Call them two goal-oriented and driven men who have mutual respect for one other and simply remember that one is the President of the United States while the other is a hip-hop and entertainment mogul and entrepreneur.

United States President Obama and Jay-Z are not only kindred spirits but driven men who have overcome obstacles in various fashions. For President Obama, he has faced insurmountable challenges as the nation’s first African-American president. Jay-Z was once a drug dealer in Brooklyn, who rapped his way into the business world.

It is mesmerizing yet perhaps fitting that Jay-Z (born Shawn Corey Carter) and President Obama have cultivated a substantial friendship. In a new advertisement, it is obvious that Carter and President Obama have not only mutual respect for one another but admiration for the other.

“When the president got into office initially, what he represented to a nation of kids was hope,” Jay-Z says in the new video advertisement released by the Obama campaign. “You know, the hope of people all across the country, who would look and see themselves, and the possibilities.”

A portion of the clip was taken from Jay-Z’s Made In America festival. President Obama speaks highly of Carter and refers to him as one American who has realized his dream through relentless perseverance and hard work:

“[Jay-Z] didn’t come from power or privilege. He got ahead because he worked hard, learned from his mistakes and just plain refused to quit. That’s the promise of this country, and all of us have the responsibility to keep that promise alive,” President Obama said.

What are your thoughts? –Cicely C. Mitchell/ Hot 95.7- Houston