Tag: Off the Record with Dj Akademiks

Dive Deeper Into Your Favorite Artists and Genres With Spotify’s Music Podcast Playlist theLINER

May 4, 2022

Abstract illustration of blue- and red-lipped mouths lined up behind a microphone on a yellow background

Spotify Senior Editor in Podcast Editorial Jessica Diaz-Hurtado is a true audio connoisseur. She spends her days flipping back and forth between her favorite music genres (hip-hop, salsa, reggaeton, R&B, and house) genreless Spotify playlists like Mixto, and at least five podcast episodes per day. As the curator for Spotify music podcast editorial hub theLINER, she straddles the two worlds of music and podcast, finding the spaces where they come together to tell stories, drive cultural conversations, or simply entertain. 

There’s been a boom in music podcasts in recent years, including Spotify Originals like rapper Nas-hosted The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip-Hop and Danyel Smith’s Black Girl Songbook, as well as Off the Record with DJ Akademiks, Spotify: Mic Check, and Bandsplain—not to mention classic favorites like Song Exploder. Jessica’s background as a music journalist in the audio space primes her to listen to and pick apart that next great music podcast any listener can fall in love with. 

“Really, anybody who’s a music listener or a music fan can find something on theLINER,” Jessica told For the Record. “We all have that artist, genre, or scene that we can relate to in a way that only music can bring out of us. theLINER engages those who love music, have that curiosity, and want to learn and discover more.”

Read on for our full conversation. 

You have a background in audio journalism. How does that inform your approach to podcast curation in your role at Spotify?

I used to be at NPR, where I was a Kroc Fellow as well as a producer. I spent a lot of time with the music teams—I’ve always loved music, and my background is in the arts and in writing. So I just gravitated toward that space and was able to produce and cohost and it was a lot of fun. From there, I did some documentary work, I taught a little bit, and then I found my way to the Podcast Editorial team at Spotify, where I started as an editor. Since then, I’ve focused on music and entertainment, given my background and reporting experience.

I know as a former audio journalist that there’s a ton of research and music listening before you step into an interview or story. So, when I curate, I look for that preparation within the stories. I look for the moments that the producers and editors may have cut intentionally to really try to pull the listener in. I also look for the storytellers’ intention in the way they put together and curate their own stories. 

What are some elements that you listen for when you first start to listen to a new podcast?

The intro is always important. It helps any listener understand the personality of the show, especially if it’s host driven. When it doesn’t sound too scripted—having a person who is comfortable with their voice, and that takes a long time to get used to—I think that also brings other listeners in. And then of course, the production and engineering and how sound is used to tell a story. Whether it’s being quirky or innovative, how a podcaster or storyteller builds a story through sound is always interesting to me. 

Each month, you program theLINER, and specifically the Best of theLINER playlist. What are some of the episodes you programmed this month? 

So one is from the podcast Rightnowish. It’s a Bay Area–based podcast where they interview a Richmond rapper named Pallaví aka Fijiana who embraces her Indo-Fijian identity. I thought it was a great point of view, a perspective I had never really heard. She talks about being a woman and owning her sexuality, as well as the sexism that she has experienced due to her identity, to her upbringing, and growing up in the Bay Area and how that impacted her music. I liked hearing about her before hearing her music; it made me want to discover it a little bit more. 

Another one that’s on is Still Processing. They just came out with a new season, and their first episode is about American Top 40. Wesley Morris, who’s one of the hosts and an amazing journalist, has a very interesting conversation with a cultural critic named Daphne A. Brooks where they challenge how we think about the music canon. More specifically, they take a deeper look into how we can care more about the music and the artists who make it, and about which kind of art gets prioritized. 

Another episode I’m including is from Snap Judgment called “J Dilla’s Lost Scrolls.” This episode actually came out in 2014, but I think it’s definitely a gem that’s worth listening to. This story is about a record store owner who stumbles upon a record collection that he brought out of an abandoned storage unit and then learns the collection belonged to the legendary producer J Dilla. It was a very interesting, crazy, historic find. The episode does a good job of blending curiosity, surprise, the love of music, and the love of people who create and honor the music. The fact that it came out almost eight years ago and is still relevant made me want to include it.

What do you look for in a music podcast? What qualities make a show a Best of theLINER candidate?

Stories that are intentional definitely get my attention, as well as ones that are unique—when they have an authentic, raw, real, vulnerable conversational format. To make art and music, we have to tap into that vulnerable side. 

I’m also fascinated when producers experiment with format, and a great example is the Spotify Original podcast and Sound Up production You Heard Me Write. It’s very interesting to listen to because it feels like an artistic workshop in real time. They give a one- or two-word theme that serves as a source of inspiration to a writer. Then the writer goes and writes a short-form written piece. From there they give that written piece to two different audio artists or musicians as a jumping-off point to create an original, sonic piece of art. None of the artists are in contact with each other until they get on the show to discuss the process. I find that format really breaks up what a podcast could sound like and it does more with music and artistry.

theLINER also features guest curations from artists like Dua Lipa and cultural figures such as Hanif Abdurraqim. What’s on tap for this month? 

Every month we find different curators—whether they’re journalists, cultural critics, or artists—who are really embedded into the music world. We get to really learn about music from their point of view, and about different podcasts around a specific topic that they’re really interested in. In May, we’re going to be having guest curations from Asian and Pacific Islander artists for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. 

Is there a dream guest curator on your bucket list?

