During his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama noted Jay-Z as his favorite emcee. Now two years into his term, President Obama is diversifying his Hip-Hop knowledge by listening to other elite emcees in Nas and Lil Wayne.
In the October edition of Rolling Stone, President Obama gave insight into his musical tastes, verifying that his iPod now boasts 2000 songs. While many were quick to label him as the first “Hip-Hop President” during his campaign, Obama admitted that the title was a misnomer. Even now, the majority of his music centers around the premier musicians of the late 60s and 70s.
“My iPod now has about 2,000 songs, and it is a source of great pleasure to me. I am probably still more heavily weighted toward the music of my childhood than I am the new stuff,” he revealed. “There’s still a lot of Stevie Wonder, a lot of Bob Dylan, a lot of Rolling Stones, a lot of R&B, a lot of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Those are the old standards.”
Because of the demands of his presidency, Obama has relied on aide Reggie Love to find new Hip-Hop for his playlists. He credits his newfound exposure to Nas and Lil Wayne as the result of Love’s efforts, and his two children Malia and Sasha. The president also acknowledges music as a huge stress-reliever in his life.
“Thanks to Reggie, my rap palate has greatly improved. Jay-Z used to be sort of what predominated, but now I’ve got a little Nas and a little Lil Wayne and some other stuff, but I would not claim to be an expert,” President Obama explained. “Malia and Sasha are now getting old enough to where they start hipping me to things. Music is still a great source of joy and occasional solace in the midst of what can be some difficult days.”
Today, Lil Wayne released his I Am Not a Human Being EP, which features Drake and other members from his Young Money label. Nas is expected to release Lost Tapes 2 on December 14, and his currently untitled 10th studio album in early 2011.
President Obama’s Rolling Stone cover story will be available October 15.
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Kudos to Reggie Love on this one! Of course, the obvious question I have is what songs (or albums) from Lil Wayne and Nas has Love supplied in the President’s playlist? Illmatic? Tha Carter II? Distant Relatives? Untitled? Tha Carter III?
Hopefully, Love hits Obama off with all of them by the end of the first term. With all the friction the President is having with the Republican Party, I hope Love has made sure that “Ether” is somewhere in that playlist.
Now if you could add five more Hip-Hop artists to President Obama’s playlist, who would it be?
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 
