Barack Obama Shares 2021 Summer Playlist: Jazmine Sullivan, Arooj Aftab, Wye Oak, More

Plus Migos, Joni Mitchell, Rihanna, JAY-Z, Chicago, Erykah Badu, George Harrison, and others
Barack Obama smiling
Former President Barack Obama, October 2020 (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Former President Barack Obama has shared his annual summer playlist. The 2021 edition includes tracks by Jazmine Sullivan, Arooj Aftab, Wye Oak, Migos, Joni Mitchell, Chicago, Rihanna, JAY-Z, Erykah Badu, George Harrison, and more. “With so many folks getting together with family and friends, there’s a lot to celebrate this summer,” Obama wrote as he revealed this year’s roster of songs. “Here’s a playlist of songs I’ve been listening to lately—it’s a mix of old and new, household names and emerging artists, and a whole lot in between.” Check it out below.

Last year, Obama’s playlist featured performers at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, such as Billie Eilish, Maggie Rogers, Common, John Legend, and Leon Bridges, as well as cuts by Megan Thee Stallion, Frank Ocean, Bob Dylan, and more.

Revisit the 2016 feature “The Presidential Suite: A Look Back at Obama’s Musical Milestones,” and check out Pitchfork’s Rising interview “Get to Know Arooj Aftab, the Defiant Singer Who’s Reimagining Traditional South Asian Music for Today.”

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