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Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monáe perform at Barack Obama's Fourth Of July BBQ

05 July 2016, 12:55 | Written by Laurence Day

Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monáe helped US President Barack Obama celebrate July 4 at the White House last night.

Yesterday, President Obama's final annual barbecue - for military veterans and their families - saw Lamar and Monaé performing in the White House's East Room. The event usually takes place on the South Lawn but bad weather forced a last-minute change.

During his set Lamar played “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, “Money Trees”, “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”, “Poetic Justice”, “A.D.H.D.”, and “Alright” (although made sure the songs were suitable for ears of all ages). Monáe performed “Dance Apocalyptic”, “Q.U.E.E.N.”, “Electric Lady”, and a version of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy”.

Thanking both musicians for their performances, Obama said: "I have to tell you, these two, I’ve gotten a chance to know, and they are both amazing artists and talented and popular and doing great things. But they are also very conscious about their responsibilities and obligations. And they put in a lot of time and effort on behalf of a lot of causes that are important. We’re really proud of them for that."

As well as performing their own sets, Lamar and Monaé performed a special song with Obama: they joined him in singing "Happy Birthday" to his daughter Malia, who was celebrating her 18th birthday.

Check out Lamar's full performance below, and watch the President, Lamar, and Monaé sing Happy Birthday to Malia Obama after.

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