Quiz: This Week on ‘For the Record’
Tag: black history
Honoring Black History Month by Spotlighting Black Creators and Culture
From celebrating Black Music Month in June to a Burna Boy takeover for Nigerian Independence Day last fall, Spotify is committed to celebrating and amplifying Black voices year-round.
This February, in honor of Black History Month, we’re continuing to recognize and uplift the rich history and voices of the Black community through guest-curated playlist takeovers, brand-new podcasts, and more on our Black History Is Now hub. Read on to learn more.
Spotlight on Black photographers
In an effort to showcase a wide spectrum of Black talent, Spotify is licensing the work of seven Black photographers to curate specialty cover art for our eight key Black playlists. For example, the Black History Salute playlist, which shares work from poets, features photography from Shawn Theodore. Sound Stories: Black Music, a podcast playlist that contains a collection of stories that go behind the scenes of iconic artists and songs, presents the work of photographer Adreinne Waheed.
What Elsa from ‘Frozen 2,’ Eleven from ‘Stranger Things,’ and Lyra from ‘His Dark Materials’ Streamed on Spotify This Year
Just last week, Spotify released our annual Wrapped campaign, giving hundreds of millions of users around the globe the ability to relive their year in listening. Fans, artists, and podcasters alike flooded social media with their stats, reactions, and reflections about what they (and their listeners) streamed in 2019. It dominated headlines and social feeds, creating a lot of buzz—and a lot of feelings.
So we thought: What if our favorite fictional characters had feelings [about their favorite music and podcasts] too?
Besides revealing everyone’s top song and artist of the decade as well as the year, we’re also sharing what we think some of everyone’s favorite fictional characters would have on their Wrapped cards. Too real? Take a look below.
Disney’s Frozen 2
We couldn’t let this one go…. Disney’s global hit film, Frozen 2, which was released November 22, brought back some beloved characters like royal sisters Anna and Elsa, lovable snowman Olaf, and rugged outdoorsman Kristoff. This crew’s adventures take them far beyond Arendelle, so you can bet they’d be playing pick-me-up songs and podcasts to help them stay strong as they venture into the unknown.
Spotify Honors Three Black Female Artists with Curated Black Girl Magic Playlist
To celebrate the creativity and power of Black women, Spotify is turning over its Black Girl Magic playlist to three rising Black female creatives, Theresa Chromati, Sadé Clacken Joseph and Mahogany L. Browne. For the first time, the playlist will feature film, poetry, and original artwork, as well as songs selected by these artists, following their theme of “reimagining armor.”
Black History Is Happening Now celebrates and amplifies the voices of Black creators beyond the month of February and throughout 2018. For the next installment of Black History Is Happening Now, Spotify has teamed up with three Black female creatives who are masters of storytelling through three different mediums – poetry, filmmaking and art. This team of Black women serve as cultural creators, artists and advocates for equity and equality. Through a collaborative process, the women developed pieces of art and content under themes of resilience, creativity, and reimagining the inner armor they carry daily as Black women. Mahogany L. Browne wrote an original audio poem, “Rainbow of Armor,” Sadé Joseph created a short film, “Knight” and Theresa Chromati has created two paintings, “Ins and Outs of Armor I” and “Ins and Outs of Armor II,” that are used as the playlist header and cover to Black Girl Magic.
With this iteration of the campaign, Spotify continues to intentionally use their platform to elevate underrepresented voices, with the purpose of spreading and celebrating the message that Black history is happening now.
“Thinking about what it means to be a black woman, to be the protector of so many and nothing for yourself. Myself and the other contributors thought about how armor could be beautiful too. How it served as a tool of self care; how it shines in war; how it carries our stories, resiliently. How it didn’t have to be a thing of war but of love. How it didn’t have to be a shredded and heavy thing but a beaming bright light. How it becomes an heirloom, from one black woman to her children.” — Mahogany L. Browne
“The inspiration behind re-imagining armor came from the concept of how we, as black women, have to battle through so many obstacles throughout our day to day lives. Theresa, Mahogany and I wanted depict the resilience of black women, and how we use armor in different ways to protect and defend our minds, body, souls and family. Black women are natural bred warriors and armor symbolizes that strength that is built and woven so deeply into the pores of our melanated skin.” — Sadé Clacken Joseph
With Black History is Happening Now, artists, creatives and organizations that are working to impart change for communities of color have the opportunity to tell stories and raise topics that are important to them through video, podcasts and music curation. Throughout the campaign, Spotify is paying tribute to the musicians who have paved the way and the artists who will define what’s next.
