Barack Obama dropped is “Favorite Music Of 2022” list with 25 songs. Including Burna Boy’s global streaming smash “Last Last” Grammy winning reggae star Koffee’s “Pull Up”.
2019 was the first time Former US President Barack Obama included Koffee’s turntable hit “Toast” from her Rapture Ep to his favorite music of the year. That year “Anybody” by Burna Boy also made the list.
Pull Up was on Obama’s summer list this year when he shared back in July. The playlist also included Beyonce’s Break My Soul, Tems’s Vibe Out and Burna Boy’s Last Last.
“Last Last” lands at No. 10 as the most searched song of the year globally on google.
The song was released in May of this year as the lead single for the Grammy winning artist’s 6th solo album “Love Damini” on Atlantic Records/Spaceship label. Since selling out two nights in Madison Square Garden, the African Giant has opened up himself to new audiences in America and across the world which has increased a global demand for his tour.
The breakup anthem Last Last, which exploded after he first performed it at the Billboard Music Awards in May, samples Tony Braxton’s Darkchild produced “Wasn’t Man Enough.”
Burna, real name Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, told hosts Gillie and Wallo of Million Dollars Worth Of Game Podcast that he pays 60% of the publishing to Braxton but it was worth it.
“I just wanted to use that sample, and I knew Chopstix(Producer) could do sumn crazy with it, so yeah, I just pointed that shit out and just take it from there , that’s one of the special creative processes ever,” he explained.
“But she is taking sixty percent of the shit,” he says with a huge grin. With the huge sample fee he hopes Toni Braxton will join him on tour for one of his shows which goes on a three island Caribbean run with Popcaan next week.
“He Wasn’t Man Enough” was the lead single for Braxton’s third studio album, The Heat (2000), written by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, and Harvey Mason, Jr. The song was released by LaFace Records on February 29, 2000.
The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained there for two weeks behind the classic “Maria Maria” by Santana featuring The Product G & B. In total it spent 37 weeks on the chart. It debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Braxton also earned her fourth Grammy Award from Wasn’t Man Enough For Me for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and was nominated for Best R&B Song in 2001.
The global smash hit co-written by producers Off & Out (brothers Mikael and Samuel Haataja), Chopstix, MdS, and Ruuben gave Burna Boy his first top 20 UK Singles Chart hit. It is certified Gold in the US(500,000), as of November 7 by the RIAA, Platinum in Canada (80,000), and Platinum in the U.K. as of December 2, 2022. It has also picked up Gold certifications in France (100,000) and New Zealand (15000).
The boys day out bachelor celebration music video was directed by Burna and has now surpassed 137 million views on YouTube.
Obama wrote on his social media in July, “Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies—it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together. Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer. What songs would you add?”
Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies—it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together.
Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer. What songs would you add? pic.twitter.com/9OgPq0SRy4
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 26, 2022
Pull up is the second single from Koffee’s debut album Gifted released by Colombia/RCA Records. Gifted debuted at number 2 on the Reggae Billboard charts with 3500 total units sold in the US in the first week according to data provided to World Music Views by Luminate . The album clocked 700 in total album sales and 3,290,800 streams. The project also debuted at number 9 on the UK top 100 albums chart.
‘Gifted’ re-entered the U.S. Billboard Reggae Albums chart last week at No. 9. and slipped to No. 10 this week. It is the top selling reggae album released this year.
According to data provided to WMV by Billboard sales trackers Luminate the album has so far clocked more than 223,000 album equivalent units(with SEA, and with TEA). This includes pure album sales of 1,600 (equalling total on-demand streams (audio + video) of 340 million).
It peaked number 5 on the UK physical albums chart giving Koffee the distinction of being the first female Jamaican to make the UK albums chart top ten.
Other women of Jamaican descent to climb the UK albums chart are Stefflon Don and Diana King.
Stefflon Don’s 2018 album Secure peaked at 35 and Diana King’s 1995 album Tougher Than Love peaked at number 50 on the top 100 chart.
Since Koffee came on the scene she has gotten a lot of label support. After winning the Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2020, John Fleckenstein, co-president of RCA said to Rolling Stones “Koffee’s success continues, it’s not gonna end in Jamaica. It’s gonna end on a global level.“
Gifted has also landed at No. 11 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, which ranks the sales by new and developing musical recording artists each week.
Koffee took the Jamaican culture to late night television in the US last night when she performed her latest single “Pull Up” from her upcoming debut album Gifted on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The set was transformed into a dancehall with crates, speaker systems and dancers to accentuate the performance. As Fallon introduced the Sony Music artist, Chromatic sound reintroduced Koffee in true dancehall fashion.
“Yuh done know chromatic deh yah alongside the original Koffee from Jamaica, yo koffee you wah tell them”
The voice of Vybz Kartel can be heard echoing “Chromatic the ultimate” as she took the stage to resounding applause and a “money pull” up by the selector.
Dressed in North Face army fatigue, Koffee sings “Pull up innah the audi yeah i nah watch nobody” as she showcased her Jamaican culture to the American audience.
Barack Obama has included at least one Koffee song on his bi-annual playlists since 2019. The Lockdown singer, age 19 at the time was asked in 2020 what it feels like to have the former president as a fan at the Grammy Awards and she said: “It was dope. It was super dope and I realized recently also that his wife, Michelle Obama also has my song on her list for working out. So I feel really proud about that.”
