Barack Obama talks about relating to Eminem & Jay-Z’s tracks.
A few days ago, former US President Barack Obama unveiled a playlist of some memorable tracks from her time in the white house and it featured Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself‘ and Jay-Z’s ‘My 1st Song‘. Now his new book ‘A Promised Land‘ has released and in one of the parts, he talks about how he relates to Eminem and Jay-Z tracks.
“Ultimately it was rap that got my head in the right place, two songs especially: Jay-Z’s “My 1st Song” and Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself.” Both were about defying odds and putting it all on the line (“Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would capture it? Or just let it slip…”); how it felt to spin something out of nothing; getting by on wit, hustle, and fear disguised as bravado. The lyrics felt tailored to my early underdog status. And as I sat alone in the back of the Secret Service van on the way to a debate site, in my crisp uniform and dimpled tie, I’d nod my head to the beat of those songs, feeling a whiff of private rebellion, a connection to something grittier and more real than all the fuss and deference that now surrounded me. It was a way to cut through the artifice and remember who I was,” wrote Barack Obama.
Former US President Barack Obama and JAY-Z have a lengthy history together. While he declined to rap (perhaps to escape everlasting meme damnation), he did credit a passage from JAY-2003 Z’s single “My 1st Song” as encouragement to keep pushing during his first presidential attempt in 2008.
Recently, Obama started a new Instagram series to link his newly issued A Promised Land administration. During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama spoke in a video trailing the project about how he converted to hip-hop. “When I needed some inspiration on the presidential campaign I often turned to music,” Obama says. “It was rap that got my head in the right place. Two songs especially: Jay-Z‘s ‘My 1st Song’ and Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’.
“Both were about defying the odds and putting it all on the line,” he continued, before reciting the opening lines of the latter. Obama and his wife Michelle entered into an exclusive agreement with Spotify in June last year to develop a series of podcasts with the highest level of production.
A year later, on the platform for music and streaming, Michelle published in 2020 her first installation of The Michelle Obama Podcast. Her 2020 training mix in January, with a selection of music that inspired her first podcast season in August, was also incorporated into the playlist car.
Barack Obama has provided a playlist of music that played throughout his presidency, including songs by Eminem, Bruce Springsteen, and Jay-Z.
The new mix is being released to coincide with the release of Obama’s biography A Promised Land, which enters stores today (November 17). The songs are an upbeat blend of classic rock, jazz, and hip-hop, and include Beyoncé’s “Halo” and a rendition of Etta James’ “At Last,” Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising,” Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” and a dedication to his wife with “Michelle” by The Beatles.
While campaigning in Michigan earlier this year, President-elect Joe Biden picked the song “Lose Yourself” as his election theme. Former US President Barack Obama received PEN America’s Voice of Influence Award last week. Obama was being honoured for his works, which have crossed political, social, and ideological lines to establish a self-reflective humanism that has distinguished his impact on public life.
Check out the screenshot from the book below.
I took photos of Barack Obama’s book A Promised Land where Eminem is mentioned.
He had a ritual before debates. Part of it was listening to Jay-Z & Eminem.
He quotes lyrics from Lose Yourself by Eminem & explains how they connected with him. pic.twitter.com/rR1UiYTmI7
— WickedWays (@flowstoowet) November 20, 2020