Spotify will celebrate the refresh of the Black Girl Magic playlist and the three artists at a special salon dinner in Los Angeles with other Black women in creative fields to encourage collaboration between themselves.
The women of BLK @ Spotify, Spotify’s employee resource group for black employees, worked closely with Spotify’s creative team to identify and select the three collaborators.
About the Artists
Theresa Chromati is a Guyanese-American multimedia artist born in Baltimore, Maryland. Chromati explores black women as idealized figures that embrace empowering identifications of full figured women. Chromati emphasizes subtle gestures of intimacy within familial, romantic, and congenial relationships. As well as looking into a spectrum of experiences that exist for women within public and private spaces, exceeding the limitations traditionally imposed on them. Her work has most recently been displayed at Untitled Art Fair, Miami 2017 and featured on Art News, i-D, FADER, Cool Hunting, and Juxtapoz Magazine. She received her BFA from Pratt Institute and is currently based in Brooklyn.
Sadé Clacken Joseph is a Caribbean-American filmmaker, photographer and singer-songwriter from the Bronx, NY. Sadé is dedicated to shining a light on underrepresented groups, particularly people of color, women and members of the LGBTQIA community. From the Hebron Hills of Palestine, to the streets of South Central, the content she creates showcases diverse voices from all reaches of the globe. Through directing, writing, shooting, editing and producing, her portfolio extends across multiple forms of media. Whether it is music videos, documentaries, narrative films or promotional content, her vision, voice and sensitivity to socially conscious filmmaking shines brightly in her work.
Mahogany L. Browne was born in Oakland, California but has been based in Brooklyn, NY for over 15 years. A strong, Black woman, Browne is unapologetic in her work as a spoken word poet, author, and activist. She uses her personal experience with addiction, racism, sexism, and oppression to inspire her own brand of shameless, authentic work. Browne’s spoken word performances create a platform through poetry for women and girls to feel empowered and heard. A Cave Canem fellow and Agnes Gund Fund Recipient, Browne has published several poetry collections and books, including Black Girl Magic, Kissing Caskets, Redbone and Dear Twitter: Love Letters Hashed Out Online. She has also released five LPs, including a live album, Sheroshima.
Amplifying Female Voices of Color Through the Power of Podcast
Podcasts are taking over. As it stands, one-third of Americans tune in, with 12 percent of listeners streaming 10 hours or more a week. Needless to say, it’s an exciting storytelling medium—and one that can have a major impact when it comes to representing diverse voices. And while women of color have been breaking ground in podcasting well ahead of the latest boom, there’s plenty more to be done, with a recent study showing that only 22 percent of podcasts are hosted by women, and even fewer when it comes to minority women.
In order to begin shifting that imbalance, Spotify hosted the first-ever Sound Up Bootcamp, a weeklong June intensive for aspiring female podcasters of color. The goal of the program was to bring more diverse voices into the podcast world—specifically voices belonging to women of color.
“Podcasting is more accessible to makers than most other media—production costs are lower, and the gatekeepers fewer,” says Rekha Murthy, a podcast and radio veteran with over 20 years of experience who co-taught the workshop. “More people are starting to take advantage of that opportunity. I’ve learned more about the experiences and perspectives of people of color through podcasting than anywhere else. I’ve come to a better understanding and appreciation of my own identities as a woman, and as a woman of color, thanks to podcasts. I’m sure some of that is because I intentionally seek out these voices. But also, they are there in ways I rarely find in, say, broadcast radio. There are also not enough.”
Sound Up Bootcamp featured daily sessions for 10 women of color who had been selected from over 18,000 applicants. Murthy and her colleague Graham Griffith led conversations on topics ranging from identifying an audience to honing a breakthrough message. Over the course of the week, attendees also learned from experts in the field about the art of podcast creation, from initial ideation to editing, producing, and marketing.
