Barack Obama’s year-end lists have been a thing for years, but right now it’s time for his “Summer Playlist 2019” – and don’t worry, he’s still a Cool Dad. Obama shared the playlist in a post on Instagram, writing: “With summer winding down, here’s a sampling of what Michelle and I have been listening to — some new, some old, some fast, some slow.”
“Some new, some old” is about right. Among Obama’s picks of timeless classics, there are some 2019 gems (and future classics) including Lizzo’s “Juice” and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (the former president went for the most popular remix with Billy Ray Cyrus). Yes, even the Obamas couldn’t get away from the yeehaw meme sensation and longest-running US number one.
There were also some of the usual suspects, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z (the Obamas were spotted on The Carters’ On the Run II tour in summer last year). Namely, he picked their song with Childish Gambino for Beyoncé’s album to accompany The Lion King.
Elsewhere on the 44-song list, Barack Obama takes it back to the 90s with Lauryn Hill’s “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” and “Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest. Going further back are tracks from the likes of Van Morrison, Ella Fitzgerald, and The Rolling Stones.
A couple of weeks ago, Obama also shared his summer reading list, which featured books by Colson Whitehead and Haruki Murakami, among others. As for Toni Morrison, who died August 5, he suggested reading or re-reading the collected works: “they’re transcendent, all of them.”
Read Obama’s full lists below.