Striding out of the White House in slow motion, sporting oversized sunglasses, Michelle Obama lays down a rap track aimed at raising the star power of math majors and engineering students.

« If you wanna fly jets, you should go to college. Reach high and cash checks? Fill your head with knowledge, » Obama rhymes as comedian Jay Pharoah, known for his Saturday Night Live impression of her husband President Barack Obama, makes a stack of bills rain onto the floor of the White House.

The video is a funny and affectionate send-up of the celebrity culture that Obama has said she wants to turn on its head to try to get more American kids thinking about higher education.

Obama’s « Better Make Room » campaign, targeting students aged 14 to 19, encourages them to go to college by giving them a brush with fame on social media with help from celebrities like Pharoah and basketball great LeBron James.

The campaign is part of a larger White House effort to address slipping U.S. college graduation rates.

Obama, who grew up in a working-class family in the South Side of Chicago, often speaks to students about how she worked hard to get good grades and degrees from Princeton and Harvard.

« I want to honor and empower young people who are working hard in school and pursuing their dreams – and I want to do it in a fresh and fun way, » she said in a statement.

Obama and Pharoah had help on the video from viral video makers The Gregory Brothers, and it was produced by IAC/InterActive’s CollegeHumor, which makes viral comedy videos.

« I think the country will join me in saying, ‘Mrs. Obama, we think you should cut an album,’ » said Sam Reich, CollegeHumor’s head of video, in a statement.