Former President of the United States, Barack Obama has shared his summer playlist, and in it nets ‘Smile’ by Africa’s starboy Wizkid featuring American singer H.E.R.
The extensive playlist put together by Obama proudly sheds light on some featured works made by African artists such as Shatta Wale’s big collaboration with Beyoncé ‘Already’ as well as Khalid and Disclosure’s ‘Know Your Worth Remix’ which has Davido & Tems on the beat as featured artists.
“Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to music with my family. I wanted to share some of my favorites from the summer–including songs from some of the artists performing at this week’s @DeConvention. As always, it’s a mix of genres that travels through various eras. I think there’s something in here for everybody—hope you enjoy it,” Obama captioned along the playlist reveal.
This is not the first time an African artist has made it on the Obama annual playlist submission. Last year, Rema’s ‘Iron Man’ was at No.42 in the Obama Summer playlist. Upon the chart release, 39 out of the 44 featured tracks received a boost in U.S stream on Billboard including ‘Iron Man’ that catapulted to 90,000 streams (up 182%).
His 2019 songs of the year release also had on it ‘Anybody’ by Burna Boy, unofficially certifying the track as the biggest party hit song in Africa.
Well received by the African diaspora, Obama’s recognition of ‘Smile’ as one of his go-to songs for relaxation and comfort is further proof that African music is already on the global front.
