Spotify's 'Dissect' podcast is back to decode Tyler, the Creator's 'IGOR' album

It’s hard juggling so many streaming services these days but when it comes to the audio tunes, Spotify tends to lead the pack in originality and creator goals. The popular digital giant’s ‘Dissect’ podcast is back for its 10 season with host Cole Cuchna going head-first into the unforgettable 2019 IGOR album.

Tyler, the Creator’s legendary project is going to receive first-class dissection treatment and if you’re feeling the episode, look forward to new weekly Tuesday releases exclusively on Spotify.

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.

Spotify's 'Discover This' series takes a deep dive into Jean-Michel Basquiat

Streaming giant Spotify is putting quality over everything these days. The digital powerhouse’s ‘Spotify: Discover This’ series continues to make waves and raise eyebrows courtesy of highlighting the legacy of iconic artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in its latest episode.

Check out some of the details behind the newest podcast series broadcast and check out some footage from the conversation.

Today, Spotify will release the newest episode of its podcast series, “Spotify: Discover This” -  a show that shares fresh insights on music, podcasting, cultural moments, and trends - amplified in a way only Spotify can. In this episode, host Lea Palmieri explores the life, work, and legacy of influential artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat through the newly-opened Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibition at the Starrett-Lehigh Building (601 West 26th Street) in New York City. You can listen to the full episode here.

Recently, Spotify partnered with the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat to curate a destination for the Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibit titled “Listen Like Basquiat,” a hub on Spotify featuring a series of playlists that explore the music that influenced and inspired his work. Each of the four playlists represents a different stage in Basquiat’s life, including “Childhood,” “Studio,” “Nightlife,” and “Legacy.” 

This episode of “Spotify: Discover This” takes listeners inside the exhibit to preview some of Basquiat’s rarely-seen works, discuss his contributions to popular culture, the influence of music on his career, his relationship with Andy Warhol and more. The episode also features interviews with his sisters (Lisane and Jeanine Basquiat), exhibit curator Ileen Gallagher, and Spotify’s Co-Heads of Social Creative Shannon Ross and Kenia Perez, who initiated the partnership.

Birdman, Havoc, Too $hort, Twista and more talking classic Spotify hip-hop is must-see

Could you use a little hip-hop greatness fired your way? How about getting the luxury of music icons like Birdman, Mobb Deep’s Havoc, B-Real, Too $hort and Twista - to name a few - dishing on classic hip-hop streaming on Spotify?

The presence of hip-hop on the digital streaming platform has increased dramatically over the past 36 months. Check out some details and keep scrolling to see the rap heavyweights dishing on timeless hip-hop anthems.

Without a doubt, hip-hop is one of the most dominating genres of all time, influencing culture, trends, fashion, lifestyle and more since its beginning, which showed through very clearly during this year’s halftime show at the Big Game. The halftime show’s ode to classic hip-hop mirrors the growth in consumption of catalog music in hip-hop over the last few years on Spotify – a 34% increase since 2019.  

Since the once in a lifetime performance, Spotify spent the past few weeks celebrating classic hip-hop with videos highlighting the different regions where hip-hop had its biggest moments-- West Coast ft B-Real and Too $hort, East Coast ft Havoc, South ft Birdman and Big Boi, and Midwest ft Lupe Fiasco andTwista. 

These artists sat down with Spotify to discuss the influential rappers who led the charge for their regions and truly made hip-hop what it is today. You can watch a compilation of those videos HERE. 

Classic hip-hop culture’s popularity is tangible on Spotify –  after the group of iconic hip-hop heroes came together for the halftime show in February, there were many discoveries, or first-time listeners, of the artists:  

• Dr. Dre - 9,119,214

• Eminem - 16,813,175

• Kendrick Lamar - 13,056,787

• Mary J. Blige - 7,091,803

• Snoop Dogg - 15,690,503