The women in attendance included Titi Shodiya, Kristina Ogilvie, Janina Jeff, Shonté Daniels, Amanda B, Tiara Darnell, Ivy Le, Doreen Wang, Gabriela Quintana, and Sun H. At the end of the course, 3 of the women—Titi, Kristina, and Janina—were awarded up to $10,000 each to fund their proposed podcasts. You can read more about each of the winners, their backgrounds, and their groundbreaking ideas here.
Murthy is optimistic about the medium’s ability to reach women of color, and the palpable enthusiasm in the room of bootcamp participants—each with a unique and provocative story to tell—only fueled that belief.
“What excites me about podcasting is that it’s still new, and we have an opportunity to shape the field into something that looks and sounds more like our country and our world,” added Murthy. “I think we’ll also find that’s where success lies.”
Greg Herman, video and non-music programming manager at Spotify, agreed. “It all begins with the creators,” he said. “Once you begin writing podcasts for people outside of the standard male demographic, you naturally grow a wider audience. It really begins with getting your message out there.”
For many of the women in the workshop, personal inspiration came from some fresh voices already being broadcast in the podcast universe. Spotify’s Christina Choi, Senior Producer and Senior Partnerships Manager, shared a few favorites of her own with the group.
“Code Switch features interesting stories from a diverse group of journalists,” she said. “Ear Hustle is a fantastic podcast produced by inmates at San Quentin State Prison telling stories about prison life. Nancy is hosted by two Asian American hosts about LGBTQ culture. 2 Dope Queens is a comedy podcast featuring two black female comedians talking about society and pop culture. And Another Round is currently off at the moment, but it was one of the first podcasts hosted by women of color.”
Other podcasts that came up in conversation as fuel for creativity included The Nod, which “gleefully explores all the beautiful, complicated dimensions of black life.” Good Muslim, Bad Muslim dives into “the good and the bad about the American Muslim female experience.” The Mash-up Americans is “your guide to hyphen-America.”
And while the list goes on, much of it has yet to be written. If the powerhouse women represented at Sound Up Bootcamp have anything to do with it, that chorus of voices is about to get a whole lot louder.
Spotify Continues to Celebrate Black History Year-Round with Volume 2 of Black History Is Happening Now Curated By Pharrell Williams
Black History is Happening Now Inspires Black Female Creatives Initiative
Even after Black History Month has passed, the celebration of Black History should not end. That’s why Spotify launched Black History is Happening Now,in partnership with creative collective Saturday Morning, to celebrate and amplify the voices of black artists, creators, and organizations year-round. With the launch of volume two of the platform, Spotify will continue to tell the stories of and raise topics that are important to black artists and creatives through video, podcast, and music curation.
By paying tribute to the black musicians who have paved the way, Spotify will be empowering the artists who will define what’s next. One such musician is GRAMMY-award winning singer, songwriter, and producer Pharrell Williams, who will be the next curator of Black History Is Happening Now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69zN5f-O_K4
GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter and actress Janelle Monáe officially kicked off Black History Is Happening Now as the first artist to takeover the platform through playlists featuring artists who have influenced her music, artists to watch for, and a short film on what Afrofuturism means to her.
Pharrell Williams’ Black History Is Happening Now hub will feature exclusive original content including videos and curated playlists. Three original videos, Pharrell is Black History, A Very Serious Force and Something Awakening,were directed by Pharrell Williams’s longtime collaborator Paul Hunter, cofounder of PRETTYBIRD. Each will showcase Pharrell Williams’s perspective on black culture, the power of black women, his beliefs on love, politics, the human condition and more. Pharrell Williams explains in A Very Serious Force, “I think that what’s going to save not only this country but save the world are the Gen Z’ers, the Millennials and the women.”
Inspired by Pharrell Williams’s words and following in the footsteps of the Spotify’s Sound Up Bootcamp and Fellowship programs, Spotify is announcing a new initiative to support up-and-coming black female creators. Together with the women of BLK@Spotify, Spotify will be seeking out three black female creatives across film, literature, and visual arts who are breaking new ground. These three women will receive funding to collaborate in creating original content to uplift the message that “black women are a very serious force.” The content will be launched early this fall.
Saturday Morning, an organization that helps to promote peace, generate love, raise awareness of injustice and fights for fairness to create change and understanding between all races, played a major role in co-creating Black History is Happening Now, alongside Spotify’s Employee Resource Group, BLK@. Additionally, Spotify worked closely with Color Of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, as an advisor.
