There is no Hip-Hop music on Barack Obama’s Spotify playlist. NYMag.com first revealed the President’s tunes and the closest he gets to any Hip-Hop is Raphael Saadiq, whose worked with Tribe Called Quest and other rap notables in the past. Of course other entries like Al Green and Booker T & The MG’s have been sampled by rap musicians, but that doesn’t really count.
The lack of rap grooves may be surprising considering Obama famously knocked the dirt off his shoulders a la Jay-Z. But you can’t blame the POTUS for the Hip-Hop lockout. The right wing would have a field day if he put some contemporary Hip-Hop on his playlist. No matter how much Hova has achieved, like recently rocking Carnegie Hall to raise money for charity, he’s still a “former drug dealer.” Rick Ross has a gang of hits, but he raps an awful lot about cocaine. And T.I. is clearly a family man, with a federal prison bid on his resume.
So yeah, maybe we’ll see what Obama really listens to if he gets re-elected come November. But at least for his sneaker game is correct.
See the full playlist below.
“Different People” — No Doubt
“Got to Get You Into My Life (Live version!)” — Earth Wind & Fire
“Green Onions (Single/LP Version)” — Booker T. & The MG’s
“I Got You” — Wilco
“Keep on Pushing” (Single version) — The Impressions
“Love You I Do” — Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
“No Nostalgia” — AgesandAges
“Raise Up” — Ledisi
“Stand Up” — Sugarland
“This” — Darius Rucker
“We Used To Wait” — Arcade Fire
“You’ve Got The Love” — Florence + The Machine
“Your Smiling Face” — James Taylor
“Roll With The Changes” — REO Speedwagon
“Keep Marchin'” — Raphael Saadiq
“Tonight’s The Kind of Night” — Noah and the Whale
“Keep Me In Mind” — Zac Brown Band
“The Weight” — Aretha Franklin
“Even Better Than The Real Thing” — U2
“Home” — Dierks Bentley
“Everyday America” — Sugarland
“Learn To Live” — Darius Rucker
“Let’s Stay Together” — Al Green
“Mr. Blue Sky” — Electric Light Orchestra
“My Town” — Montgomery Gentry
“The Best Thing About Me Is You” — Ricky Martin
“You Are The Best Thing” — Ray LaMontagne
We Take Care of Our Own – Bruce Springsteen
