Barack Obama Says Eminem’s Lose Yourself Helped Him When He Was President
Published
Eminem’s Lose Yourself has been listed among the top 20 songs that inspired Barack Obama during his time as president.
Obama opened up about the influence music had on his life during his time in the White House with an accompanying playlist ahead of the release of his new memoir, A Promised Land, which is released today, November 17.
Alongside Eminem, the playlist featured tracks from the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z.
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‘Music has always played an important role throughout my life – and that was especially true during my presidency,’ Obama explained on Instagram.
‘While reviewing my notes ahead of debates, I’d listen to Jay-Z’s My 1st Song or Frank Sinatra’s Luck Be a Lady. Throughout our time in the White House, Michelle and I invited artists like Stevie Wonder and Gloria Estefan to conduct afternoon workshops with young people before performing an evening show in the East Room.’
The 59-year-old went on to reminisce over he and Michelle’s first dance at their inauguration to the White House, to Beyoncé’s rendition of At Last. He also wrote about the time Paul McCartney serenaded Michelle in the East Room with The Beatles classic of the same name.
‘So, in honour of my book coming out tomorrow, I thought I’d put together a playlist with some of those songs,’ he added. ‘Hope you enjoy it.’
In his memoir, Obama opens up about the friction his decision to run for president caused, after Michelle explicitly told him she didn’t want him to run.
‘The fact that I ended up winning didn’t necessarily alleviate her frustrations because the toll it takes on families is real,’ he wrote, as per the Independent.
‘The fact that she put up with it and forgave me — it was an act of grace that I am grateful for, and I’m not sure I deserved it.’
The former POTUS also details the note he left to incumbent president Donald Trump when he left the White House, which read: ‘We are just temporary occupants of this office. It’s up to us to leave the instruments of our democracy as least as strong as we found them.’
He did, however, add that he felt he was leaving the presidency to a person who ‘diametrically opposed everything we stood for.’
Obama has since said that he believes Trump ought to concede his presidency following election results in order to put America above his own ego.
A Promised Land is out today, November 17.
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Topics: Music, Barack Obama, Eminem
