Meet the Candidate

Meet Barack

Early Years

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, where he grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British.

Barack's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression, and then signed up for World War II after Pearl Harbor, where he marched across Europe in Patton's army. Her mother went to work on a bomber assembly line, and after the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved west to Hawaii.

It was there, at the University of Hawaii, where Barack's parents met. His mother was a student there, and his father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams in America.

Barack's father eventually returned to Kenya, and Barack grew up with his mother in Hawaii, and for a few years in Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York, where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983.

The College Years

Remembering the values of empathy and service that his mother taught him, Barack put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer with a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment.

The group had some success, but Barack had come to realize that in order to truly improve the lives of people in that community and other communities, it would take not just a change at the local level, but a change in our laws and in our politics.

He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Soon after, he returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer and teach constitutional law. Finally, his advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years. In 2004, he became the third African American since Reconstruction to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Political Career

It has been the rich and varied experiences of Barack Obama's life - growing up in different places with people who had differing ideas - that have animated his political journey. Amid the partisanship and bickering of today's public debate, he still believes in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose - a politics that puts solving the challenges of everyday Americans ahead of partisan calculation and political gain.

In the Illinois State Senate, this meant working with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In the U.S. Senate, he has focused on tackling the challenges of a globalized, 21st century world with fresh thinking and a politics that no longer settles for the lowest common denominator. His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure to rebuild trust in government by allowing every American to go online and see how and where every dime of their tax dollars is spent. He has also been the lead voice in championing ethics reform that would root out Jack Abramoff-style corruption in Congress.

As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognizing the terrorist threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, he traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world. And knowing the threat we face to our economy and our security from America's addiction to oil, he's working to bring auto companies, unions, farmers, businesses and politicians of both parties together to promote the greater use of alternative fuels and higher fuel standards in our cars.

Whether it's the poverty exposed by Katrina, the genocide in Darfur, or the role of faith in our politics, Barack Obama continues to speak out on the issues that will define America in the 21st century. But above all his accomplishments and experiences, he is most proud and grateful for his family. His wife, Michelle, and his two daughters, Malia, 9, and Sasha, 6, live on Chicago's South Side.

Barack Obama's Grandmother

A statement from Barack Obama and Maya Soetoro-Ng on their grandmother's death

Madelyn Dunham, the grandmother of Senator Barack Obama, has died after a bout with cancer. She was 86. Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng released a statement.

"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.

"Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time. It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer."

Barack Obama

Fun Fact: When Obama was a child, he resided in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather, as well as Hawaii, where he finished high school, before attending Columbia University in the United States.

Claim to Fame: In 2004, Obama, the only African-American serving in the U.S. Senate at the time, raised eyebrows at the Democratic Nation Convention in Boston, Mass., where, afterwards, everyone from Oprah Winfrey to critics suggested he run for President of the United States (Obama entered the presidential race in 2007)

Beyonce

Fun Fact: Beyonce is the first African-American female artist and second woman ever to win the annual ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year Award.

Claim to Fame: After the breakup of Destiny’s Child in 2001, Beyonce branched off into a solo career that has included legendary (and at times, stage toppling) performances, a storied relationship with rap luminary Jay-Z, and outrageous critical acclaim.

Ciara

Fun Fact: When Ciara was barely a teen, she wrote on paper that she would become a superstar singer.

Claim to Fame: In 2004, Ciara (who was granted the titled “"First Lady of Crunk N' B" for her crunk and R&B inspired dance singles) released an answer song to Petey Pablo’s 2004 “Freek-a-Leek” record, the hit “Goodies” skyrocketing her career.

Strategy Robert Greene

In an era where young people are less likely to be in church and more likely to be influenced by hustlers, rappers and movies like Scarface, things have changed. The 48 Laws of Power by author Robert Greene, has emerged as the hustlers Bible in hip hop. I have personally met people in the rap game that can quote Robert Green's Laws by number, more readily than they can quote any other book intended to refine their life. Any independent would be music mogul without The 48 Laws of Power is a pawn of those around him. Robert Greene replaced The Autobiography of Malcolm X as the book of choice on the block. Busta Rhymes, Bruce George, T-KASH, Jay-Z and 50 Cent are just a few hip hop icons that consult this book when battling on wax, the block or the boardroom. 50 Cent could easily be considered its most adept student. 50 has not only left peoples reputation and bank accounts in shambles, he has made more money arguably than any other rapper in the history of the art.

