Tag: The RapCaviar Podcast

Toast Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary With Our Special Playlist Hub, Murals, Animated Shorts, and More

August 3, 2023

Fifty years ago, hip-hop was born in the Bronx. And today, it continues to influence music and culture on a global scale. To celebrate this massive milestone over the next month, we’re creating murals in some of hip-hop’s biggest capitals, giving fans a personalized hip-hop listening experience with our DJ, and releasing a series of animated shorts. But to kick off the festivities, we’re launching the Hip-Hop Turns 50 hub.

Highlighting the contributions of hip-hop’s greats, this special destination will live on-platform over the next month and house more than 40 global playlists that reflect the various eras, regions, and trends that have shaped the genre over the last half-century. This includes many of our top data-driven and editorially curated playlists, as well as dedicated shelves for the 50 most-streamed rappers and hip-hop albums on Spotify. 

“We wanted to acknowledge the anniversary in more than one way. Three months ago, we kicked off conversations on social media with our Top 50 Hip-Hop lists and are now showcasing how hip-hop’s and Spotify’s history intersects,” said Carl Chery, Creative Director, Head of Urban Music, Spotify. “Throughout August, we’re paying homage to some of the artists that paved the way in their own cities with murals and billboards, creating an animated shorts series narrated by artists, and built out a destination on platform that features a variety of playlists from around the world. Stay tuned for more—here’s to the next 50″

Fans can dive into the best hip-hop songs of each decade with special curations for the ’80s, ’90s, ’00s, and ’10s, as well as the ’20s, where listeners can tune in to RapCaviar, our flagship hip-hop playlist, to find the best of hip-hop today. As part of the global hip-hop shelf—which features playlists like Spotify Italy’s Plus Ultra, Spotify India’s Rap 91, Spotify Korea’s KrOWN, Spotify U.K.’s Who We Be, the Spotify Middle East’s Arab Hip-Hop, and Spotify Philippines’ Kayle Hip-Hop—we’re showcasing the hottest, freshest, and most diverse hip-hop sounds being created around the world.

We’re also revisiting some of our editors’ top picks through our 50 years of hip-hop shelf, which features episodes from podcasts like the New York Times’s Popcast and Fab 5 Freddy’s 50 Years of Hip-Hop, as well as Spotify Originals like The RapCaviar Podcast, Dissect, The Ringer Music Show, and Nas and Miss Info’s The Bridge. 

You can check out more of For the Record’s hip-hop content from over the years by visiting our special Hip-Hop Turns 50 hub. 

Spotify celebrates in hip-hop’s biggest meccas

To honor some of hip-hop’s biggest game changers, Spotify is collaborating with illustrator and image-maker Raj Dhunna to design large-scale murals and billboards. These pieces will put a spotlight on artists in their respective hometowns and depict the ways rap’s most influential sounds spread from region to region. 

In New York, Spotify will unveil a mural acknowledging the history of drill as it grew from its origins in Chicago with legends like Chief Keef, and expanded into London and Brooklyn with artists like 808 Melo and Pop Smoke. A second mural will spotlight the impact of women in hip-hop and feature icons like Lil’ Kim and Cardi B. 

In Atlanta, Raj will create a mural that celebrates the evolution of trap music, which was pioneered by Atlanta’s own T.I. and cultivated into a global phenomenon by artists like New York’s Arcángel.

Raj’s designs will also appear on billboards in Miami and Los Angeles. The L.A. billboard will feature Dr. Dre and Mustard, two of the city’s musical titans, with a tagline that reads “Long live the West Coast sound. Hip-hop is everywhere.” The Miami billboard, meanwhile, will pay tribute to the provocative sounds of the region’s most influential women rap acts.

Spotify will also commemorate hip-hop’s growth in Mexico and pay homage to its current and foundational artists with a mural that features over 15 Mexican hip-hop artists, including Akwid, Cartel de Santa, Santa Fe Klan, and Gera Mx.

The party continues

In addition to the on-platform destinations and custom murals, our AI-powered DJ will provide expert hip-hop commentary all month long on Spotify, supplying aficionados with cultural context about musical legends and retracing how hip-hop has grown through history.

To close out the month, Spotify will debut editorially curated animated shorts that underscore hip-hop’s influence in over nine countries, featuring narrations from artists. 

Our celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary will let fans discover and connect with artists of the past, present, and future. But this is only the start. Stay tuned for updates throughout the month as we commemorate one of the most beloved genres in the world. 

Hit play on our flagship RapCaviar playlist and discover the artists who are making their mark in hip-hop’s history books. 

Spotify Head of Urban Music Carl Chery Invites Fans To Look Into the Stories of Hip-Hop’s Top Artists With ‘RapCaviar Presents’

March 24, 2023

Mark March 30 on your calendars. That’s when RapCaviar Presents arrives on Hulu. Based on Spotify’s flagship hip-hop playlist, RapCaviar, the compelling new documentary series tackles today’s most provocative issues through the lens of hip-hop. Centered around the visionaries and emerging stars who rule the charts and influence our culture, fans will get an up-close look into the lives of City Girls, Tyler, The Creator, Polo G, Roddy Ricch, Coi Leray, and more.

Featuring commentary from cultural tastemakers, media experts, and hip-hop historians, each of RapCaviar Presents’ six episodes examines a specific deep-rooted issue that affects hip-hop artists, their fans, and society at large. This includes explorations of mental health, women’s sexuality, the criminalization of rap, social media criticism, and the ultimate cost of viral fame. 

In addition to honest commentary on cultural topics, the show also gets personal, homing in on the artists’ tales of triumph, disruption, empowerment, and redemption. 

