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Instagram/Pro Era

Is Malia Obama repping a Brooklyn rapper in this mysterious photo?

If you didn't know Joey Bada$$, you do now.

 

Audra Schroeder

Streaming

Posted on Jan 5, 2015   Updated on May 29, 2021, 8:28 pm CDT

Malia Obama is a cool teen (First Teen?) and she recently secured her status as underground rap influencer by sporting a Joey Bada$$ shirt. 

The shirt reps rapper Bada$$’s Brooklyn hip-hop collective, Pro Era, which has become his de facto brand. The photo, which was posted to Instagram on Sunday night though its true origins are still unknown, was immediately used as promo material for Pro Era’s Instagram. According to Gawker, “Pro Era received the photo from ‘a mutual friend of Malia and the pro era member.’”

Some people are claiming it’s not Malia, but a very convincing doppelganger. Others are slamming Pro Era for unauthorized use of the photo, which could have been pulled from a webcam screenshot. One commenter on Pro Era’s Instagram said, “This is clearly an unauthorized photo that was taken during a Webchat (mouth open and adjusting hair). The fact that Pro Era is using it to promote their clothing is flagrant.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/xeaQrwJ-Ll/

In related news, Bada$$ has a new album coming out Jan. 20, titled B4.DA.$$, and having the president’s daughter as an alleged promotional liaison doesn’t hurt. The photo quickly made the rounds on Twitter.

In other Bada$$ news, the rapper recently faced assault charges after an altercation with a security guard at a festival in Australia. No doubt he’ll see an upswing in swag sales after this.

Have no idea who Joey Bada$$ is? Start with his 2012 album, 1999

H/T Jezebel | Photo via Instagram

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*First Published: Jan 5, 2015, 7:31 pm CST