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President Obama: Kanye West Still a “Jacka**”

The prez doubles down on his past assessment of the superstar rapper.

(Photos: Marc Serota/Getty Images; John Ricard/BET)

If President Barack Obama had to choose a Jay-Z or Kanye West playlist for his listening pleasure on his next trip aboard Air Force One, he’s picking the former.

In a new article by David Samuels of The Atlantic magazine, the commander-in-chief reveals that he has a preference for Hov over the talented Mr. West. In the 8,000-word essay based on West, Samuels tosses the impromptu question at the president during a random encounter at an upscale Park Avenue restaurant in New York.

“Kanye or Jay-Z?”

The president responded “Jay-Z,” but made sure to give Yeezy his just due.

“Although I like Kanye,” Obama continued. “He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.”

Obama’s assessment of the volatile music star was far more courteous than his past evaluation when he called West a “jacka**” for infamously interrupting Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Of course Samuels’s follow-up question was a straightforward reference to that now famous moment.

“Even though you called him a jacka**?” Samuels asked.

“He is a jacka**,” Obama responded, in his usual affable manner. “But he’s talented.”

The presidential anecdote was part of Samuels’s insightful piece on West’s return to the spotlight following the VMA incident. Samuels traced ‘Ye’s steps back into the public’s eye since the release of his 2010 opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and last year’s collaborative effort with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne. The veteran journalist followed Jay-Z and Kanye West throughout the country while the duo’s Watch the Throne concert was the hottest ticket in town.

To read the full essay click here.

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