Multi-hyphenate Alex Aiono, whose debut album drops Friday, has made it his mission to inspire his young millennial audience to get out to the polls this November for the presidential election. “We all have learned what happens when we don’t show up to the polls. We’ve learned what it means to just bash people and tweet at them and say ‘There’s no way this person will become governor, or president,’ but then when it’s time to show up, we don’t show up,” Alex explained on the HollywoodLife Podcast. “The last four years have been a result of that. We need to learn from our mistakes.”
The 23-year-old continued, “Killer Mike’s speech after George Floyd was killed really hit me hard. He said, you want to beat up these politicians, beat them up in the polls. I love that term because when you’re talking about people who don’t care about your livelihood because of the color of your skin, you’re talking about somebody that is truly, at least for me, morally, ethically, completely on the opposite of what I believe. So, when I think of beating somebody up in the polls, it lights a fire in my chest.”
Alex added that there is truly nothing that would “piss these people off more” than being “out of power.” “It’s imperative for us as citizens to practice and continue practicing our right to vote to control the power these politicians have and to keep them in check so they know if they don’t do the right thing, they don’t get that power.”
The Gospel At 23 singer admitted that he knows voting isn’t considered “sexy” but urged that it is “so necessary and important, for the youth especially.” “On your ballot is where you can literally throw a right massive right hand punch at whatever movement, whatever law, whatever politician you want to, and stand up for yourself,” Alex enthused.
“I’m showing up on social media, my podcast, through my album, through my virtual concerts, through interviews — I’m going to be consistently talking about this,” he promised. “People might say it’s annoying. People might say, ‘that’s enough.’ People might say I’ve talked about it too much, but until I can sleep peacefully knowing there’s somebody at the head of this ship that I trust can get us through and on the proper side of these problems, I will keep fighting as long as I can, as much as I can.”
Listen to our full interview with Alex Aiono on the HollywoodLife podcast out now! Make sure to download and stream his new album, The Gospel At 23, out Friday, July 24!
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