Source: Spotify / Spotify
It appears that Black History Month is kicking off with a bang for Spotify listeners after the streaming platform announced the launch of new Hip-Hop podcasts and playlists as a part of the Black History Month celebration.
On Monday (Feb. 1), the streaming giant announced a slew of few initiatives, including the launch of a full slate of guest-curated playlist takeovers, brand new podcasts, and more to highlight Black culture, Black music, and Black excellence.
According to the press release, the new initiative will also feature new cover art from Black photographers in an effort to showcase a spectrum of Black talent, spanning across both musical and visual art, including work from photographers Shawn Theodore, Adrienne Waheed, Doug Segars, Adrian Octavious Walker, Black Archives, Andre Wagner, and Erica Génécé. The statement reveals that the selected artists will provide artwork for the Black History Salute, Black Love Mixtape and Sound Stories: Black Music, Power to the People, Soul Coffee, The Cook(in), Spread the Gospel and Our Stories, Our Heroes playlists respectively.
In addition to the new artwork, Spotify also announced the unveiling of new Playlists Takeovers guest curated by a list of influential Black celebrities, and creatives including American Jazz artist Keyon Harrold Sr. and his son Keyon Harrold Jr in partnership with Color of Change, 2 Chainz, up-and-coming artist Amaarae, Keke Palmer, Lucky Daye, and Ari Lennox.
Adding to guest curation, the platform revealed a list of new playlists specifically curated to reflect the rich history of Hip-Hop, including “Door Knockers”, a playlist celebrating trailblazing women in hip-hop history.
While the bigger announcements may seem centered around music, Spotify also announced the launch of four new podcasts centered around the African American experience including Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay, The Bakari Sellers Podcast, and The Get Up available now, and Black Girl Songbook, a fresh podcast by acclaimed writer and author, Danyel Smith called Black Girl Songbook.
“In a new Music + Talk show, join Danyel Smith as she celebrates and uplifts the talents of Black Women in the music industry. Listen as she shares music and discusses the stories of Black songwriters, producers, executives, and more, celebrating the musical creativity and genius of Black women first,” the description reads.
“We are excited to launch these news playlists as they are rooted in how our listeners engage on the platform. Hip-Hop moves at a fast pace and our team is constantly re-evaluating the landscape and keeping our eye on new trends, sounds, and scenes to serve our audience,” said Carl Chery, Spotify’s Head of Urban.
Black Girl Songbook is scheduled to launch on February 4, check out the trailer below,
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Photo: Spotify
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