Jay-Z and Beyoncé expose the biggest divide in music culture between Republicans and Democrats, according to a new comprehensive poll of musical preferences conducted by Public Policy Polling.
The poll, which was provided to Business Insider ahead of its release later Thursday, shows that both stars are widely popular with Democrats but earn poor marks with Republicans.
Among Democrats, 35 percent view Jay-Z favorably and 63 percent view Beyoncé favorably, compared with 31 percent and 19 percent who view each unfavorably.
Republicans, however, trend much more toward viewing the pair unfavorably. Only 15 percent have a favorable opinion of Jay-Z, and 36 percent for Beyoncé. Meanwhile, 53 percent view Jay-Z unfavorably, and 42 percent feel the same about Beyoncé.
The pair recently caught the ire of numerous Republican lawmakers after a trip to Cuba to celebrate their five-year anniversary. The Republican National Committee also questioned whether President Barack Obama had a hand in approving their trip.
Jay-Z pushed back with a track in which he rapped, "Politicians never did s— for me, except lie to me, distort history. They wanna give me jail time and a fine? Fine, let me commit a real crime."
The PPP poll has a number of other interesting nuggets:
- Most Republicans think Justin Timberlake should spend his time playing golf. Most Democrats, however, think he should be making music. Overall, only 7 percent of respondents said he should be spending his time "getting back together with 'N Sync," which is obviously disappointing.
- Republicans and Democrats agree, however, that Justin Timberlake would make the best president out of a list of popular music stars. Both parties chose him out of a list that included Adele, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga.
- Both Republicans and Democrats also think that "Snoop Dogg" should be the name used by the hip-hop aficionado.
- 20 percent of Democrats say they have "been to the club." Only 10 percent of Republicans have "been to the club."
- Across demographic lines, dubstep is viewed highly unfavorably. Its favorable-to-unfavorable split stands at just 14-38. 47 percent are not sure, which makes sense.
- The most favorable genre of music is classical. The least favorable is rap.
- Only 13 percent of respondents have a favorable opinion of Chris Brown. Only 8 percent think Rihanna should get back together with him.
The full poll is embedded below:
Public Policy Polling music poll
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