Note by Note, Inspiring a Nation

Will.i.am didn't set out to make history. In fact, says the Black Eyed Peas frontman, he's not even political. But much like the masses around him, the rapper-producer was inspired by a junior senator from Chicago named Barack Obama: inspired by his charisma, his message and what he believed he could accomplish. That inspiration, of course, found its way into his music, and the outcome was "Yes We Can"—a remix of Obama's now-legendary speech that, since it debuted last January, has earned more than 15 million hits on YouTube. It might even be argued that the song has had as big an impact on the slogan's popularity as the candidate himself. (Article continued below...)

Will.i.am's latest Obama-inspired music video (and, as he reveals below, it won't be his last) is called "It's a New Day," and features clips of the president-elect's supporters and celebs singing along over a barrage of election night revelry. (Sample lyrics: "I woke up this morning/Feeling brand new/Cause the dreams that I've been dreaming/Have finally came true.") The rapper-producer (real name William James Adams Jr.) spoke with NEWSWEEKabout drawing inspiration from Obama's words. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How did you first come to know about Barack Obama?
Will.i.am: [In] 2004, the Black Eyed Peas [and I] supported [Democratic nominee Sen. John] Kerry. Terry McAuliffe at that time was the head of the [Democratic National Committee], and [he] was like, "You gotta meet this guy, Sen. Barack Obama, from Chicago." He introduced me to him, we took pictures, and I remember that day. We were very proud of the work we were doing, supporting Kerry, [and] getting the word out. [But] this was way before YouTube … The culture wasn't really the way it is now, as far as the youth engaging, connecting online.

What were your first impressions?
I was like, that's a senator in Chicago? A black senator in Chicago? That's dope, right? I was like, wow, this is fresh.

What was it about Obama's New Hampshire speech that really spoke to you?
I was sitting in this house with a broken foot, and we were watching the playoffs, flipping through channels, checking to see which team was losing, and we stopped at CNN. We were glued to his speech, and he said, "It was a creed written from the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation. Yes we can." And I was like, "Wow." And the way it rang to me, it rang like a song. And I thought of Martin Luther King's speech, I thought of Abraham Lincoln's speech and John F. Kennedy's speech. And I pitied the youth, because there was no new politician [for them], you know? These kids, they dream to grow up to be [Michael] Jordans [or] 50 Cent. It's cool to want to be Lil' Wayne. It's cool to want to be Brad Pitt. It's cool to want to be George Clooney. That's cool, but that shouldn't be it. These kids should want to be Obamas. Why shouldn't a child look to want to be a political figure, to change our nation, to lead us the right directions?