To celebrate its upcoming release, we threw a party in LA with Hulu, where Coi Leray, Saweetie, Freddie Gibbs, Mustard, Blxst and Ty Dolla $ign were all in attendance. Guests were invited to toast the series, enjoy a hip-hop-focused set from DJ Domo, and hop in our RapCaviar-themed photo booth.

Spotify’s Biggest Playlist—RapCaviar—Now Has Its Own Video Podcast Hosted by Brandon ‘Jinx’ Jenkins

August 4, 2022

Brandon Jinx Jenkins

Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins lives, breathes, and sleeps hip-hop. He’s the host of several podcasts, including Spotify and Gimlet’s Mogul and the Ringer’s No Skips, which he hosts with New York Times bestselling author Shea Serrano. He’s also penning a book, launching a media magazine, and working on pre-production for several upcoming video projects. So he’s a natural choice for the brand-new RapCaviar Podcast, a video podcast that explores the essence of rap and takes Spotfiy’s top playlist, RapCaviar, in a bold new direction. 

The RapCaviar Podcast will settle long-standing debates, challenge theories, and offer fresh takes on hip-hop topics, like who the best rapper is of Kendrick, Drake, and J. Cole; whether My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is Kanye West’s best album; and who the Godfather of the trap sound really is. Each week starting today, the RapCaviar Podcast host and a panel of guests will dive deep into a main theme. 

For the Record caught up with Jinx to hear more about the podcast. 

How did the RapCaviar Podcast come about? 

The RapCaviar Podcast was something that had been floating around in the Spotify RapCaviar hallways for a minute. I’ve known [Spotify Creative Director/Head of Urban Music] Carl Cherry for years; I’ve been a fan of his work in the hip-hop space. And he had mentioned this idea about how to grow RapCaviar into these other extensions. It’s the most popular playlist in the world, and he wanted it to do more than just serve up artists and music and allow fans to play music. So they started thinking through the things they could build around it. And there have been several experiences born from this—live events, parties, panels. But I think this podcast is one new piece in the arsenal that’s angling toward one of the most important pieces of rap, period, which is the rap debate. And I was really happy that RapCaviar was like, “Hey, let’s get Jinx to do it.”  

What are some of the topics you’re excited to cover? 

We’ll cover everything from nostalgia to where we think this genre’s going and how it might change. Because in the last five years, let alone the last 10 to 20 years, it’s evolved tremendously. So we’re at a super interesting time right now because we had this whole crop of artists for the last decade who are not the new artists anymore. We’re watching Kendrick and J.Cole and Drake and everyone from that field get older, keep doing rap, keep making new music—or leave music. But we’re also embarking on this new era that still feels very much like hip-hop. There are questions of how much of it is rap. I’m interested in pushing the boundaries of what rap is and having some discussions with the new generation about what they think of the rap sphere and what’s happening. 

How has rap changed and matured over your lifetime?

I remember getting my first stereo for Christmas and setting the radio station—I’m from New Jersey, so setting the radio station to Hot97—and I was lucky. I had the rap radio station and the dial never changed. But it has gone through stages. I remember working in the mall, in the shoe store, and we played hip-hop in our store because it was the sneaker store, but you wouldn’t hear rap anywhere else in the mall. I remember when you wouldn’t hear rap in television commercials. 

Then I remember these big moments where I was watching a basketball game and would hear rap, not just in the arena but on the commercial. Or starting to hear it in the mall or see it referenced in pop culture outside the rap radio station and my friends. So for it to just keep getting bigger and bigger, and for the RapCaviar playlist to be the biggest playlist on the biggest streaming platform in the world says a lot about what the genre has done. And I feel super lucky to now be able to contribute to the same thing I’ve enjoyed all these years. 

Brandon Jinx Jenkins

Whom do you hope to invite on as guests? 

We’re going to have a mix of producers, DJs, rap photographers, writers, journalists, executives, fans, YouTubers—just the whole rap sphere, which we know is much bigger than artists and media talking heads. We want to expand this to where it’s not necessarily about your resume right now. It’s really more about the question, Do you love this thing? We want it to be democratized by multiple viewpoints and to let everyone know that all opinions and vantage points are welcome. You don’t have to be working at a record label right now or be working in hip-hop.

This is not just a podcast, but a video podcast. What excites you about this format? 

Fans spend a lot of time experiencing rap visually, whether it’s images, music videos, or the artist’s going live on whatever platform. So I think it makes sense to meet them where they’re at. Rap is such a visual medium, you know: the way you see these people dress, what they look like, how they look when they’re saying the thing. Or even in the rap debate—there’s a moment in a rap conversation where people are sitting down talking, and then someone, to make their point, has to stand up or clap their hands. So much of hip-hop and its adjacent cultures are about emoting. And I think it’s big for Spotify to take that leap and bring the rap audience something to watch. 

What’s your best hip-hop unpopular opinion? 

Everyone thinks the South is the most important region in rap. I very much think it’s the West Coast. They make the best albums. They have the most coherent music, the best positioning of their projects. It bothers me so much that it’s not the East Coast, it’s not New York or New Jersey, but I truly think some of the best music is coming out of the West Coast. So it’s not a hot take, but it’s a hot take when you wear a Yankees hat every day. 

Who are you aiming to reach with the RapCaviar Podcast?

There’s a piece of the RapCaviar playlist that’s for the initiated—it’s for the hyper-fans of rap music who have been following the changing tide of the genre over the years. But it’s also the playlist for the person who is not a hip-hop fan who wants to figure out what’s poppin’ right now. So I say that it’s “for the purist and it’s for the tourist.” The podcast, then, has the same context around the music. So if you really want to know what rap looks like and our feelings about the music you’re playing on the playlist, it’s for you. Tune in. 

Tune in to the first episode of the RapCaviar Podcast below.