COLUMBUS, Ohio – Rapper Jay-Z paid tribute to Barack Obama at the incumbent President’s final rally in the state today by playing an Obama themed set list including, “99 Problems,” “On To The Next One” and “Encore.”
Instead of singing, “I’ve got 99 Problems but a b***h ain’t one,” the rapper sang, “I’ve got 99 problems but a Mitt ain’t one,” as a play on GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s name.
During the rally Jay-Z admitted he didn’t get the indecent rap “99 problems” approved by the Obama campaign, however, with the offending word removed, the song and his performance of it weren’t any more risque than the other songs he sang at the rally.
Ironically, the singer sang “On to the Next One” immediately after “99 Problems,” potentially — and unintentionally — sending the wrong message to attendees. While the rapper may have inserted pro-Obama lyrics into that song as well, they were inaudible over the cheering if he did.
Prior to Jay-Z legendary musician Bruce Springsteen gave a humorous but low energy performance in which he also sang about the President. Springsteen joked that he got scared after the first presidential debate, in which Obama performed badly. He also quipped that FOX News thought that “smilin’ ” Vice President Joe Biden was smoking “marijuana” ahead of his debate against Rep. Paul Ryan.
The Obama rally was held at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus this afternoon. A crowd count for the event was not immediately available, but guesstimated 15,000 people attended the event based on the number of open seats in the mostly empty upper deck of the 18,500-person arena. By comparison 12,000 people attended a crowded indoor rally for presidential candidate Romney this evening at Landmark Aviation in eastern Columbus.