Black History Is Happening Now will be live in the US, UK, Brazil, Mexico and Canada.
You can access the Black History Is Happening Now hub here or via the browse section on Spotify’s homepage.
My First Week at Spotify: Jessica Bain
It’s not every day you make a playlist that lands you a job. But our new Black History and Culture Fellow, 22-year-old Jessica Bain, did exactly that.
It started with Jessica’s posts on her Twitter and Instagram handle, @bainboozled. She tagged @SpotifyJobs and Head of Cultural Partnerships Xavier “X” Jernigan, and encouraged them to check out her online resume. It not only listed her technical qualifications, but showcased a deep knowledge and passion for black culture and music, and even included a “This Is Jessica Bain” playlist. Long story short, X was impressed, and Jessica landed an interview and ultimately got the job. Since then, her accompanying tweet has gone viral, garnering her well-wishes from over 200,000 inspired music lovers, and write-ups in HuffPost and Mashable.
UPDATE: I GOT THE JOB!!! https://t.co/CgY6cVXnig
— JB (@bainboozled) May 23, 2018
In the past few days, Jessica finally set foot in the door of Spotify’s NYC office to start combining her passions—and, in true social-media-expert fashion, took videos to document the highlights of her first full week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg-ehj6Hoh8
Monday: “Learning Where I Could Fit In”
On her first day, Jessica was welcomed with open arms—a lot of employees had already heard her story. But, like any other new employee, Jessica introduced herself in new hire orientation, started to get a feel for the space during the office tour, and was on-boarded via some introductory meetings. During her orientation, Jessica had the opportunity to learn about BLK, an Employee Resource Group (ERG) that she would be working with.
Jessica then met with the Social Impact team to learn “where my position was created from and how I could fit in,” she explained. “To start to think about transitioning the ‘Black History is Happening Now’ hub from what I saw when I applied—Janelle Monae highlighting Afro-futurism—to what I will be working on—Black Music Month and beyond.” (Afro-futurism aims to combat a historically white science fiction genre by focusing on the stories and possibilities of black people in technologically advanced and futuristic settings.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SJzS7zYKYc
Tuesday: “Getting Hands-On in My Role”
Tuesday was chock-full of meetings, with Jessica’s first all-editorial meeting for the Shows and Editorial team, and a sit-down with the Ad Sales team. When she got a moment back at her desk, she started to program playlists for an upcoming Spotify and Netflix Luke Cage partnership, and booked her first work trip flight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q32kfPpYvsM
On Wednesday: “Giving My Input”
Another day, another meeting—but this time for the Rise, Spotify’s artist development program. The team talked about the current artists involved with the initiative and opened up the floor to recommendations—something Jessica was able to contribute to. “Just being able to give my input on an artist I knew about made me realize I was in the right place,” she noted. “I was able to recommend an artist other people didn’t know.”
On Thursday & Friday: “Putting Myself in the Big Picture”
Jessica traveled down to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Blavity Summit 21 conference on black female empowerment. Beyond attending the conference and participating in networking events, she also had the opportunity to sit down with fellow Spotifyers with whom she wouldn’t ordinarily be working. It was especially significant for her, she said, because some of the women there were the ones who had conceived of her position and then brought it to life.
“Hearing the story of how they formed [the position] and how they had this great idea but it was hard to actually execute, and yet they pushed it through anyway—that made me even more appreciative of my position,” Jessica said. “It made me remember how many people this position affects. I have gotten a lot of messages and tweets and DM’s about inspiring people to go after what they want… but for me to hear from the people who made the position possible was another thing entirely.”
Spotify Ladies at the Blavity Summit 21 Conference
For Jessica, the role is still a dream come true. “Growing up, and even now, I didn’t see a lot of black women in technology,” she explained. “I’ve always been really interested in black music, black history, black culture, and technology, but I didn’t think there was a way to combine them. But with a company like Spotify that focuses on music, and with a lot of music being made by black artists and black culture, when I saw this position, saw this description, it was exactly what I couldn’t put into words. It was what I wanted to be doing.”
Now, Jessica is closer to finding the clarity she’d been hoping for: Using music to make an impact. After just one week on the job, she has already left her footprint.
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