Will.i.am Gives Crowd At Obama Rally A Pep Talk After Debate Night

DENVER -- Even rapper will.i.am sounded a little down the morning after the first presidential debate, which was not President Barack Obama's best night.

The performing artist warmed up a crowd at an outdoor Thursday morning rally for the president at Sloan's Lake Park, where temperatures were in the low 40s. But before he started the music, he gave a bit of a pep talk.

"I've been here before," said the artist, whose real name is William James Adams.

Adams then referred to Obama's loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2008 New Hampshire primary. Obama's concession speech after that, James said, "changed my life."

"And at that moment, when polls were low, he said the magic words, 'Yes we can,' and turned it into a victory, a triumphant moment," Adams said.

"I've been here before, because I saw something in Barack Obama that reminded me of us, what we can do as America. We as Americans elected Barack Obama president of America," he said. "There's something wrong in America, and it isn't us. It's a thing that is blocking Barack Obama from doing the things that we're going to eventually end up doing collectively."