Former US President Barack Obama shouted out NOLA artists Tank and The Bangas and Leyla McCalla in his anticipated “songs of the year” playlist, a tradition he started during his presidency. Specifically, he featured Tank’s “Communion In My Cup” and McCalla’s “Dodinin.”

Tank and the Bangas recently performed “Communion in My Cup” on The Today Show with the featured act The Ton3s (previously known as The Hamiltones). The song is the fifth track on their latest and Grammy-nominated studio album Red Balloon. Former first lady Michelle Obama was also there to see the band.

The penultimate track on McCalla’s latest studio album, Breaking the Thermometer, “Dodinin,” captures the revolutionary spirit of Haiti while tracking the story of the Haitian revolution. McCalla’s album was rated highly in Album of the Year lists, ranking #8 on NPR: Ann Power’s list and in the top 50 for PopMatters and Mojo. Both Tank & The Bangas and Leyla McCalla’s albums were in OffBeat’s picks for Best Albums of 2022.

Obama Tweeted, “I always enjoy sharing my end of year music playlist with all of you — and this year we heard a lot of great songs. Here are some of my favorites. Are there any songs or artists I should check out?”

In 2021, Obama also shouted out NOLA artist Jon Batiste and his song “Freedom.”