Ice Spice isn’t just for the girlies – even Barack Obama can’t get enough of her
Barack Obama’s yearly summer playlist always throws up some surprises. In 2021, there was Migos and that terrible TikTok hit ‘Astronaut In The Ocean,’ by Masked Wolf, while in 2020, the former president showed an affinity for Billie Eilish. In his 2023 iteration, Obama proves he’s one of the girlies, as, much like the rest of us, he’s got a bit of an Ice Spice obsession.
The New York rapper’s hit ‘Princess Diana,’ featuring Nicki Minaj, was included in his roundup, and now we can’t get the image of Obama rapping along to “I’m thick ‘cause I be eatin’ oats” out of our heads.
Obama also seems to have a case of the UK rap bug that’s seemingly taken over the whole world, with this summer’s quintessential tune ‘Who Told You’ by J Hus and Drake also catching his ear.
His other latest picks include SZA’s SOS track ‘Snooze,’ ‘Not Strong Enough’ by Boygenius, and Janelle Monáe‘s ‘Only Have Eyes 42,’ as well as cuts by Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Jorja Smith, Kelela, Leonard Cohen, and more.
Like I do every year, here are some songs I’ve been listening to this summer – a mix of old and new,” Obama tweeted along with his selections. “Look forward to hearing what I’ve missed.” See the full playlist below.
This year’s summer playlist comes a month after Obama confirmed that his famous playlists are actually 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, they 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.”
