It’s no secret that the Obamas are avid fans of excellent rap music. Last January, a leaked selfie of Malia rocking a Pro Era crew t-shirt caused a splash on the internet. Later in the year, her mom Michelle made even bigger waves when Missy Elliott crashed her Carpool Karaoke joyride with James Corden. (The trio’s performance of “This is for My Girls” — a star-studded smash in support of FLOTUS’s Let Girls Learn education initiative — is the only thing that makes us smile more than the incredible #FLOTUSbars memes). And, of course, POTUS himself has name checked the best in the game throughout his tenure. He’s a fan of Kendrick, Drake, Kanye, but perhaps most of all, Chance the Rapper.
.@chancetherapper performed at the @WhiteHouse Tree Lighting Ceremony. pic.twitter.com/aAmhnsCzQV — deray mckesson (@deray) December 1, 2016
“When I look at who’s breaking new ground, Kendrick and Chance, those guys are doing just amazing work,” Obama said on Sway in the Morning in October. “And they’re wonderful young men. Chance, I’ve known for years ’cause his dad was my state director when I was a senator in Illinois, so I first met Chance when he was eight years old, and so we’ve been family for a while.” It was unsurprising that the 23-year-old Chance was invited back to the White House for a third time this year to perform at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony last night. But when he took to the stage with Nico Segal and the Social Experiment, we learned that the lil’est Obama is a rap fan, too. Sasha rapped along flawlessly.
Sasha Obama just lip-synced to Chance the Rapper at the National Christmas Tree Lighting pic.twitter.com/yDlubgAZK9
— GIF The News (@NowThisGIF) December 1, 2016
The First Family sat front row during Chance’s performance, which included a rendition of “Sunday Candy,” a cut from The Social Experiment’s debut album Surf. Sasha can be seen lip synching to the lyrics without faltering; such prowess must be hereditary, considering Michelle positively bodied Missy’s “Get Ur Freak On” during what’s unquestionably Corden’s coolest Carpool Karaoke segment.
A deep appreciation and enthusiasm for one of the most urgent musical genres is one of the very many things we’ll miss about the Obamas. Even though this article about Barron Trump’s botched clarinet solo is fake, this video of Donald Trump awkwardly bobbing to “Hotline Bling” is, like his fast-approaching presidency, tragically all too real.
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Text Emily Manning
Image via The White House Flickr