--- title: Barack Obama Rap: His Top Five Hip Hop Moments description: Watch some of the top five moments involving hip hop from Barack Obama's presidency. canonical: https://time.com/4544958/barack-obamas-rap-moments/ author: Kenneth Bachor article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-26T11:00:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:52:03.096Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch President Obama's Top 5 Rap Moments og:description: From feuding with Kanye to a mic drop. og:url: https://time.com/4544958/barack-obamas-rap-moments/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef28319d37f4a89/6988ab8ee20a8733d3a92f50/obama-jay-z-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2644 og:image:height: 1487 og:image:alt: U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted on stage by rapper Jay-Z at an election campaign rally in Columbus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch President Obama's Top 5 Rap Moments twitter:description: From feuding with Kanye to a mic drop. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef28319d37f4a89/6988ab8ee20a8733d3a92f50/obama-jay-z-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch President Obama's Top 5 Rap Moments > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=07052eef-7c91-486c-ad7e-b561c5d3f3fc&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Obama's Top 5 Rap Moments [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama's Top 5 Rap Moments](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JZDgLJ5L.m3u8) (1:04)  _Published 2016-10-26. From referencing Jay Z's lyrics to dropping the mic at his final White House Correspondents’ Dinner, TIME looks back at President Obama’s best rap moments._ by [Kenneth Bachor](https://time.com/author/kenneth-bachor/) ## Kenneth Bachor Oct 26, 2016 11:00 AM UTC From referencing Jay Z's lyrics to dropping the mic at his final White House Correspondents’ Dinner, TIME looks back at President Obama’s best rap moments. by [Kenneth Bachor](https://time.com/author/kenneth-bachor/) ## Kenneth Bachor Oct 26, 2016 11:00 AM UTC If there’s one thing that President Obama loves, [aside from broccoli](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/10170504/Barack-Obama-declares-broccoli-is-his-favourite-food.html), it’s rap music. Obama has gone [on record to _Rolling Stone_](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-in-command-br-the-rolling-stone-interview-20100928), saying that his playlist includes hip-hop artists, such as Jay Z, Nas and Lil Wayne. Since Jay Z first campaigned for Obama in 2008, their “bromance” has been [well documented](http://www.mtv.com/news/1694108/jay-z-obama-bromance/). The popular rapper and business mogul has not only [been a guest at the White House](http://time.com/4274082/beyonce-jay-z-blue-ivy-white-house-easter/), as well as a guest at [the President’s second inauguration](http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/presidential-inauguration-2013-all-the-stars-and-celebrations-2013211/27691) in 2013, where Beyoncé was invited to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner_._” In 2015, [“due to popular request,”](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/barack-obama-spotify-playlist/) Obama teamed up with Spotify to release his summer playlist, which included songs by Mos Def and Erykah Badu. Earlier this year, the President [invited rapper Kendrick Lamar](http://www.newsweek.com/when-kendrick-lamar-talked-mentoring-barack-obama-414421) to the White House to support his My Brother’s Keeper initiative, in order to raise awareness about the importance of mentoring for a PSA. It’s no coincidence that Lamar was Obama’s choice, the President has stated that [his favorite song of 2015](http://pitchfork.com/news/62469-president-obama-says-kendrick-lamars-how-much-a-dollar-cost-was-his-favorite-song-of-2015/) was Lamar’s _To Pimp A Butterfly_ track “How Much A Dollar Cost.” From referencing Jay Z’s lyrics to dropping the mic at his final White House Correspondents’ Dinner, TIME looks back at President Obama’s best rap moments. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] That's going viral. [ MUSIC ] And you know, you've just gotta kinda let it, you know If Drake and Kendrick Lamar got in a rap battle, who do you think would win. Got to go with Kendrick. I'm just saying. I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer but Kendrick, his lyrics, his last album was outstanding. [ MUSIC ] He's a ****. With that I just have two more words to say. Obama out. 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