Spotify's newest 'Mic Check' pauses the music and focuses on systemic justice

It’s deeper than rap and Spotify knows it. The massive streaming giant changes its newest ‘Mic Check’ tune to focus on systemic justice with hosts of its ‘Abolition X’ program.

Check out the full details ahead of jumping directly into the video. If you’re looking for some specific quotes and moments to look out for, scroll a little further down.

Today, Spotify released the latest episode of their podcast series, Spotify: Mic Check -  a series aimed at connecting fans with the world’s biggest creators from around the globe through exclusively intimate conversations.

The latest episode detours from their usual musical conversations and dives into systemic justice - something in-depthly explored in Spotify’s exclusive podcast series, Abolition X. Each episode of Abolition X features hosts Indigo Mateo, Richie Reseda, and Vic Mensain conversation with a mix of artists, organizers, and activists – some of whom are presently incarcerated – discussing how we can apply the principles behind the abolition movement to cultural issues ranging from housing to hip hop.

Sharing their personal stories, on this week’s episode of Mic Check, each host dives into the topic of what it means to be an abolitionist today, how Indigo, Richie and Vic all found each other and creating a safe space for black activists to share their opinions. This podcast is a reaffirmation to Spotify’s commitment to highlighting diverse voices and this podcast will live within FREQUENCY, a global initiative and holistic destination for celebrating Black art, entertainment, creativity, culture, and community both on- and off-platform.

Check out a few of the interview highlights from the episode key quotes below.

INDIGO on when she lost her trust for the system - TIME STAMP 2:26

○      “The police presence was not very strong in my childhood. I grew up in a very, you know, suburban even like sheltered upbringing. Mass incarceration, really became personal for me when I actually was sexually assaulted in 2015, and I went to report this rape to the investigators office. And I remember feeling, like, very scared, very judged.  And I couldn't remember a detail about the car. And this lady, I'll never forget this white lady. Like, she had a picture of the man and she put the picture in my face, and she said, Do you think we're going to put this man away for 40 years and you don't even know the color of his car. And in that moment, I knew that the justice system was very disconnected from helping victims and survivors of harm.”

●      RICHIE discovering when he knew he’d always be seen as the problem - TIME STAMP 4:07

○      “I've been getting criminalized since I was four years old. You know, my the first time I ever had a negative interaction with a police officer, I was in preschool. And I just knew from the time that I was a child that I was the enemy.”

●      RICHIE taking introspective look at the root causes of his behavior and beginning the group Success Stories - TIME STAMP 5:03

○      RICHIE: When I finally got a job and got an apartment, I wasn’t going to lose that. And so when I lost my job, I decided to rob those stores. And everybody who I was meeting in jail had similar stories where if 1 small thing was different, and it usually had to do with housing, food, money, or just like beliefs around pride and beliefs around manhood.

○      INDIGO: Patriarchy.

○      RICHIE: That part. Then we wouldn’t be locked up… And that’s when I started realizing, oh we don’t need jails. We need food. And resources. And conversations around patriarchy. And how we see ourselves. 

●      INDIGO and RICHIE on why this podcast is prevalent and necessary more than ever - TIME STAMP 10:48 

○      INDIGO: …We say the system isn’t broken. It’s working exactly how it’s supposed to be working because they sat down and wrote down all those things and they sat down and marginalized and criminalized all those Black and brown people. 

○      RICHIE: Each episode is an organizing tool. So we're always thinking about where does this conversation exist in mainstream culture and what is our entry point and how are we pushing it forward?

○      INDIGO: And I think our job as hosts is to like, lovingly come in and either like, support that point or complicate that point. And inviting our guest speakers on and into that culture of gentleness, into that culture of you matter, your story matters. And if it's a little bit different than everyone else's story, all the more reason why you should be able to take up some space.

●      INDIGO and RICHIE sharing the importance for the FREQUENCY program and why more organizations need to invest in their creators - TIME STAMP 15:34 

○      RICHIE: Frequency has been amazing. Frequency, the black organization within Spotify has been huge, huge supporters of the show. They made our show part of the free studio program that they threw in downtown L.A., highlighting a bunch of black artists and creators that work with Spotify. They helped us get a billboard in Times Square.

○      INDIGO: Frequency is also just a dope group of people with a dope mission to highlight black art, to highlight creators whose stories are not always front and center. And honestly, just say, I think create like an incubator like dope artists who can come and like, you know, feed off of each other's energy and to continue to support artists. So the Frequency experience was ridiculously amazing. And I'm proud that, you know, Spotify and frequency could step up in their roles, you know, with the platforms that they have and contribute to this global conversation as well.