Obama Asked Questlove To Play French Montana's "Pop That" At The White House

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Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, watches on during the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina.
Barack Obama had the White House goin' up.

Barack Obama may have some criticism towards masculinity in hip-hop but he's never shied away from the genre itself. He's arguably the one and only president to embrace rappers in the White House, hosting the likes of Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar during his presidency. The two artists have been included on his Spotify playlists from the past but it looks like he's also a big fan of French Montana, according to Questlove.

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During the latest episode of Broken Record with Malcolm Gladwell and Rick Rubin, Questlove recounted the time he was DJ'ing at the White House. He likened the setting to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in terms of debauchery, saying, "they consider it the best night they had in their lives."

He was playing what you'd expect in that kind of setting: Donna Summers, old school hip-hop and jazz, but apparently that wasn't vibing with Obama's kids. The former president approached Questlove and had an unexpected song request.

“[Obama’s] coming up to me like, ‘Do you have French Montana?’ And I’m like, ‘Sir! I don’t have the clean versions of that,’” Questlove recounted. “He’s like, ‘We’re all adults here. Play it!’ I’m like, ‘Sir, I’m not gonna play ‘Pop that pussy, bitch, what ya twerkin' wit.’"

Peep the latest episode of Malcolm Gladwell and Rick Rubin's Broken Record below.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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