be a hometown gig for the presidential nominee, and it'd be a helluva way to celebrate his forty-seventh birthday, which comes on August 4th.

In other rappers-love-Barack-as-much-as-we-do news, Pete spoke to Jay-Z backstage at Pemberton about what kind of reaction he's gotten to flashing an image of Obama on the big screen behind him during overseas festival gigs. Here's what Hova had to say: "Everywhere I've played, the response when Obama comes on the screen is enormous. I believe he can change the perception of America in the rest of the world. And for guys like me who grew up in the Marcy Projects and never thought we'd be part of the political process, it means everything. My mother used to tell me that with determination you can be anything in the world you want to be. Now I feel like that's a true statement for the first time." -- JENNY ELISCU