Barack Obama gives Drake his approval to play the former president in biopic

Barack Obama has given the rapper Drake his official permission to play himself in a biopic movie.

The 34-year-old Grammy-award-winning musician first voiced an interest in portraying the now 59-year-old former President of the United States in a 2010 interview with Paper.

Per an article by Digital Spy, Drake stated at the time: "I hope somebody makes a movie about Obama’s life soon because I could play him."

[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]

Drake then continued:

"That’s the goal. I watch all the addresses. Any time I see him on TV, I don’t change the channel, I definitely pay attention and listen to the inflections of his voice.

"If you ask anyone who knows me, I’m pretty good at impressions. Slowly but surely, I’m not in the study mode because nobody’s called me about anything.

"But I just pay attention so when the day comes I’m not scrambling to learn how to speak like him."

Take a look at the full interview in the video below: 

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKT5X8I5oW0]]

In a video discussion with interviewer Speedy Morman for 360 (which was uploaded to Complex News' official YouTube channel on Sunday, November 24), Morman asked Obama his opinion on the subject of Drake portraying him.

Obama responded:

"I will say this - Drake seems to be able to do anything he wants.

"If the time comes, and he’s ready… Drake has, more importantly, my household's stamp of approval. I suspect [my daughters] Malia and Sasha would be just fine with it."

On Twitter, a number of social media users have reacted to the idea of Drake portraying the former POTUS in a movie in the future. Some people approved of the concept:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/adena_andrews/status/1331424238075604993]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/samurrrrah/status/1331376389791117313]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/zaiah251/status/1331356101221216271]]

However, some others were a little bit more skeptical:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Nix_KS/status/1331490985369538560]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/freedomny123/status/1331597927278587908]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Pizza_VanDamme/status/1331380253504237568]]

In the interview above, Obama also spoke about his enduring love of rap and R&B, stating: "You're speaking to a president who brought Common, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole into the White House, whose every playlist has hip-hop."

"So I am the first to recognize the power of hip-hop not just as music but as social commentary. I am a huge fan of all kinds of rappers and many of them are my friends."

Obama also spoke about his new autobiography A Promised Land, which has already sold over a million copies and received a polarizing reception from readers on social media.