Which is why it makes sense that Greene's next book is entitled The 50th Law, co-authored by none other than 50 Cent. In this interview, Adisa Banjoko talks with Greene about how his book became today's street Bible, and how The 50th Law can help you step up your game.

VIBE.com: How did The 48 Laws of Power become such a rule of law with the hardest rappers and the most serious street cats?
Robert Greene: I think Jay-Z was the first rapper I ever heard quoting the book. Then it just started taking off. VIBE magazine was interviewing me. To be quite honest I'm not hugely knowledgeable about hip hop. I'm a little older. But then I started trying to find out what happened.

I talked to people like Busta Rhymes, or people who worked with Jay-Z or 50 himself. I feel like some of these managers like [50 Cent's manager] Chris Lighty got the book. Timing wise, I got kinda lucky. Because I was at a point were rappers were venturing hardcore into business. I think the book appeared at that moment and it struck a cord. Because if you've ever been in the music business before, its just brutal. Machiavellian to the 10th degree.

So the book allowed some of these managers to deal with the intense game playing that was going on. I think through them, it filtered down to the artists. Busta Rhymes told me he was doing a movie. I think it was Scary Movie, in 1999. His acting teacher actually gave him the book. I just think it resonated somehow. From 5 different directions it kinda converged onto the urban scene and took off. The book tells it like it is. I'm saying that this is the way the world has been for thousands of years.

How did you team up with 50 Cent for your latest book The 50 Law?

Well, I met him in 2006. I know his literary agent here in LA. He contacted me. 50 had some beef goin' on with Game. Offensively 50 and his guys wanted to meet me to discuss a strategy about Game. I had read From Pieces to Weight, his autobiography. I liked it. Its not your typical celebrity hack job. Its so much better than the movie.

I went to NY and I met him in this back room. Things were intense. There was still a little bit of weirdness going on. I really liked him. We got along really well. He looks you in the eye when he speaks. He's very down to earth. You don't have to stroke his ego. He's just really into certain things. War, strategy and that kinda stuff. So we talked about the Game, and I gave him my advice. The problem was that I didn't really know enough about what was going on. If I had known a lot more I probably would have said something a lot more intelligent.

Anyway, from that we kinda just kept in touch. He was gonna be doing some kind of business/success book with someone else. They ended up not liking the writer. They came to me. Instead of ghost writing a book, I'd collaborate with him directly.

What should we expect to gain from it that we have not learned in your previous books?
It's kind of an urban version of The 48 Laws. There are some similarities. There are some differences. I spent about a year following him around. From his house, to certain media stuff. His ideas and my ideas converged. As I looked at his life and watched him in action I sat down and we came up with these laws of hustling. There are 10 of them. They have no relationship to the 10 Commandments or anything. There just happens to be 10.

He really talks about himself as more of a hustler than a musician. Though he certainly is a musician. The word hustler has a lot of mythology behind it. Nobody ever breaks it down. What does it really mean?
Essentially the hustler is a figure to me, thats very American. It goes back to the 19th Century. Its ingrained in our country. We've always kind of had that figure. But it kinda got taken to another level in urban America in the 20th century. Predominantly associated with the black hustler. The hustler is an entrepreneur. This book celebrates their mentality. These are people who are incredibly resourceful. They are incredibly inventive and creative. They just don't have the resources for anything that we consider worthy. But much of what they do is just as interesting as a business man or politician. Its working with the little you have, and making something out of it. The attitude, and the way they go about it fascinated me.

50 really embodies that. To the core he has that mentality. Each law, is kinda illustrated with stories like my other books. The stories are basically about him. His days as a hustler on the streets- dealing drugs mostly. Then there are stories about him in the music and business world. But he brings the same hustler mentality from when he was dealing drugs to how he now operates. I'm showing the connection of how this mentality is very appropriate to 21st Century America. Its a very powerful way of being. There is a lot to learn from that in a business sense, or a power sense or just a being sense.

It's not about promoting drug dealing. He has made the point a thousand times, that he was desperate to get out of that racket. He knew that it was gonna kill him or he'd be in prison the rest of his life. Its just the mentality behind it. That's what we're talking about.