Barack Obama is in the midst of unveiling his year-end lists of favorite stuff, and so far he’s shared his round-ups of movies, books, and today, songs. As is usually the case, the former POTUS’ playlist features some diverse picks.
Indie favorites are well-represented on the list, which includes Courtney Barnett’s “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To,” The War On Drugs and Lucius’ “I Don’t Live Here Anymore,” and Mitski’s “The Only Heartbreaker.” Hip-hop is also included via songs like Lizzo and Cardi B’s “Rumors,” Isiah Rashad’s “Headshots (4r Da Locals),” and Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Beyond that, there are picks from all across the musical spectrum, including tracks from Mdou Moctar, Jon Batiste, and Bad Bunny.
I’ve always enjoyed listening to a wide variety of music, so it’s no surprise that I listened to a little bit of everything this year. I hope you find a new artist or song to add to your own playlist. pic.twitter.com/g6kBzAbrZG
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 17, 2021
The list has a lot of Grammy firepower, including Obama himself, as his audiobook A Promised Land is up for Best Spoken World Album at the 2022 ceremony. Aside from him, artists on the list who are also Grammy-nominated in 2022 are Esperanza Spalding, Brandi Carlile, Spice, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Jon Batiste, Nas, Allison Russell, Lil Nas X, Bad Bunny, Yebba, Morray, and Cardi B.
If you like what you see, there’s an official Spotify playlist that features all of Obama’s picks, so check that out below.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.