Tag Archives: obama music video

CNN wondered, Gawker wondered, and now Six Words wonders: was Barack Obama in the 1993 video for “Whoomp, There It Is?”

Here’s the screenshot that started it all:

Gawker gives a pretty comprehensive pro/con list debating whether our POTUS is a video star:

FOR

• It really really looks like him!
• Obama has a well-documented fondness for hip hop. He likes Kanye West and Ludacris.
• Obama has a history of hip hop cameos. In 2008, reports said he was featured on an upcoming Q-Tip track. Though Q-Tip ended up simply sampling one of his speeches.
• As one commenter on SomethingAwful noted: The man in the video is playing dominoes with his left hand. BARACK OBAMA IS ALSO LEFT HANDED!
• The video was released in 1993. Barack would have been around 31 when it was filmed, a year or two out of Harvard Law. Seems like something cool that our coolest, cigarette-smoking, hoops-shooting future president would do as an early 30-something.

AGAINST

• But, actually, by 1993, Obama was deeply involved in community activism in Chicago. In 1992, Obama famously helped boost voter turnout among blacks through his tireless organizing. How would Obama had the time to film this video? And why the hell would the director of Tag Team’s video seek out a notable community organizer to play a domino player? Maybe they were buddies from Harvard or something.
• Also, Tag Team is from Atlanta. If Obama wanted to make his rap video debut, wouldn’t he have chosen an early-90s act from his beloved Chicago? Maybe Da Brat, or Crucial Conflict? And he would obviously be wearing a Bulls hat—not a Compton one.
• Most of these conspiracy theorists base their observation on a low-quality YouTube version of the video. Take a look at this screenshot from a higher-quality video: Doesn’t look much like him, actually. Also: earrings? Obama is cool, but not that cool.

I think I’m going to conclude that it’s him, because that would just be the greatest. But what do you think? Is that our beloved Barry?

Thanks to Wegs for the tip!

[Posted by Mallory]