
In October, Spotify was front and center at CultureCon New York, a weekend-long event that made space for creators of color to talk, hang, and network. Along with hosting the official CultureCon playlist, Spotify's Creator Equity Fund showcased its commitment to diverse creators by cohosting CultureCon's inaugural Talk That Talk podcast pitch contest, offering the winner the chance to record their pilot episode at Spotify Studios in Brooklyn, NY, as well as mentorship from a producer for the first episode.
Talk That Talk's finalists pitched their ideas to a live CultureCon audience, and afterwards our panel of judges selected the winner: Ghanaian creators Koku and Mariah. Their show, In The Mix, looks at the rise of Afrobeats as a global phenomenon while examining the ways it has influenced-and been influenced by-the rest of the African music landscape.
And after months of hard work, we're thrilled to announce that the first episode of In The Mix is ready for the world to stream.
For the Record sat down with the duo before the launch of In The Mix to talk about the experience, their aspirations for the series, and the trends in African music that excite them most.
What was it like to record the first episode of In The Mix at Spotify Studios? Mariah: It was very cool. I've never really been in the studio before. So having the camera, the mics-I was feeling pretty important. But it was a little nerve-wracking in terms of making sure that I asked the right questions, stuck to our narrative, and made the best use of our opportunity. This is a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing and we're very grateful.
Koku: I'd also say this was much, much different than recording in my home. I can be in my own room, no one is there, and it's not as big of a deal if I make a mistake. So there was a bit of pressure at the beginning, but after the first five minutes, it was great and it just felt like a conversation.
Was there a single a-ha moment that inspired In The Mix, or was this an idea that you'd been mulling over for a while? Mariah: This has definitely been years in the making. Koku has another podcast where he talks about soccer with his friends, and that inspired me. I was like, Oh it would be fun to start a podcast. We just were never able to find the time-our schedules were crazy back then. So when I saw the pitch competition on the CultureCon page, it felt like the stars were aligning. We decided to submit a pitch at the last minute. And when we were chosen as finalists, it was like, Okay, this is something that the universe and God is telling us that we have to do.
What fresh perspectives do you want to bring to podcasting with your show? Koku: I don't think there are too many podcasts dissecting African music or trying to do it in the manner that we are. Most African music history has been word-of-mouth-almost like folktales. And the cool thing about podcasting is that you can record those sorts of conversations and they live online for years to come. It's time for us to own that narrative, and we hope that African artists will come to In The Mix to have those conversations.
Mariah: We really want In The Mix to be research based and [to] share actual knowledge about our continent and country. But we also want it to be fun. We're really interested in pushing our culture to the world. We want to get to the point where we're owning our narrative and owning our culture.
On that point-owning your culture-what do you believe the world is missing right now? Mariah: Just the variety coming out of Africa-the different sounds and languages coming from different countries. So I would really like people to sort of go out of their comfort zone and just try something new. You see that with Ghanaian musicians, for example. There's so much that we've influenced but can't even claim because it got out of our hands.
I also think there are a lot of African R&B artists who can't even claim they're R&B. Like Tems is an R&B artist.
Koku: That's like our main pet peeve right now. Afrobeats has become this singular genre, and that's why we want to break down the components of it. To help people understand where the sound comes from.
I want to hear more R&B from African artists. It seems like everyone feels like they have to make dancier songs, but I want to hear some soul. I want to hear people singing. But I'm biased because I love soul and R&B in general.
Are there any lesser-known genres or artists that people should be paying attention to? Mariah: In terms of genres, definitely Asakaa, which is like Ghanaian drill. Super, super good. I don't even know how to describe it, but if you listen to the music, you can just feel the passion; you can feel the streets coming from these rappers.
Also, Alt , which is African alternative music. I think it's a really powerful genre-basically an African take on R&B and pop, but a little weirder.
And then some artists people should check out include Alt artists like Odunsi (The Engine) and Maison2500, and Asakaa artists like Jay Bahd and O'Kenneth. We also love AmaaRae and Simi, who have already blown up.
Turning back to your show, are there podcasts that you looked to for inspiration? Koku: One podcast I did take note of was Watching The Throne. It's just two guys that dive into Kanye West's discography, and what makes it so good is the amount of research they did and the background knowledge they provide.
Mariah: I also listened to Mogul, which gets into the backstories of how hip-hop artists came to be who they are. There's also a video series by Nigerian media collective Sample Chief that breaks down the history of African music samples and how a lot of the newer songs that are hot right now are inspired by older songs.
After you listen to the
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
21/05/2025
NEW YORK Comcast Advertising has launched a new AI creative platform that will make it much easier for small businesses and local advertisers to market and prom...
21/05/2025
NEW YORK Prime Video has released some of its tech plans for the NASCAR Cup Series, which begins on Sunday, May 25 at 5 p.m. ET with the Coca-Cola 600 from Char...
21/05/2025
MONTREAL Matrox Video has announced that it has successfully completed the AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for Matrox ORIGIN....
21/05/2025
WASHINGTON Clarence Hau, NBCUniversal senior vice president of standards, policy and advanced engineering, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Advanced Tel...
20/05/2025
Press Release: ToolsOnAir to release version 2025.2 of just:in mac capture solut...
20/05/2025
Press Release: ToolsOnAir to release version 2025.1 Playout solutions for macOS.
Vienna, Austria. May 9th, 2025 ToolsOnAir, a leading provider of broadcast...
