Doug Oliver launches mayoral campaign, selects his ‘theme music’

NinetyNine already knew why Doug Oliver chose to launch his upstart mayoral campaign in Germantown on Saturday — “We wanted to signal our world view on how we’re approaching our campaign” — but we had no inkling just what track he’d employ as his “theme music.”

That changed with the quickness after his campaign manager Mustafa Rashed and son Douglas Ifani Oliver II warmed up the crowd.

Per NewsWorks‘ Aaron Moselle, who covered Saturday afternoon’s event at the Flying Horse Center:

Oliver made his way to the stage as Jamie N Commons & X Ambassadors (feat. Jay Z)’s “The Jungle (Remix)” blasted over the sound system.

Mayor Michael Nutter’s former spokesman called the song his “theme music.” He likes it so much that, just a few minutes into his remarks, he paused to sample another aural taste before getting to the heart of his speech.

“I hear that bass banging in my head as we’ve walked different neighborhoods all across this city,” Oliver said. “When I’m at home preparing for the next day, it’s that song, ‘Follow me into the jungle.’ It gets you hype.

“As I’ve entered into this political process, I found it a lot to be like a jungle. It’s easy to feel lost because the system is designed to make you feel lost. … There’s a food chain and every single creature is fighting for survival every day, often making decisions for how to survive the day rather than to win the future.”

For more from Saturday’s event, check out Moselle’s story (complete with a photo gallery from Bas Slabbers) via this link.

For future #themoreyouknow Philly Political Trivia use, file away this fun fact:

Oliver’s launch this was the second time a Jay Z track was used in a mayoral-related setting in a 10-day span. The first? Nutter taking the stage on Jan. 29 to deliver his final Chamber of Commerce annual-luncheon speech as “Run This Town” filled the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel ballroom’s air.