The notoriety of California's Jerry Brown and Linda Ronstadt not withstanding, most people might find politics and music an unlikely combination. But for Erik Nuri '79, executive director of the Massachusetts Black Caucus, votes and notes couldn't provide a more natural mix.

Spending his hours away from the State Capital as lead vocalist and saxophonist for "Erik Nuri and The Cost of Living," a locally-renowned band, Nuri combined his vocation and avocation this summer with the release of "Let's Vote," a "rap" record with a political message. "Rap" records, the hottest discs on the Black music charts this year, feature a repetitive rhythmic backround and lyrics which have the singer tell a story in a conversational tone.

Getting Involved

Although most "rap" records relate a humorous or sexual tale, the lyrics of "Let's Vote" indicate that it has a mission other than titillation:

Now this land is ruled by a democracy

That's supposed to include you and me

It provides a way to get your problems solved,

But first you've got to get involved.

Wanna talk to you about politics

And what it means to me and you, So we can realize that to better our lives

There's a simple thing each one of us can do...

Let's vote, let's vote

We've got to have somebody looking out for us.

Or else time and time and time again Your congressman won't be your friend.

"I had a dual goal," Nuri says. "First to compose a song in this medium that would be picked up by youth, and secondly to explain politics in a way that had never been done before." The record has received the endorsements of the NAACP, and the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as those of the Democratic National Convention and the Joint Center for Political Studies.