Obama, me and rap music videos

There has been rampant Internet speculation that a young Barack Obama can be seen in the 1991 music video for “Whoomp! (There It Is).” (On an unrelated note, this is one of the few rap songs from my youth that I still can recite from memory—and did when it made a wedding after-party appearance in Mississippi last weekend.) From Gawker:

This is not the observation of just one random Internet weirdo. Other Internet weirdos have come to the same conclusion, including posters on the hip hop message board Tha Corner, the message board SomethingAwful and the Tea Party website Tennessee Sons of Liberty. The latter wrote: “This is an observation. This is not meant to be derogatory or inflammatory.” Yeah, just randomly noticing that Obama was in this RAP video. But so what? As far as musical infractions go, Obama committed a much graver one by listing Sheryl Crow as one of his favorite acts.

But is it really Obam’s flashy grin?

(evidence for and against ...)

Sorry, Internet, it’s not Obama. But as far as conspiracy theories go, it’s way better than that whole secret Muslim thing.

So I just want to take this moment to preempt any future inquiries into my acting background. I was no Ronald Reagan, but, yes, that is me in the N.E.R.D. music video for “Rockstar.” Sweet moves, right?