President Barack Obama is just like the rest of us. Musically, that is.
The former President of the just released a curated playlist on the eve of the release of his new memoir, A Promised Land, and it’s so good it has us shook.
The playlist features songs from Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé (including her cover of At Last, the Obamas’ first Inaugural Ball dance song), JAY Z, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder and more. “Music has always played an important role in my life—and that was especially true during my presidency,” our forever President wrote in the tweet. “In honor of my book hitting shelves tomorrow, I put together this playlist featuring some memorable songs from my administration. Hope you enjoy it.”
A Promised Land is the first volume of his presidential memoirs and candidly tells the story of Obama’s ascent to the White House. According to a description of the book, it sheds light on the former president’s thoughts on assembling his cabinet, handling the global financial crisis, dealing with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, securing the Affordable Care Act, clashing with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackling Wall Street reform, responding to the Deepwater Horizon disaster and authorizing Operation Neptune’s Spear, which led to the death of Osama bin Laden.
“In the book, I’ve also tried to give readers a sense of the personal journey that Michelle and I went through during those years, with all the incredible highs and lows,” Obama said. “And finally, at a time when America is going through such enormous upheaval, the book offers some of my broader thoughts on how we can heal the divisions in our country going forward and make our democracy work for everybody—a task that won’t depend on any single president, but on all of us as engaged citizens.”
