Michelle Obama Talks Common And The White House

When hip hop artist Common was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to do a spoken-word piece at the White House’s evening of poetry, Sarah Palin as well as Fox News were in an uproar over the White House’s decision to invite a man who they say, has “glorified cop killing.”

According to MTV’s RapFix , while speaking to a group of students at Oxford University recently, Michelle Obama mentioned her decision to invite Common:

“We had a poetry session and we invited young kids in just last week from all over the country. And they talked to some of the most outstanding poets, and they read their poetry in the state room. And then we had a poetry night and Common was there. He’s very cute. But everybody from poet laureates to hip-hop folks, being able to mix up the world in that very interesting way, the White House allows you to do that.”

Nas also spoke out recently in defense of Common’s White House visit and slammed critics, saying:

“The people who feel like Common shouldn’t be performing are really old in their thinking. It’s like your grandparents have a microphone, and not even smart grandparents — just ignorant grandparents…It scares the hell out of them. They feel like an endangered species in their way of thinking. People that are not open to change are just miserable.”

Ain’t that the truth!