LOCAL FLAVOR

In Honor of Black Music Month, ‘Spotify: For the Record’ Explores Go-Go, Hyphy, and Chopped and Screwed

June 23, 2021

There are certain types of music essential to the identities of the San Francisco Bay area, Houston, and D.C.—something fans in these cities know well. But for music lovers in other pockets of the world, genres like hyphy, chopped and screwed, and go-go music are likely completely new sounds.

This week, as we continue to celebrate Black Music Month, the Spotify: For the Record podcast hits the road to explore all three styles, each of which is created by Black artists. Shanon Cook, Spotify’s Culture and Trends Expert, and Xavier “X” Jernigan, Host of Spotify’s daily morning show The Get Up, explore the culture and history of each city-specific sound with help from musical guests Saweetie, OG Ron C, Wale, Spotify editor Domo Wells, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. The show also looks at Spotify’s Frequency program, which aims at celebrating and supporting Black creators.

First, to understand hyphy music, we chat with Bay Area royalty, artist Saweetie, who breaks down the sound’s California origins and its slang.

Next, Domo Wells, a Black Music and Culture Editor at Spotify who is part of the Frequency team, dives into the program’s importance. She also highlights the Ripple Effect playlists, which feature emerging talents and breakthrough artists across genres.

The podcast then visits Houston, Texas, the birthplace of chopped and screwed music. Chopstar OG Ron C joins the show to share the history of the genre and its namesake, DJ Screw. 

Over in the DMV (the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area), D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and popular DMV artist Wale champion the official music of the capitol: go-go.

Listen to our savvy guests and their insights on hyphy, chopped and screwed, and go-go music on “Celebrating Local Genres: Chopped & Screwed, Go-Go, and Hyphy.”