Ever since he announced his intention to run for president, Barack Obama's life has been fodder for conspiracy theorists. But the latest fringe controversy doesn't concern a secret muslim faith or a "suspicious" social security number — rather, eagle-eyed hip-hop fans claim to have spotted a youthful Obama as an extra in the 1993 video for Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)," a heavily played dance track of the era. At the 1:01 point of the video, "Obama" can be seen in full gangsta stylings, with a Compton baseball cap, gold jewelry, and an early cellphone pressed to his ear. When the video was shot, Obama was a 32-year-old recent graduate of Harvard Law School, and had just moved to Chicago. It might be the future president, suggests The Improper. His role as a community organizer "could have exposed him to some hip, happening dudes that might have landed him in a hip-hop video." Sorry, but it's not him, says Adrian Chen at Gawker. Tag Team is from Atlanta, not Chicago. Also, those gold earrings? "Obama is cool, but not that cool." Decide for yourself:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion banSpeed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling BiblesSpeed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitnessIn Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
