New York, NY (Top40 Charts) It's that time of the year again! As 2018 draws to a close, former President Barack Obama has once again shared his favorite songs of the past year, which include popular hits and some obscure selections from many of today's biggest hip-hop and R&B stars.
The annual playlist kicks off with The Carters'
Everything Is Love collaboration "APES**T."
Cardi B had the former prez making moves to her
J Balvin and Bad Bunny-assisted smash "I Like It."
Khalid and Normani's "
Love Lies" also makes the list, which prompted a reaction from Normani, who wrote, "screaming."
Other Obama jams include Jay Rock's "Wow Freestyle" featuring Kendrick Lamar, H.E.R.'s "
Could've Been" featuring Bryson Tiller, Janelle Monáe's "Make Me Feel," and J. Cole's KOD standout "Kevin's Heart." Obama's fellow Chicagoan Chance the Rapper also earns a spot with his year-end track "My Own Thing" with Joey Purp.
Additionally, he shared his favorite books and movies including
Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, and If Beale Street Could Talk.
"As 2018 draws to a close, I'm continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists," said Obama. "It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors, artists, and storytellers - some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before."
Favorite Songs:
Apes••t by The Carters
Bad Bad News by Leon Bridges
Could've Been by
H.E.R. (feat. Bryson Tiller)
Disco Yes by Tom Misch (feat. Poppy Ajudha)
Ekombe by Jupiter & Okwess
Every Time I Hear That Song by Brandi Carlile
Girl Goin' Nowhere by Ashley McBryde
Historia De Un Amor by Tonina (feat. Javier Limón and Tali Rubinstein)
I Like It by
Cardi B (feat.
Bad Bunny and J Balvin)
Kevin's
Heart by J. Cole
King For A Day by Anderson East
Love Lies by
Khalid & Normani
Make Me Feel by Janelle Monáe
Mary Don't You Weep (Piano & A Microphone 1983 Version) by Prince
My Own Thing by Chance the Rapper (feat. Joey Purp)
Need a
Little Time by Courtney Barnett
Nina Cried Power by
Hozier (feat. Mavis Staples)
Nterini by Fatoumata Diawara
One Trick Ponies by Kurt Vile
Turnin' Me Up by BJ the
Chicago Kid
Wait by the River by Lord Huron
Wow Freestyle by
Jay Rock (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
And in honor of one of the great jazz singers of all time, who died this year, a classic album: The Great American Songbook by Nancy Wilson
Favorite Films:
Annihilation
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Blindspotting
Burning
The Death of Stalin
Eighth Grade
If Beale Street Could Talk
Leave No Trace
Minding the Gap
The Rider
Roma
Shoplifters
Support the Girls
Won't You Be My Neighbor
Favorite Books:
Here's a reminder of the books that I read this year that appeared on earlier lists:
Becoming by Michelle Obama (obviously my favorite!)
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne
Educated by Tara Westover
Factfulness by Hans Rosling
Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging by Alex Wagner
A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and
Daniel Ziblatt
In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History by Mitch Landrieu
Long Walk to Freedom by
Nelson Mandela
The New Geography of Jobs by Enrico Moretti
The Return by Hisham Matar
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen
The World As It Is by Ben Rhodes
Here are my other favorite books of 2018:
American Prison by Shane Bauer
Arthur Ashe: A Life by Raymond Arsenault
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
Feel Free by Zadie Smith
Florida by
Lauren Groff
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by
David W. Blight
Immigrant, Montana by Amitava Kumar
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark
There There by Tommy Orange
Washington
Black by Esi Edugyan.
