Obama gives ‘voice’ to hip hop
Not only is U.S. President Barack Obama the nation’s first black president, but it’s safe to say he has been its first hip-hop commander-in-chief.
Obama embraced hip hop more than any of his predecessors: He’s referenced Jay Z’s lyrics and Kanye West in speeches, released playlists on Spotify that included Nas, Chance the Rapper, Mos Def and Method Man, and was caught dancing to Drake’s Hotline Bling at a White House event.
And in a recent televised concert celebrating the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Obama was shown rapping along when Public Enemy’s Chuck D performed Fight the Power. Ice Cube calls O ba ma an anomaly. “It will probably be a long time before we see another president do something like this,” the Hall of Fame rapper said. “It was kind of a now-or-never thing.”
Throughout his presidency, which ends when Donald Trump takes office Friday, Obama paved a way for several rap stars to enter the White House for political discussion and musical performances.
Concerts have taken place at the White House since the 1800s, when president John Adams was the first occupant. A few rappers, such as Run-DMC, have visited the mansion to meet previous presidents over the years.
But the Obama administration gave them a prominent role. In 2011, Common performed poetry at an event at the White House, though Big Sean’s 2014 performance is considered by some to be the first true rap performance, when he joined Ariana Grande for Right There.
Since then, a barrage of rappers have taken the stage there, including Wale and Kendrick Lamar, whom Obama has praised often (he cited Lamar’s How Much a Dollar Cost from the rapper’s black-empowerment album To Pimp a Butterfly as his favourite song of 2015).
In November, BET saluted the Obamas with a star-studded concert celebrating a mixture of gospel, R&B and rap music. The president and first lady Michelle Obama joyously danced as De La Soul rapped their classic Me Myself and I. Earlier this month, several hiphop artists including Wale, Chance the Rapper and J. Cole took part in another private farewell jam at the White House.
“Hip hop doesn’t hurt anybody,” said Nas, who has visited the White House. “It helps people. Some of the nicest people in the world are hip-hop artists. (Obama) respects it. He loves it. It’s a part of his world. He is hip hop. He’s a hiphop fan that makes him relatable. It makes him real.”
Last year, Obama invited several rappers — including Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and Ludacris — to the White House to discuss different ways to continue the My Brother’s Keeper initiative and spur justice reform in the United States.
“It was a gathering of the minds,” said Ludacris, whom Obama once criticized for his politically themed rap song called Politics in 2008. “That was extremely important for hip hop, because he’s giving us a voice.”