"Beats by Trey": Congressman Radel tweets review of Jay Z's #MCHG

On July 16, the Federal government and hip-hop met up on Twitter. While on the plane from his Congressional district in Florida to Washington, D.C., freshman Congressman Trey Radel (@TreyRadel) took to Twitter with his review of Jay Z’s new album “Magna Carta…Holy Grail.”

An avowed hip-hop lover, Rep. Radel gave what he called his “unqualified review” of the first few album tracks as he engaged in conversation with many followers over the course of his 90-minute flight.

Kickoff Tweet:

Ending Tweet:

Of the many Tweets comprising his review, this one captured the most attention, with 112 Retweets:

The Congressman clarified that it really was him and not a staff member behind the tweeting:

He knew that it can be beneficial for an elected official to show a more personal side on Twitter. After all, music can be a great connector, often transcending politics:

This isn’t a one-time thing for Rep. Radel. He tweets playlists, and takes requests:

 A few months ago, he even chatted with one of his idols, @MrChuckD.

Through his love of music, Rep. Radel uses Twitter to make personal connections with constituents.

His live-tweeting of the new “Magna Carta…Holy Grail” album yielded his largest single day follower growth in his account’s history (278 followers gained — a 9x increase over Radel’s normal daily follower count).

It comes on the heels of Jay Z’s 6.5 hour Twitter Q&A to promote the new album, in which Radel asked his own question of HOVA:

The Congressman’s review on Twitter was picked up by a number of media outlets that cover both politics and music, ranging from the Washington Post to Billboard.

Do you know of any more innovative uses of Twitter in government and politics? Mail us at [email protected]