Independence Day: Kendrick Lamar to perform at megafan Barack Obama's Independence Day party

The president named Lamar's song 'How Much a Dollar Cost' his favourite of 2015

Barack Obama meets Kendrick Lamar in the Oval Office in January 2016

Kendrick Lamar will be helping megafan Barack Obama celebrate his final Fourth of July in office by performing at the annual Independence Day party.

The US rapper behind hit 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly will join singer-songwriter Janelle Monae at the White House in Washington DC, where President Obama and First Lady Michelle welcome “military heroes” each year for a special concert, BBQ and fireworks on the South Lawn.

Obama has openly named Lamar as one of his top musicians, choosing his song “How Much a Dollar Cost” as his favourite from last year. The 29-year-old from Compton, California, visited the White House in January to share his views on inner-city issues and made a surprise appearance during Beyonce’s “Freedom” at last Sunday’s BET Awards.

Monae, a vocal supporter of gun control, the Black Lives Matter movement and criminal justice reforms, was invited to the White House state dinner in May and is another of Obama’s personal playlist staples. She recorded a song for Michelle’s Let Girls Learn programme and attended a political summit alongside other artists in April.

Obama, who will step down as president when his term ends in November, has declared June 2016 African-American Music Appreciation Month in celebration of a “vital part” of America’s heritage. The month will honour artists who “bring us together, show us a true reflection of ourselves and inspire us to reach for the harmony that lies beyond our toughest struggles”.