Wes Moore raps Biggie and praises Baltimore on viral music trivia show

Would you pass Gov. Wes Moore the AUX?

The Maryland governor was the latest guest on “Track Star,” a popular YouTube trivia series where celebrities test their music knowledge by listening to a song and naming the artist.

“Hip-hop was almost a way to explain my world to a wider audience,” Moore said at the start of the episode, which published Monday. “It was a chance for you to kind of talk about who you are — what your hopes, dreams, aspirations, fears were, but do it to a beat.”

Notable guests on the show, which launched in 2023 and has nearly 300,000 YouTube subscribers, include Vice President Kamala Harris, ex-Baltimore journalist Oprah Winfrey and Lansdowne High School alum David Byrne.

During the 33-minute conversation with host Jack Coyne, the 47-year-old Moore reflected on his adolescence, rapped along to the Notorious B.I.G. and praised Baltimore through the lens of a Nina Simone classic.

Moore, who secured the Democratic nomination for governor last month, has been making the online rounds lately. He was recently interviewed by veteran journalist Diane Rehm and appeared on “Surrounded,” where Moore debated 20 nonvoters on camera. He also appeared on the “Clock It” podcast hosted by Eugene Daniels and Symone Sanders Townsend. The appearances are part of Moore’s media strategy as he seeks to burnish his national reputation as a figurehead of the Democratic party.

For the “Track Star” episode, Moore has earned plaudits from at least one journalist.

Peter Hamby, the former CNN correspondent, lauded Moore’s “Track Star” appearance as an example of a politician sounding “smart, but also relatable, and funny, all while just hanging out.”

“Wes Moore went on the viral music show ‘Track Star’ and talked about hip-hop and soul music he likes, but also smoothly weaved in stories about himself, Black culture, civil rights, poverty, Baltimore. Really solid media hit on his part,” the Puck News co-founder said.

Watch the full episode above or check out the highlights below.

Arrested Development, ‘People Everyday’ (1992)

It took the governor no time to get in game mode. He quickly started to sing the exuberant, call-and-response hook of this early ’90s hit single by two-time Grammy winners Arrested Development.

“Even for a lot of people who traditionally came from hip-hop backgrounds, it also showed a different level of life — and a different type and style of life that I think was beautiful,” Moore said.

The Notorious B.I.G., ‘Hypnotize’ (1997)

For a moment, Moore looked like he was performing at karaoke bar Walt’s Inn, rapping the first verse of the late Biggie Smalls’ “Hypnotize,” sans curse words, with ease. He also talked about, as a struggling young student, how his mother recognized his potential through his love of memorizing rap lyrics.

“It wasn’t like I wasn’t listening. The question was, was I hearing it? And I was hearing hip-hop because it was something that I resonated with,” Moore said.

A Tribe Called Quest, ‘Award Tour (feat. Trugoy the Dove)’ (1993)

The sing-along continued with this classic rap single from A Tribe Called Quest’s seminal “Midnight Marauders.”

“Whenever Phife came on, it’s like everything just started jumpin’,” Moore said of the group’s late member Phife Dawg, who died a decade ago from diabetes complications.

The Roots, ‘You Got Me (feat. Erykah Badu & Eve)’ (1999)

After praising the longevity of the rap group the Roots, Artscape’s most recent headliners, Moore was asked about why he’s running for governor again. He pointed to helping constituents he hears from directly while traveling throughout Maryland.

“That’s the beauty of the job: There’s an immediacy of the impact that we can make that I absolutely love,” said Moore, who faces Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox in November.

Sam Cooke, ‘Mean Old World’ (1963)

While discussing the King of Soul’s vocal delivery, Moore talked about the integral role music plays in his everyday life — such as how he uses songs like “Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness and Jay-Z’s “Blue Magic” instead of an alarm clock tone.

“I wake up to songs that I feel gets me in a different mindset about how I’m supposed to approach a day,” he said.

Nina Simone, ‘Baltimore’ (1978)

The episode closes with Nina Simone’s famous cover of Randy Newman’s 1977 track about the “hard town by the sea.” As it plays, Moore talked about his political strategy to frame success in Baltimore, like its reduction in homicides, as a statewide win.

“You cannot have a thriving state if the state’s largest city is not thriving,” Moore said. “So in order for this to be Maryland’s decade, it’s got to be Baltimore’s time.”