In light of Kamala Harris’s imminent inauguration as the first female Vice President of the United States, it becomes increasingly pertinent to discover her musical preferences in the year 2021. Vice President Kamala Harris, being the daughter of an Indian biology researcher and a Jamaican economics professor, likely possesses intriguing musical tastes. Her unique upbringing, which included living in Berkeley during the 1960s and later moving to Montreal, Quebec, at the age of 12, has bestowed upon her a dual cultural perspective, blending West Coast and East Coast influences. But the question remains: What is Vice President Kamala Harris’s musical playlist like?
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had to take place under altered circumstances. The customary pre-event parties were canceled, along with the parade that traditionally meandered down Washington D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue. In an era when nearly all types of events were being experienced virtually, one tradition from the past was preserved: the Presidential Playlist, as reported by L’Officiel .
Former President Barack Obama, known for frequently including Beyoncé among his musical preferences, popularized this practice, turning it into a genuine tool for political communication. “This playlist represents the diversity of our country, our strength, and resilience as we look forward to entering a new era in America,” the Biden-Harris team said, according to the publication reports.
In addition to having promoted numerous artists, this playlist conveyed a powerful message of unity to both the American people and other nations across the globe through one of the most potent conduits of emotions: music. The compilation of 46 songs, a nod to the 46th President of the United States, resulted from a collaboration between PIC, DJ D-Nice, and Raedio, the label founded by actress and creator of the HBO series Insecure , Issa Rae.
This eclectic mix, which included tracks like Now Or Never by Kendrick Lamar, Pick Up the Pieces by Average White Band, Coffin Nails by MF Doom, Whatta Man by Salt-N-Pepa (feat. En Vogue), Lovely Day by Bill Withers, Good Days by SZA, Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley, and Destiny by Burna Boy, was made available on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, and as an exclusive remix on SoundCloud.
In a recent development, Vice President Kamala Harris released an official Spotify playlist featuring African music as a way to commemorate her recent journey across the continent, exclusively revealed by Billboard . The playlist, titled ” My Travels: Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia ,” was available on the streaming platform and was designed to “amplify the artists and sounds from my travels” across those countries, as indicated in its description. The vice president arrived in Ghana on Sunday (March 26) for her first official trip to Africa, with subsequent visits planned to Tanzania on Wednesday and Zambia on Friday before returning to the U.S. on Sunday.
Vice President Harris assembled the playlist by showcasing the talents of artists from Ghana and Ghanaian Americans, such as Amaarae, Moses Sumney, and Black Sherif. She also included Tanzanian and Tanzanian-American musicians like Harmonize, Zuchu, and Alikiba, as well as Zambian and Zambian-American artists like Chile One Mr. Zambia, Yo Maps, and Chef 187.