Will.i.am says that Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech (which he turned into a viral hit that sparked a pop culture movement around Obama) ranks up there with some of the greats. “When I went to school we had the teacher recite Martin Luther King speeches, Abraham Lincoln speeches, John F. Kennedy speeches, and I started thinking, ‘Who are these kids reciting?’ Children say, “I wanna be like 50 Cent, I wanna be like Kanye West.’ Shouldn’t they say, ‘I wanna be like Barack Obama?’” Click below for more on the story behind “Yes We Can,” including what happened when Will first met the candidate.

• The Story Behind Will.i.Am’s Viral Hit “Yes We Can”