20/05/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
20/05/2025
Throughout the month of May, Spotify is celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by amplifying the many artists, creators, and authors who share th...
20/05/2025
It's officially summer on Spotify and, once again, our team of best-in-class...
20/05/2025
Extended agreement includes Local TV and OTT measurement and Digital Content Rat...
20/05/2025
Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that delivers helpful and relevant intelligence while taking an extraordinary step forward for privacy in A...
20/05/2025
NEW YORK Amazon Publisher Services (APS) and independent sell-side advertising company Magnite are collaborating more deeply on streaming TV through the APS Tra...
20/05/2025
NEW YORK Nielsen and Sunbeam Television have announced an extension of their agreement to include ABC Miami, which will begin broadcasting as part of Sunbeam in...
20/05/2025
WASHINGTON The FCC has approved Verizon's $20 billion acquisition of Frontier, which was first announced last Sepembert. As part of the agency's decisio...
20/05/2025
Netflix and PBS have announced new deals with Sesame Workshop that will see new episodes of Sesame Street stream on Netflix and air on PBS Kids....
20/05/2025
MUNICH ARRI has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its lighting subsidiary Claypaky to EK Inc., a major Chinese designer and manu...
20/05/2025
LIVONIA, Mich. Spectrum News has expanded its reach with the launch of Spectrum News Michigan....
20/05/2025
From Death Becomes Her to Dead Outlaw, Boston Conservatory Actors Are Killing It...
20/05/2025
Space42 to establish new Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite manufacturing ...
20/05/2025
20 May 2025
Beeline Uzbekistan Moves its Headquarters to Tashkent's IT Park...
20/05/2025
Praise for series two:
Daily Mail - 5* It's a murder mystery masterclass
Heat - 4* Marlow's giving Midsomer a run for its murder money
Daily Tele...
20/05/2025
May 20th, 2025 #ChanelTribeca2025 #Tribeca2025 #CHANELinCinema
Press assets available HERE
Tribeca Festival and CHANEL Unveil 2025 Artist Awards Program
Thi...
20/05/2025
Broad strategy: DAZN on creating the perfect ecosystem between broadcasters, spo...
20/05/2025
Storytelling, monetisation and engagement: Making the pitch for AI in sports bro...
20/05/2025
FanDuel Sports Network Rolls Out WireCam in Cincinnati; Milwaukee Is Next, With ...
20/05/2025
UEFA Europa League Final 2025: Broadcast facts and camera plan for Tottenham Hot...
20/05/2025
NBA Eastern Conference Finals: TNT Sports Bids Farewell With Upgraded Tech, Onsi...
20/05/2025
NBA Western Conference Finals: ESPN's InsightCast' Features Avatar Shot...
20/05/2025
Tuesday 20 May 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To ...
20/05/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Almost Cops and Announces Release Date
Entertainment
20 May 2025
GlobalNetherlands
Link copied to clipboard
...
20/05/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 19, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that C...
20/05/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 20, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that
the company will showcase breakthrough broadband innovations at ANGA COM 2025. P...
20/05/2025
Today, Apple unveiled an exciting lineup for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), including the Keynote and Platforms State of the Union. Taking p...
20/05/2025
Industrial AI is transforming how factories operate, innovate and scale.
The convergence of AI, simulation and digital twins is poised to unlock new levels of ...
20/05/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
73% are investing in AI-specific security tools ...
20/05/2025
Genomic data shows widespread mpox transmission in West Africa prior to 2022 global outbreak Scripps Research scientists, in collaboration with researchers in N...
19/05/2025
For the past decade, Spotify's Fresh Finds playlists have served as a launchpad for emerging independent artists, helping them break through and connect wit...
19/05/2025
Eurovision delivers strong Total TV audiences for SBS, dazzling more than 2.21 m...
19/05/2025
Airlines lead the way as more Kiwis pack their bags for travel at home and abroad
Auckland - May 14, 2025 - New data from Nielsen Ad Intel reveals a strong yea...
19/05/2025
Smallgoods, snacks and ice cream shows large growth
Sydney - April 30, 2025 - Nielsen Ad Intel data released today has revealed a 6% increase in advertising in...
19/05/2025
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New streaming bundles launched over the past year by both distributors and streamers are generating strong consumer interest in 2025, according...
19/05/2025
Mistika Workflows Upgrade Includes Amberscript, DaVinci Resolve, MASV, Pulsar, Y...
19/05/2025
Berklee's Summer in the City Returns with Free Concerts Throughout the Bosto...
19/05/2025
Planetcast Media Services, a leading international media technology and broadcast services provider, will showcase its powerful NexC media distribution platform...
19/05/2025
VuWall and Guntermann & Drunck (G&D), technology leaders in video wall management and KVM systems, will showcase their latest innovations at InfoComm 2025, boot...
19/05/2025
Kiloview, a global leader in AV-over-IP, is set to showcase its latest AV-over-IP innovations at InfoComm 2025 in Orlando, FL, from June 11th to 13th. Featuring...
19/05/2025
Back to All News
Eva Longoria to Direct Kim Kardashian in Comedy Feature The Fi...
19/05/2025
Back to All News
Mark Ruffalo and Tucker Pillsbury Join Lena Dunham's Roman...
19/05/2025
Back to All News
A Gripping Identity Chase Unfolds in New Thriller Series The Rat' (WT)
Entertainment
19 May 2025
GlobalSouth Korea
Link copied to cli...