Oh my gosh, Kendrick Lamar is always on my bucket list as far as collaborating goes. Also Janelle Monae. I think I would love to see what they would curate. I’ve heard Phoebe Bridgers loves true crime, so that would also be interesting. My hope is to continue to share these stories so people can feel heard and then for listeners to identify with or be inspired by them. 

Check out Jessica’s curation, Best of theLINER, which updates every month.

‘For the Record’ Goes ‘Off the Record’ With Hip-Hop Podcast Host DJ Akademiks

November 17, 2021

DJ Akademiks has spent years covering the latest trends in hip-hop, entertainment, and culture and is now known as a trusted voice within the space. So when he announced his new Spotify exclusive video podcast, Off the Record with DJ Akademiks, back in August, he quickly made waves—especially with his first episode—and has already made his way onto the Spotify Charts.

Since then, he’s released 26 episodes, three per week, each featuring roundtable discussions and a special interview with music’s hottest artists and personalities. He’s also bringing his talents to Spotify Greenroom, where fans can catch him in a monthly live audio experience. First up tonight at 7 PM ET is a live conversation with iann dior.

For the Record grabbed time with the Off the Record host to hear a little about his process, making the shift to podcast, and recent moments in hip-hop culture. We also asked about other podcasts he’s streaming, and he named Call Her Daddy, hosted by Alexandra Cooper, whom he dubbed “the Queen.”

You’re notorious for being in-the-know when it comes to music, culture, and trends. How do you keep up? 

I live in this entertainment space. So I get up, I check instagram, and I check a few things from the industry I’m involved with. And at that point, it doesn’t feel like work; it seems so natural. I’ve heard from many people that if your work is almost your obsession, then you’re not really working. That’s one thing I’ve always tried to follow. I try to cut anything out of my life that isn’t related to what I’m obsessed with.

I’m obsessed with rap, with hip-hop culture. I know that albums come out on Fridays. So on Saturdays, I’m gonna get maybe a glimpse of predictions or projections for the week. And I’m constantly going to my sources or talking to my people, and once I get that information, I let everyone else know by posting on Instagram. And I’m not looking at it from a journalistic/media perspective but from an “oh snap, have you guys seen this?”

I went to school for biomathematics. I’m huge into numbers. I love the objectiveness of “this sold this and this sold this.” So I tweet it out. And I’d call it, maybe luck? But a lot of people like to be armed with that. So I’m connected with it because I consume it daily as a superfan. 

How do you filter out the rumors from the truth? What’s your take on sensationalism? 

I think hip-hop media has changed, and I think what the hip-hop personality is these days has also changed. And I realize these days we’re in the era of reposting, regurgitating, slight curating, but not researching. What I’ve done to distinguish between sensationalism and what the facts are: I’ll go get the truth. So that also earns your respect. It doesn’t take that much to make relationships with entities that monitor distribution hubs, and you can get some slight reporting that can be extrapolated over a seven day period. Once you become the source of the truth, you’re always written into the story. 

With Off the Record, you ventured into new media formats such as podcasting and live audio on Spotify Greenroom. Why are you excited for these mediums? 

Social media has gotten to the point where people want to have public discourse. But conversation in tweets, or even conversations that might exist on a platform like Instagram—it’s not enough. Twitter is used for a bunch of back-and-forth, but a lot of times it lacks context. You don’t fully explain what you’re really talking about. These quick exchanges, you can’t have really good discourse. I think hearing from someone who might be like-minded or maybe thinks differently from you—to have these conversations in audio form, that’s the thing that’s missing from Twitter. We have better discourse with live audio and definitely with podcasts.

Why did you want to make the shift?

I noticed the shift when my audience—at that time, they were mostly on YouTube—was growing up. They didn’t only want to be talked at: they wanted to be part of the conversation. A lot of the time people listen to a podcast because they want to hear their own opinion, said differently, or they want to hear opposing views—or they want to hear discourse between both sides. And I think we’re in a time and space where people are realizing that, whether it’s politics or other issues that might be of controversy, it’s not just two sides. There’s a lot of nuance to it, and with nuance comes discourse. And to do it in real time is totally new, and my audience is ready for it. I give a lot of credit to streaming services.

To speak for a moment to your area of expertise . . . Drake’s Certified Lover Boy has outstreamed Kanye’s Donda. Were you surprised? What’s your take on these releases?

Definitely not surprised. Music has almost become a little like ESPN these days. And I do want to take credit for that; I do want to toot my own horn a little bit. I am a person who’s made numbers as prominent to the conversation as the quality. 

Kanye’s album is something that’s more timeless. Drake gave a bunch of music for the moment. But I challenge what some people might consider replayability. Drake’s album was supposed to have less replay value and Kanye’s timeliness. But as time is passing, even six weeks later, people are playing Drake’s album at a clip that’s two, three times that of Kanye’s album. 

I do think we need to acknowledge when an artist is having his time and when the masses want to relate to him for whatever reason. Nothing against Kanye, but that Drake album? That thing is slappin’. 

What is your favorite thing about creating Off the Record so far? 

The beautiful thing about Off the Record is that it’s pushing boundaries. Our pilot episode was between two figures that would normally never be interviewed together. So the show might be uncomfortable. It might be a little bit taboo. It might not be what you see generally in your barber shop, but it’s gonna be 100% real. Like we’re gonna have real conversations about people and about things that you never thought would happen.

Tune in for Off the Record with DJ Akademiks, and hear him live on Spotify Greenroom tonight at 7 PM ET—and make sure to follow DJ Akademiks to get notified anytime he goes live.