Bernie Sanders' appearance on New York City's Hot 97 Ebro In The Morning started as just another stop on his campaign's push to win over the state's voters before its primary later this month. On the show Friday, Sanders gave his usual stump, talking about income inequality, his tax plan and affordable education to listeners of one of the city's leading hip-hop stations.
Given the show's audience, Sanders' appearance was a clear attempt to reach out to young people, and especially young people of color. But it wasn't what he said that got their attention — it was what he had on his head.
During the interview, Sanders national press secretary Symone Sanders tweeted a photo of Sanders in a bright red pair of Beats By Dre. Those aren't your average headphones:
The hip look prompted The Atlantic's Van Newkirk II to wonder what the name of Sanders' mixtape would be:
And the meme spread from there. There were puns referencing old school hip-hop albums:
Reference to new mixtapes and artists:
And puns combining Sanders's platform and classic rap lyrics:
This wasn't the first stop Sanders has made on a New York morning show. In February, he was a guest on Hot 105.1 FM's The Breakfast Club, a show with a similar demographic.
If Sanders hopes to win New York, connecting with young voters of color will be crucial. Sanders had a disappointing loss in South Carolina, where he won only 14 percent of the vote. But by some measures, Sanders outpolls Hillary Clinton among young African-American and Hispanic voters ages 17 to 29.
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