On Thursday (July 20), Barack Obama took to social media to share his 2023 summer playlist, which is full of recent hits from hip hop, R&B, Afrobeats, and more. Songs like Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s “Princess Diana,” J Hus and Drake’s “Who Told You,” Nas’ “The World Is Yours,” SZA’s “Snooze,” Janelle Monáe’s “I Only Have Eyes 42,” and Burna Boy and 21 Savage’s “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” are among the many that made the cut.
As previously reported by REVOLT, the 44th president of the United States opened up about his annual lists — which also include movies and books — during a June sit-down with Hasan Minhaj.
“People, they believe the books and the movies. But the playlists, they somehow think — and this is mostly coming from young people like you — somehow y’all think you invented rock ’n’ roll, you invented hip hop,” he said. “And so the fact that my lists are, you know, pretty incredible, people seem to think, ‘Well, he must have had some 20-year-old intern who was figuring out this latest cut.’ No, man. It’s on my iPad right now.”
During his eight-year tenure at the White House, Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted many of Black music’s biggest frontrunners. Back in 2016, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, Chance the Rapper, DJ Khaled, Alicia Keys, Wale, J. Cole, Ludacris, and more were invited to the presidential residence for a forum about criminal justice reform and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
“Many of these artists have lent their voices and platforms to promoting these issues,” a White House representative stated (via TIME). “Through their own nonprofit work or artistic commitment, many of these artists have found ways to engage on the issues of criminal justice reform and empowering disadvantaged young people across the country.”
Check out Barack‘s latest summer playlist below.