Jay-Z In President Barack Obama Campaign Ad: Rapper An Example Of An 'American Success Story'? (VIDEO)

WATCH: Is Jay-Z An Example Of The American Dream?

President Barack Obama and hip-hop mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter have gotten pretty close -- Obama provided a video introduction for the rapper's inaugural Made in America festival, and, in return, Jay-Z and Beyonce hosted a campaign fundraiser at the 40/40 club. Jay-Z also appeared in a new campaign ad earlier this week, in which Obama called him an "American success story."

HuffPost Live's Marc Lamont Hill discussed Jay-Z's dramatic rise to fame Thursday with several pundits, questioning whether Jay-Z is now the example of the American dream.

"Jay-Z was the perfect person," Washington Post columnist and Urbancusp.com founder Rahiel Tesfamariam said during the segment. "He's the one person that can still connect to masses from all different sections from society."

"You can put this out to America and people don't blink," Toure, co-host of MSNBC's "The Cycle," said about the campaign ad. "You wouldn't put Kanye in an ad for obvious reasons and you start going down the list, well that person's too controversial."

Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal, hip-hop artist and minister Marty Grace and Tom Cunningham, the creative director of Leadstar, also voiced their opinions during the segment.

Listen to what they had to say in the video clip above, or watch the full HuffPost Live segment below.

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