While Barack Obama was president, he would share his favorite songs and books of the year in December. Despite no longer being in the White House, he has decided to continue this tradition of flexing his exquisite taste. It's his equivalent of posting screenshots of songs on an Instagram story or sharing a Spotify Wrapped.
He impressed with his summer playlist earlier this year and he did it again with his year-end roundup. His eclectic selection features some of the obvious hits, like DaBaby's "Suge" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road", but also cuts that the majority of the youth may not even be attuned to. Barack has clearly been bumping that new Kaytranada record because he already has the Sir-assisted "Go DJ" in his favorites. He's hip to international artists like Burna Boy, Ozuna, Rema and Rosalia. He proves his love for hip hop by including tracks from Young Thug, Wale, J. Cole and GoldLink.
Several artists featured on his playlist have reacted to being recognized by such a respected figure. Summer Walker - whose "Playing Games" caught Obama's ear - wrote, "Lmaooo Mr. Obama fuck wit meeeee." Lizzo gushed about the former POTUS liking "Juice": "I love you so much Mr. Obama.. thanks for assisting me with my morning cry." R&B artist Snoh Aalegra claimed "Whole year made" after seeing her name on the list. GoldLink boasted that this inclusion marks a "Two peat", as he also appeared in the summer playlist. Of course, Frank Ocean didn't publicly express his gratitude for his latest single, "In My Room", being recognized, but maybe he just hit up Obama directly.
See the reactions below.