Michelle raps up a storm in college video
She has won plaudits for her smarts and style, even her funk dancing skills, but Michelle Obama was less known as a rapper — until now.
The American first lady and Harvard Law School graduate throws down some rhymes in a tongue-in-cheek music video released recently to encourage kids to go to university.
Co-starring actor Jay Pharoah — known for his uncanny impersonation of Barack Obama — the video shows the pair dancing at the White House and rapping into a studio mic.
“If you wanna fly jets you should go to college/ Reach high and cash checks, fill your head with knowledge,” they riff in tandem.
Produced for the student site College Humor, the video is part of a drive called “Better Make Room” which aims to reverse falling US college graduation rates.
“South Side Chicago, we all know/ We had to do overtime every night to make it to tomorrow,” raps Obama — who grew up in the city’s south.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama said the song by the Grammy-nominated rapper from Compton, California, is his favorite song of 2015.
In an interview with People magazine that was released Wednesday, Obama also shared his favorite book and movie of the year. They are “Fates and Furies,” a novel about a marriage by Lauren Groff, and “The Martian,” starring Matt Damon.
Groff seemed flabbergasted upon learning of Obama’s book selection.
“Never, even in my most grandiose dreams, did I think the president would read my book, let alone like it,” she said through her publisher, Riverhead Books. Groff’s book was a finalist for the National Book Award and has appeared on numerous lists of the year’s best books.
Michelle, revealed her picks, too, telling People that she can’t get enough of Bruno Mars’ song “Uptown Funk.” She and a troupe of dancers performed to the lively song earlier this year on “Ellen.”
For her favorite book, Mrs. Obama picked another marriage tome, “The Light of the World,” by family friend Elizabeth Alexander. It’s about the unexpected death of Alexander’s husband in 2012 and raising their two sons in the aftermath.
And for the first lady’s favorite movie? She chose “Inside Out,” an animated film led by comedian Amy Poehler.
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