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Barack Obama believes he shares a number of similarities with JAY-Z. Despite one being a former president and the other being a rapper, the pair have both come from the bottom and also have a similar family dynamic.

Hov was nominated into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017 and Obama helped induct him with a special video message. During his speech, he talked about the relatable paths they’ve navigated throughout their lives, be it growing up without a father or coming up from a tough background. He also spoke of their commitment to their daughters and the fact they have both have famous wives in Beyoncé and Michelle Obama.

“I like to think Mr. Carter and I understand each other,” he said. “Nobody who met us as younger men would have expected us to be where we are today. We know what it’s like not to have a father around. We know what it’s like not to come from much, and to know people who didn’t get the same breaks that we did. So we try to prop open those doors of opportunity so that it’s a little easier for those who come up behind us to succeed as well.”

He added, “Jay and I are also fools for our daughters. Although he’s gonna have me beat once those twins show up. And let’s face it, we both have wives who are significantly more popular than we are.”

Aside from their similarities, Barack Obama has also been a longtime fan of JAY-Z. He brought up the many times he’s referenced Hov throughout his career and explained how he’s inspired him to stay busy in his retirement.

“Like all of you, I am a fan: I’ve been listening to Jay since I was a young and hungry state senator,” he said. “I sampled his lyrics to close his speech at Selma, I tweeted a reference to ‘My 1st Song’ when I was putting the finishing touches on my final State of the Union address. off my shoulders’ during a campaign.

“So I’m pretty sure I’m still the only president to listen to JAY-Z’s music in the Oval Office. That may change at some point, but I’m pretty sure that’s true now. In fact, Jay, you have been inspiring and making me want to be active in my retirement, just like you have been in yours.”

Barack Obama revealed his favourite JAY-Z verse belongs on ‘My 1st Song’ from 2003’s The Black Album. The line served as motivation for him to remain hungry despite making his dream of becoming president come true.

“[It’s] a song that I love because it talks about the struggle of just trying to make it,” he told Complex. “And sometimes you have to resort to false bravado and hustle and tamping down your insecurities and when I was running for president, obviously, at that point I didn’t know whether I was gonna make it, so somehow that inspired me.”

He continued, “There’s a line in there, ‘Treat my first as my last and my last as my first, and my thirst is the same as when I came.’ And I actually kept on listening to that song during the presidency because it was a reminder that–even when you do make it–having a little bit of that sense of still being hungry, still having to work hard, still having to prove something, that’s what keeps propelling you forward.”