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Artist Mary J. Blige in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington 2009: Appearance at Obama's first inauguration ceremony
Photo: Sacramento Bee / Tribune News Service / Getty Images
No spectators, no parades, no official balls: little will remember a normal inauguration of a US president this Wednesday in Washington.
And that's not just because a Vice President is being sworn in for the first time: Kamala Harris.
The pandemic has changed mass events like this one.
There will be hardly any guests at Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony - and certainly not a large audience.
In addition, tightened security precautions apply after the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of the elected President Donald Trump.
Trump also refuses to attend the event as a sign of a peaceful handover.
And yet - or perhaps because of it - Biden and Harris' team seems determined to turn the swearing-in into a multi-day party.
And with a lot of pop instead of pathos.
Lady Gaga will sing the US national anthem »Star Spangled Banner«.
This was announced by the committee responsible for the ceremony.
Jennifer Lopez will also perform accordingly.
Apparently, 22 years after their last appearance, even the New Radicals want to come together virtually to perform "You Get What You Give", about which the winning duo of Democrats seems to have a special story according to the music magazine "Rolling Stone": Harris' Husband Doug Emhoff used the song in his election appearances, but he reminds Biden of his late son Beau.
The swearing-in is followed by a star-studded TV special called "Celebrating America".
Appearances by Demi Lovato, Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend and Justin Timberlake will be moderated by actor Tom Hanks.
"The program will highlight the strength of our democracy as well as our ability to come together in difficult times and emerge from them stronger than ever," the announcement said.
The countdown to the inauguration began on Saturday and Sunday with performances by Ben Harper, Barbra Streisand, Will.i.am and Fall Out Boy.
Today's Martin Luther King Day is all about the famous civil rights activist.
For the moments between the parties, the "Biden + Harris 2021 Inauguration Playlist" was published over the weekend.
The overall message is clear: the 46 songs stand for the diversity of the nation and for the healing power of music.
Of course, rock musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan and Led Zeppelin are there.
But the list is determined by funk, soul (even reggae) - and hip-hop: Beyoncé, Jill Scott and Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Kendrick Lamar, NERD and the recently deceased MF DOOM can be found on it.
The nineties hit "Whatta Man" by Salt'n'Pepa and En Vogue is also included.
(How nice it would be if Barack and Michelle Obama, the inventors of the presidential playlist, joined in from the background in the chorus: "Yes he is").
Now you have to know that Biden and Harris probably didn't sit down and look through their record collections themselves.
Others did that for them, in this case the rapper and DJ D-Nice and the company The Raedio, which they say specializes in storytelling through music.
But the intention is clear.
Like sport, culture has dealt with the Black Lives Matter movement to a particular degree.
It is those areas of US society that
typically provide the greatest stages for
People of Color
to raise awareness of structural racism and social inequality.
And that's how hip-hop protagonists have also contacted us.
Not just recently, but especially loud last year.
In rhymes as in rallies.
Killer Mike, rapper of the southern trio Run The Jewels and an offensive Bernie Sanders campaigner, is probably the best-known example.
It is therefore obvious that the team around Biden and Harris is now also relying on hip-hop.
In fact, before the election, the Democrats were campaigning for votes from the African community with a Battlerap video from Charlie Clips and DNA.
Now that the election has been won, this playlist should show: Your fight is our fight.
Biden and Harris made hip hop the soundtrack of their tenure.
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