Days after revealing the "eclectic" contents of his iPod, Barack Obama was feted at a music award ceremony where Sean 'P Diddy' Combs led a rallying cry of "Obama or Die".

Support for the Democratic presidential nominee was a recurring refrain at the Black Entertainment Television awards in Los Angeles.

"If we all register and vote, we will have the first black president in the history of America," rapper Combs told the crowd, before chanting "Obama or Die", a twist on his non-party, get-out-the-youth-vote slogan from the 2004 election, "Vote or Die".

Accepting her best female R&B artist award, Alicia Keys, echoed Combs, telling the audience it was time black people removed the word "can't" from their vocabulary.

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"Together we can do anything," she said, before referencing the Illinois senator's "Yes We Can" motto with a shout of "Obama y'all!"

Other stars present wore clothes emblazoned with Mr Obama's name.

While the presidential nominee did not attend the ceremony, he was close by at a lavish fundraiser where Hollywood stars paid up to $14,000 each to show their support.

The night, attended by the likes of Samuel L Jackson, John Malkovich, Don Cheadle, Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford as well as an array of directors, producers and studio executives, was seen as a demonstration of Hollywood unity in the wake of the divisive nomination race.

Many former Hillary Clinton backers were among the 900 attendees, who were entertained by British singer Seal performing Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come.

Mr Obama is the cover star of the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine and in an interview reveals his musical hero to be Stevie Wonder.

Discussing his iPod playlist, he says he had "pretty eclectic tastes" ranging from Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and Jay-Z to Miles Davis and Yo-Yo Ma. He also dispenses some carefully considered views on rap, saying while he is concerned by the materialism and misogyny of some the lyrics, he believes "the genius of the art form has shifted the culture and helped to desegregate music".

The senator already has a strong following among younger voters, but the BET "shout-outs" were seen as evidence of a further coup - the support of figures at the cutting edge of contemporary youth culture.

"Barack Obama is not only the first black presidential candidate destined to earn a party nomination, but he's also the first truly cool candidate of the new millennium," writes Ann Powers in the Los Angeles Times. ...