Philadelphia: Home of cheesesteaks and brotherly love. More importantly, the birthplace of American democracy.
Nikki Jean: Toured alongside Kanye West, Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, and NERD for the Glow in the Dark Tour. More importantly, now a Democracy Class teacher.
Nikki Jean’s been making music for almost as long as Rock the Vote has been around. More precisely, according to her website, since she was this big:
Fast forward to 2005 when she moved to Philadelphia to join its vibrant music scene, where she quickly became involved with the indie hip-hop band Nouveau Riche, skyrocketed to fame with her popular YouTube videos, and joined Lupe on his 2007 sophomore album ‘The Cool.” On top of all that, she’s currently working on rolling out her own solo album.
Clearly, Nikki Jean’s a little busy, but when it comes to engaging young people in our democracy, Nikki’s committed to Rocking the Vote. She joined us at Philly’s Constitution High School last Thursday to host a Democracy Class and a lunch time voter registration rally. By the end of the day, students had registered to vote, signed up to volunteer, or be alerted with a text reminder to register on their eighteenth birthdays.
And just for the record, that whole brotherly love thing? Totally not a rumor. Last fall, our Philly-based field team saw midterm turnout rates significantly higher than the national average. At U Penn alone, turnout went up by 46 percent, according to Rock the Vote’s Election Day tallies. Keep on rocking, Philadelphia. We love you too.
