Local Rapper Among Artists Featured On Barack Obama's Buzzing Summer Playlist

Barack Obama has shared his Summer Playlist for 2022. The buzzing playlist features an eclectic mix of acts drawn from all over the planet, including Melbourne-based rapper and singer/songwriter Sampa The Great. 

Notable inclusions alongside the Sampa The Great track Energy include Break My Soul by Beyoncé,  Music For A Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles, SAOKO by Rosalía and Angelica by Styles fellow 2022 Mercury music prize nominees, Wet Leg.

The sharing of Obama's summer playlists has become a bit of a tradition, with the former President Of The United States of America releasing a statement via Twitter noting that he enjoys the process as it helps him find out about new artists.

"Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies—it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together." "Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer." 

Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies—it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together.

Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer. What songs would you add? pic.twitter.com/9OgPq0SRy4

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 26, 2022

As per previous years, Obama's playlist hops between eras and genres, mixing everything from classic rock icon Bruce Springsteen (Dancing In The Dark) and jazz legend Miles Davis (Blue In Green) to modern rap god Kendrick Lamar (Die Hard) and country superstar Kacey Musgraves (Keep Looking Up).

You can view Obama's full list in the images below. 

The inclusion of Sampa The Great in this year's list continues an impressive run of local artists making the cut, with the likes of Sydney-based rapper Masked Wolf and celebrated Melbourne singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett and Canberran Genesis Owusu making the cut on previous Obama playlists.

The playlisting is not the first time that Sampa The Great has been given the nod by the Obama household, with Michelle Obama including Freedom in her 2020 playlist Vol 1: The Michelle Obama Playlist. 

ARIA Award Winning, Zambian-born, Botswana-raised poet and rapper Sampa The Great will release her second full-length As Above, So Below on the 9th of September.