Barack Obama has opened up about the music that kept him grounded during one of the most intense stretches of his political life.
In a personal essay published on Tuesday (May 19) in Rolling Stone, the former president describes how hip-hop became an unlikely anchor before presidential campaign debates during his first run for the White House.
Before each debate, Obama would set aside his staff's notes and spend roughly half an hour alone with music. He started with jazz, including Miles’ Kind of Blue track "Freddie Freeloader" and John Coltrane's famous reinvention of "My Favorite Things" — but eventually landed on rap as the genre that truly got his head right. In particular, songs from two legends did the trick.
“A couple of songs about defying the odds and putting it all on the line — Jay-Z’s ‘My 1st Song' and Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ — were always in the rotation, maybe because they felt suited to my early underdog status,” said Obama. "Sitting alone in the back of the Secret Service SUV on my way to the venue, nodding to the beat, I would feel the pomp and circumstance and artifice of my immediate surroundings melt away."
The debate rituals were part of a broader set of habits Obama describes as “superstitious.”
"During my first presidential campaign, I became a bit particular — maybe even a little superstitious — about my debate-day rituals," he wrote, adding that a mandatory workout and a consistent dinner order were also part of the routine.
Hip-hop played a major role in helping Barack Obama connect with younger and Black voters during his 2008 presidential campaign. Artists like Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, and Will.i.am publicly supported Obama, shouting him out in songs like Jeezy’s “My President.”
