I believe the phrase is “music soothes the savage beast,” but music also plays an integral role in amplifying our life experiences and shifting our moods. In related news, it also helped keep millions of Black people sane during Donald Trump’s four-year kleptocratic reign.
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I personally can’t imagine my life without it, and you can learn a lot about a person based upon the music they listen to. Case in point: Who in the hell thought a Bow Wow-Soulja Boy Verzuz was a good idea?
Black music in particular has provided the blueprint for damn near every American genre of music in existence. So in celebration of Black Music Month, multimedia personality Cari Champion—who we last saw combining superpowers with Jemele Hill for Vice TV’s Stick to Sports—is the host of the new Spotify exclusive, A Life in Tracks. This podcast features some of the biggest names in sports, music, fashion, and entertainment partaking in lively conversations that explore the cultural, historical, musical, and personal significance of the songs that have shaped their lives. (Prayerfully, that won’t include Flo Rida.)
Each episode features a candid one-on-one interview infused with songs like Al Green’s “Love and Happiness,” 702’s “Where My Girls At?,” Nipsey Hussle’s “Grinding All My Life,” and other gems courtesy of guests like Black Panther’s Winston Duke, Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix, NFL superstar Russell Wilson, and more.
You can catch all five episodes of Spotify’s new series, A Life In Tracks, exclusively on Spotify when it premieres on June 15. I know I can’t be the only one who’s curious to find out which songs each of Cari’s guests have selected (again, please no Flo Rida), but you can listen to the trailer for this Black Music Month blackstravangza below.
(Oh, and dammit, there better be plenty of Earth, Wind & Fire, too.)
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