--- title: Michelle Obama Raps for College Humor With Jay Pharoah description: Michelle Obama, Jay Pharoah rap in music video for College Humor sparks FlotusBars trending Twitter hashtag canonical: https://time.com/4144403/michelle-obama-college-humor-rap/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-10T17:35:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:27:35.946Z og:title: Watch Michelle Obama Rap in a New Video for 'College Humor' og:description: The music video with 'SNL' actor Jay Pharoah sparked the hashtag #FLOTUSBars og:url: https://time.com/4144403/michelle-obama-college-humor-rap/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Michelle Obama Rap in a New Video for 'College Humor' twitter:description: The music video with 'SNL' actor Jay Pharoah sparked the hashtag #FLOTUSBars twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch Michelle Obama Rap in a New Video for _College Humor_ > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Dec 10, 2015 5:35 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Dec 10, 2015 5:35 PM UTC First Lady Michelle Obama and _Saturday Night Live_ cast member Jay Pharaoh teamed up to rap about why high school seniors should go to college in a new music [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5F1yAOK0nSb0&feature=youtu.be) produced for _College Humor_, a humor site for students. Featuring music composed by YouTube celebrities The Gregory Brothers, the clip is part of Obama’s [“Better Make Room” initiative](http://www.people.com/article/michelle-obama-better-make-room-initiative-communicating-teens), her recently launched campaign to boost awareness about resources that could help Americans pursue higher education amid [falling college graduation rates](http://time.com/4116856/college-graduation-rate/). Sporting shades and a wrap dress, she raps: --- > “” --- Her appearance has already inspired a trending hashtag on Twitter [#FLOTUSBars](https://twitter.com/hashtag/FLOTUSBars?src=hash), a riff on [#PopeBar](http://time.com/4129766/pope-francis-popebars-hashtag-rap-rapping/)s, which started last week in response to a photo in which Pope Francis looked like he was rapping. > [](https://twitter.com/sirosenbaum/status/675001752148680704) > [](https://twitter.com/Miss%5FTalie/status/674998913296941056) > [](https://twitter.com/jpclyons/status/675000079430864896) > [](https://twitter.com/KimmieIs2Real/status/674990929963556864) > [](https://twitter.com/callmedollar/status/674988873181765632) > [](https://twitter.com/modernjam/status/674990439804473344) > [](https://twitter.com/deray/status/674981595971981312) > [](https://twitter.com/ComedyCentral/status/675001026433425408) > [](https://twitter.com/sirSLAYSalot/status/674995958640304128) > [](https://twitter.com/juscohen/status/674981667577040896) It’s not the first time FLOTUS has used rap for a cause. As part of her ongoing campaign to raise awareness about healthy, active living to combat obesity in the U.S., she has promoted the album [_Songs for a Healthier America_](http://ahealthieramerica.org/songs/)_,_ featuring artists like Ariana Grande, Travis Barker, Jordin Sparks, Ashanti, and Matisyahu, and tracks like “Veggie Luv” and “U R What You Eat.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4144403/michelle-obama-college-humor-rap/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4144403/michelle-obama-college-humor-rap/"},"headline":"Watch Michelle Obama Rap in a New Video for College Humor","datePublished":"2015-12-10T17:35:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:27:35.946Z","description":"The music video with Saturday Night Live actor Jay Pharoah has sparked a trending Twitter hashtag #FLOTUSBars","url":"https://time.com/4144403/michelle-obama-college-humor-rap/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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