Obama names Asake and Rema among his favorite artists of 2024

Former US President Barack Obama has unveiled his annual playlist, featuring his top tracks of 2024.

Obama’s annual playlist, released on his official X account, @BarackObama, on Friday, featured a diverse array of artists and genres, including notable Nigerian music stars Rema and Asake.

Before Obama posted this on his page, he said: “I always look forward to sharing my annual list of favorite books, movies, and music.

“Today I’ll start by sharing some of the books that have stuck with me long after I finished reading them.

“Check them out this holiday season, preferably at an independent bookstore or library!

Following the post, the former president wrote again: “Here are my favorite songs from this year!

“Check them out if you’re looking to shake up your playlist – and let me know if there’s a song or artist, I should make sure to listen to.

Among the notable tracks featured on Obama’s 2024 playlist are “Lunch” by Billie Eilish, “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé, and “Squabble Up” by Kendrick Lamar.

About Obama

Barack Obama, born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, served as the 44th president of the United States from2009 to 2017.

He made history as the first African American to hold this prestigious office.

Prior to his presidency, Obama was a U.S. senator representing Illinois from two thousand five to two thousand eight.

Notably, he became the third African American elected to the Senate since the Reconstruction era ended in 1877.

In recognition of his efforts to enhance international diplomacy, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

Obama’s early life

Obama’s early life was shaped by his parents’ diverse backgrounds.

His father, Barack Obama Sr., grew up as a goatherd in rural Kenya.

He earned a scholarship to study in the United States and later became a senior economist in the Kenyan government.

His mother, S. Ann Dunham, spent her childhood in Kansas, Texas, and Washington state before settling in Hawaii.

Ann and Barack Sr. met in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii in 1960 and married shortly after.

When Obama was just two years old, his father left to pursue studies at Harvard University.

In 1964, Ann and Barack Sr. divorced.

Obama saw his father only once more, during a brief visit when he was ten.

After the divorce, Ann remarried Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian student, and they had a daughter named Maya.

The family lived in Jakarta for several years, where Obama attended a government-run school with some Islamic instruction and a Catholic private school for Christian education.

In 1971, Obama returned to Hawaii, living in a modest apartment with his grandparents and mother.

His mother had various overseas commitments, including work on her Ph.D., and they experienced a middle-class lifestyle, occasionally relying on government assistance.

Obama graduated from Punahou School, a prestigious college preparatory academy, in nineteen seventy-nine.

He then attended Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years before transferring to Columbia University in New York City, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1983.

During his college years, Obama was influenced by professors who encouraged him to take his studies seriously.

He engaged deeply with literature and philosophy, reading works by notable authors such as William Shakespeare and Toni Morrison.

After college, Obama worked as a writer and editor for Business International Corp. in Manhattan.

In 1985, he became a community organizer on Chicago’s impoverished Far South Side.

Three years later, he returned to academia, graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991.

At Harvard, he made history as the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.

During a summer internship at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin in 1991, Obama met Michelle Robinson, a fellow lawyer.

The couple married in 1992.

After earning his law degree, Obama moved to Chicago, where he became involved in the Democratic Party.

He organized Project Vote, a campaign that registered thousands of African Americans to vote, significantly contributing to Bill Clinton’s presidential victory in 1992.

In addition to his political activism, Obama authored his first book, “Dreams from My Father,” published in 1995.

The memoir explores his search for identity and traces the lives of his father and extended family in Kenya.

He also lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago and worked as an attorney focusing on civil rights issues.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook