Skip to main content

President Obama welcomes Kendrick Lamar to the White House to talk about mentors

Rapper Kendrick Lamar has released a new PSA video about mentorship, in which he talks about meeting President Barack Obama in the oval office, and the importance of good influences in underrepresented African American communities.

“I look where I’m at today and realize that most of my success is owed to the mentors … in my life,” Lamar can be heard saying in the first few seconds of the minute-long video. “Sometimes I look back and wonder, ‘Where would I be, if I didn’t have the presence of an older acquaintance tell me what’s right and what’s wrong?’” Lamar says.

Recommended Videos

While Lamar grew up poor in Compton, CA’s violence plagued neighborhoods, his musical perspective has always been one of positivity and self-examination.

One of the biggest new musicians in hip-hop — Lamar’s magnum opus To Pimp A Butterfly is nominated for 11 Grammys Awards this year — the songwriter has been outspoken about the need for community involvement to solve the problems of places like Compton, and uses his lyrics to inspire would-be gang members to do something greater.

And so, for many, it seemed a meeting between Lamar and President Obama was inevitable. Especially after Obama recently made headlines for announcing his favorite song of last year was Lamar’s How Much A Dollar Cost?

How Much A Dollar Cost

At least according to Lamar, they shared many of the same views on their visit together, covering “topics concerning the inner cities, the problems, the solutions and furthermore embracing the youth.” 

President Obama likely identified with many of the same experiences as Lamar, based on his time growing up on the South side of Chicago.

Lamar ended his moment talking about Barack Obama in the video by saying how mentorship had affected them both in their youth.

“We are both aware that mentoring saves lives,” he said.

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
How to download music from SoundCloud on desktop and mobile
Soundcloud Interface on a Macbook.

If you're a die-hard music fan, you probably keep a curated library of playlists packed with your favorite artists and albums on Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever your favorite music streaming app is. But how do you discover the best indie artists today? Some music-streaming platforms are better than others at celebrating the ‘unsung gem’ acts, but one of the most reliable forums for new, off-the-grid tunes is SoundCloud.

Founded in 2007, SoundCloud has always prioritized music that’s a bit under the radar. With over 320 million tracks in its library, the platform will even let you download a majority of its songs and albums.

Read more
The best kids headphones of 2025: for fun, safety, and sound
Two kids using the Puro Sound PuroQuiet Plus to watch something on a tablet.

Kid-friendly consumer tech is all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise that there’s an entire market of headphones designed exclusively for young ones. But when we think “kid-friendly,” sometimes we imagine products that are built to be a bit more throwaway than their adult counterparts. That’s not the case with the products on our list of the best headphones for kids, though.

We want our child-tailored headphones to include parental-controlled volume limiters, to ensure our children aren’t harming their eardrums. Pretty much every entry on our list checks this vital box, but we also wanted to point you and yours toward products that offer exceptional noise-canceling, built-in mics for phone and video calls, and long-lasting batteries for schooldays or a long flight.

Read more
How to master your equalizer settings for the perfect sound
An equalizer from eqMac.

While most people will simply flip on the radio or load up Spotify to listen to music, audiophiles like to dig a bit deeper and customize their experience. This often comes in the form of adjustments to the equalizer, which offers the freedom to tweak every aspect of the sound booming out of headphones or speakers. Even some streaming services now have built-in EQs, giving you more ways than ever to play with your music and find something that best fits your ears.

Tinkering with the equalizer can be daunting to newcomers, as there are tons of cryptic settings you can manipulate. And if you mess with the wrong one, your sound quality might take a nasty hit. Thankfully, learning the basics isn't too difficult.

Read more