Barack Obama shares his summer playlist: Tupac Shakur, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner make the cut

ByAlli Rosenbloom, CNNWire

Friday, July 21, 2023

Barack Obama shares his summer playlist, and it's fire

Former President Barack Obama is staying cool this summer with a summer playlist of 40-plus songs that showcase his eclectic tastes.

Former President Barack Obama is staying cool this summer with a playlist of 40-plus songs that showcase his eclectic tastes.

"Like I do every year, here are some songs I've been listening to this summer," Obama wrote on Twitter on Thursday, adding that his playlist is "a mix of old and new."

The playlist truly does span the spectrum of the old and the new, with everything from indie rock group Boygenius's "Not Strong Enough," released this year, to classics like Tina and Ike Turner's 1966 hit "River Deep - Mountain High," perhaps an ode to the "Queen of Rock and Roll" who died in May.

As far as throwbacks go, 90s hip-hop anthem "California Love" by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman appears on the playlist, along with hits like 80s tune "Walk Like an Egyptian" from The Bangles.

Obama's also got "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" by Marvin Gaye, "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding, "Reach Out I'll be There" by The Four Tops and "Dr. Feelgood (Love is a Serious Business)" by Aretha Franklin, among other nostalgic nuggets.

Always one to stay up on current musical fare, Obama's been jamming out to Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj's 2023 single "Princess Diana" and "Vampiros" by Rauw Alejandro and Rosalía, released this year as well.

There are also some repeat artists on the list that Obama was listening to in the summer of 2021 - including the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, SZA, Michael Kiwanuka and Bob Dylan - who show up here with different songs.

This year marks USC's 140th year of commencements and this year a record 20,000 degrees were handed out.

Obama's 2023 summer list includes country singer Luke Combs's cover of Tracy Chapman's 1988 classic "Fast Car," which recently reached No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, making Chapman the first Black woman to top that chart in its 33-year existence.

Other songs the 44th president of the United States has been listening to this summer include "Watching the Credits" by The Beths, "Try Me" by Jorja Smith, "The Devil I Know" by Grammy-winner Ashley McBryde and "Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam.

Obama traditionally releases these wide-ranging playlists for the summer, holidays and even for some workout motivation.