The Obamas Fill The White House with Music

By J9 of J9's MusicLife

President Barack Obama has a great appreciation of music.  He has stated that "music is a great source of joy and solace in the midst of difficult days."  During a evening of poetry, music and the spoken word event held at The White House in 2009, Obama summed it up best. . .

"We're here to celebrate the power of words and music to help us appreciate beauty but also to understand pain.  To inspire us to action and to sear us on when we start to lose hope.  To lift us up out of our daily existence, even if it's just for a few moments."

Both the President and First Lady have a wide range of music tastes.  It has been said that artists like Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Earth, Wind, & Fire and even mainstream Rap artists like Lil Wayne and Nas can be found on Barack's iPod while Rihanna, Beyonce, Usher, Robin Thicke, Sara Bareilles, Herbie Hancock, and Anthony David can be found on Michelle's.  Their love for music doesn't stop on their iPods as it has also been reflected in the musical guests they have invited over the years to The White House for several events.


State Dinners

Last month, by the request of the Obamas, Janelle Monae performed during a state dinner to honor South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.  Surprisingly, The Obamas are huge Monae fans and even requested her to perform their favorite song Tightrope.

Others that performed during state dinners were Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and Beyonce are also others that have been asked to perform for state dinner. 


Evening of Poetry, Music and Spoken Word Events

In 2009, Grammy-award winning artist Esperanza Spalding performed for the second time at The White House for "An Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word"

Also, click here to view her first White House performance earlier that year during a tribute for Stevie Wonder.

For another poetry event, Michelle invited conscious rapper Common who recited some lines amidst piano accompaniment in front of an audience of children and adults.  View his performance here.  Obama states "...a great poem is one that resonates with us and challenges us and teaches us something about ourselves."  Remember the controversy this caused when people like Sarah Palin classified him as a "gangsta rapper" and didn't think his attendance was appropriate? 



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Artists Lend Their Expertise in the Classroom

By J9 of J9's MusicLife


More and more artists are being asked to step in the role as teacher and educate students about their first hand experience in the music industry.  According to a census conducted by the Hip Hop Archive, in respect to the hip-hop genre, more than 85 courses were being taught in American universities during the 2005-2006 academic year.  Here are a couple of artists who hold the additional title of Professor.

Ryan Leslie (Songwriter/Artist/Producer)
Last week, it was announced that R Les would be the first Artist in Residence at The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Art for the 2011-2012 academic year.  In this program, one-on-one sessions, group lectures, songwriting critiques, and mentoring will be offered to students.

Swizz Beatz (Rapper/Songwriter/Producer)
He was the first Producer in Residence at NYU's Clive Davis Dept of Recorded Music for the 2010-2011 academic year.








John Forte (Rapper)

In 2009, he taught a 12-week class called "Music Therapy" at the City College of New York. In this class, Forte taught at-risk students how to deal with their emotions and hardships through music.

Method Man (Rapper)

In 2010, Meth lectured a 1-day course called "The Laws of Success" at NYC The Learning Annex.  His class focused on dubbing, demos, and publishing while staying true to your artistic vision.

Esperanza Spalding (Singer/Musician)

At the age of 20, Esperanza became one of the youngest professors at the Berklee College of Music History.  Also, she is developing several courses at Berklee, including one that focuses "on transcribing as a tool for learning harmony and theory".  In 2010, she became the Artist in Residence at Michigan State University's College of Music where she gave a master class offering constructive critiques of various student jazz groups as they performed.

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