海角大神

Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun 鈥� even (or maybe especially) when she鈥檚 first lady of the United States.

Aside from vacationing on Martha鈥檚 Vineyard with her family this week, Michelle Obama has been doing a lot of that lately. She posted a selfie of herself and dog Bo on Twitter and Instagram last weekend. She danced during her kids鈥� 鈥渟tate dinner鈥� last month. And who can forget her doing the Dougie in February on 鈥淟ate Night with Jimmy Fallon,鈥� where she demonstrated 鈥渢he evolution of mom dancing鈥�?

Now Mrs. Obama is breaking the mold again 鈥� with a rap album. She鈥檚 not singing, but she appears in one of the videos, called 鈥淓verybody.鈥� The album 鈥� called 鈥淪ongs for a Healthier America鈥� 鈥� is inspired by the first lady's Let鈥檚 Move! campaign, and features big-name performers like Jordin Sparks, Ashanti, Run DMC, and Doug E. Fresh.

Song titles include 鈥淯 R What You Eat鈥� and 鈥淰eggie Luv.鈥� The album is being produced by the Partnership for a Healthier America and Hip Hop Public Health Foundation, and will be released Sept. 30. The videos will be distributed to schools in New York City before wider circulation. Fighting childhood obesity is one of Mrs. Obama鈥檚 signature causes.

But there鈥檚 another real issue behind all her joyous activities: that life in the White House can feel like being in a 鈥渞eally nice prison.鈥� She made that comment at the African First Ladies Summit last month in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in a public conversation with former first lady Laura Bush.

鈥淭here are prison elements to it,鈥� Mrs. Obama said to laughter. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a really nice prison, so.鈥︹��

鈥淏ut with a chef,鈥� Mrs. Bush interjected.

鈥淵ou can't complain,鈥� Mrs. Obama continued. 鈥淏ut there are definitely elements that are confining.鈥�

The White House as gilded cage is a theme that goes back to the start of the republic. The first first lady, Martha Washington, once wrote to her niece that she felt like a "Chief State Prisoner."聽But in the modern era, amid omnipresent technology, escaping constant public scrutiny can be an even more daunting task.

During her husband鈥檚 first term, Mrs. Obama 鈥� disguised in a ball cap and sunglasses 鈥� once pulled off a trip to a suburban Target, and went largely unrecognized. But since the start of the second term, Mrs. Obama has ramped up the fun quotient. Maybe with reelection out of the way, she feels she can cut loose a little bit more.

What her daughters 鈥� one a teen, the other almost 鈥� think of all this public fun is another matter. We suspect they鈥檙e mortified. But Mrs. Obama actually can dance. Certainly better than her husband.