Former President of the United States Barack Obama listed two Nigerian singers, Rema and Tems in his just-released annual summer playlist, featuring 44 songs from various genres. Obama took to X on Monday to share the playlist saying, “With summer winding down, I wanted to share some songs that I’ve been listening to lately and it wouldn’t be my playlist if it didn’t include an eclectic mix. I hope you find something new to listen to!” Tems and Rema’s inclusion in Obama’s playlist came after previous recognitions for Nigerian artists, including Wizkid and Tems in 2020, Burna Boy in 2022, and Ayra Starr in 2023.
No Nigerian artist was featured in Obama’s 2021 playlist. Other notable songs on the list include Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, Charli XCX’s “365”, Billie Eilish’s “Chihiro”, Bob Marley’s “Them Belly Full”, Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em”, The Miracles’ “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”, Samara Joy’s. “Someone to Watch Over Me” featuring Pasquale Grasso, and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be” featuring GloRilla also made the list.
This year’s summer playlist comes after the former President confirmed last year that his famous playlists are curated by him, refuting claims that the compilations are pieced together by someone else. Speaking to comedian Hasan Minhaj, Obama said when asked if he listens and chooses himself, “I do! Listen. I am so glad that I have this opportunity.
People believe the books and the movies, but the playlists, they somehow think , and this is mostly coming from young people like you, somehow, y’all think you invented rock ‘n’ roll. You invented hip-hop. “And so the fact that my lists are, you know, pretty incredible — people seem to think, well, he must’ve had some 20-year-old intern who was figuring out this latest cut.
No, man! It’s on my iPad right now.”.
