
Last year, Spotify unveiled Frequency, a global initiative and holistic destination for celebrating Black art, entertainment, creativity, culture, and community both on and off our platform. Since then, Frequency has expanded from a series of playlists and new content to incorporate cultural partnerships, an ambassador program, and even the Free Studio, all in an effort to further connect the Black community to upcoming and established Black creators.
A key Frequency playlist series is Ripple Effect. This playlist spotlights local Black music cultures with a focus on new and emerging artists throughout six regions: DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia), Bay to LA, Texas, New England, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. Each is curated by a local tastemaker knowledgeable on what's hot and who's next in their area. Last year, Frequency landed in the DMV to celebrate local artists through a dinner with Ari Lennox, Pusha T, local go-go artist Big G, and Rico Nasty.
This Black Music Month, Frequency headed to California to celebrate local creators and amplify the music and culture of the Bay Area down to South LA with artists Joyce Wrice, Guapdad 4000, Hit-Boy, Victoria Mon t, Vince Staples, and Duckwrth. Keenan MacWilliam directed the second video in the series, Frequency Sunday Dinner: Bay to LA.
The five area artists came together over a locally sourced meal and held a conversation around the contributions their hometowns have made to their music, as well as the impact their music has had on their hometowns and the world.
It's often hard for me to describe to an out-of-towner how embedded we are in whatever the game is, says Guapdad 4000. That sh is just so in my blood. It's there. That's how we live.
To celebrate the film in true Ripple Effect style, this past Sunday on Juneteenth, Frequency partnered with Oakland producer Drew Banga on his monthly event series, Sunday Service. Together, we honored the Bay's hometown heroes and up-and-coming legends with performances from Guap and Rex Life Rajj and appearances from other notable guests and influencers. Working with Frequency & Spotify was so much fun, said Drew. it was great to be able to do something different in The Bay, showing off the cool side of the Bay Area, and giving people a experience and not just a regular party.
NEXT
Photo credit: Adrian Houston
The legacy that California artists should leave is just authenticity, individuality, honesty in their art, says Victoria Mon t. We all have so many different ideas. We're cut from the same cloth. I feel like if you just take a second to listen to each individual artist, you'll hear so many different nuances. There's a lot of smart, you know, superstars, that could be made right from this soil.
Can't get enough Ripple Effect? Check out the California Music breaking waves on Bay to LA.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
04/12/2025
Lightware, a global specialist in AV connectivity, is looking back on a year defined by new advancements, strong collaboration and continued growth. Across the ...
04/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced a new partnership with Haivision, a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual col...
04/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann Engineering today announced a major milestone in their strategic collaboration, celebrating 20 successful broadband deployme...
04/12/2025
Creative software developer Foundry today announced Mari 7.5, the latest iteration of its artist-friendly paint toolset that can handle large, detailed assets w...
04/12/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at Dreamforce 2025 in San Francisco providing...
04/12/2025
LTN's purpose-built IP video network brings all-movie diginet to over 100 stations and streaming platforms in just three months while eliminating satellite ...
04/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-powered data a...
04/12/2025
The HELM, a global expert in cinematic live broadcast and high-end production workflows, has signed a partnership agreement with Keslow Camera, one of North Ame...
04/12/2025
At ISE 2026, LiveU will showcase its expanded IP-video EcoSystem, enabling broadcasters, sports, production companies and pro-AV professionals to share their st...
04/12/2025
Since the beginning of commercial television, advertising has been a key part of broadcasting. Over the years, the technology for inserting ads into programs ha...
04/12/2025
MUNICH and MILAN Warner Bros. Discovery said HBO Max is expanding into Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein on Jan. 13, 2026, and ...
04/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO AudioShake has launched its first streaming-capable software development kits (SDKs) designed specifically for real-time music detection and copyr...
04/12/2025
NASHVILLE The mobile and REMI production company TNDV has announced that it headed south into Mexico to live-produce the three-day 2025 Zane Grey Championship P...
04/12/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Hollywood Professionals Association Executive Director Phil Kubel has stepped down from the organization to pursue new opportunities, the group ...
04/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission said it has closed 2,048 inactive proceedings, the largest number of dormant dockets ever terminated in a singl...
04/12/2025
A new tech blog from Netflix highlights the importance of the AV1 open video codec, which now powers about 30% of the platform's streaming and discusses a v...
04/12/2025
Developers, researchers, hobbyists and students can take a byte out of holiday s...
04/12/2025
The ninth series of Dancing with the Stars returns to screens in early
2026 and will be proudly sponsored by Hyundai
Filling our Sunday evenings with glitz an...
04/12/2025
GeForce NOW is decking the digital halls with 30 new games to keep spirits high all month long.
Join the fun with Hogwarts Legacy, the LEGO Harry Potter Collec...
04/12/2025
Scientists find cancer weak spot in backup DNA repair system New findings from Scripps Research reveal how certain tumors survive DNA damage and point to a stra...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2025 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2025 is a Single Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-t...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2025 is a Single Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...
03/12/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, Thomson's Young Journalist of the year 2025 is hoping the accolade will be a springboard to more cross-border collaboration between ...
03/12/2025
MLS Cup 2025 Production To Feature Four iPhone 17 Pros as Game-Coverage CamerasStay tuned to SVG on Friday for our in-depth story on this year's MLS Cup pro...
03/12/2025
SVG LIVE! 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYThe inaugural event placed a spotlight on the exciting world of live entertainmentBy SVG Staff
...
03/12/2025
(L-R) Peter Scriver and Seth Scriver introduce their documentary Endless Cookie for its premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City. (Photo by Andrew H. Wa...
03/12/2025
For the fourth time, Bad Bunny is the most-streamed Wrapped artist on Spotify gl...
03/12/2025
The wait is over. It's time to look back at the audio that defined your year with 2025 Spotify Wrapped, our annual celebration for fans, artists, creators, ...
03/12/2025
Por cuarta vez, Bad Bunny es el Top Artista Global de Wrapped en Spotify, con 19...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is back, and as always, it's powered by the billions of streams that fans around the world delivered throughout the year. From the artists w...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is the moment when hundreds of millions of fans around the world...
03/12/2025
With more than 700 million listeners around the world turning to Spotify to soundtrack their lives, it's time to look back at the audio that defined the yea...
03/12/2025
Con m s de 700 millones de oyentes en todo el mundo usando Spotify para acompa ar su d a a d a, es momento de mirar hacia atr s y ver el audio que marc el a o....
03/12/2025
From page-turning thrillers to inspiring memoirs, audiobooks are becoming a core...
03/12/2025
Com mais de 700 milh es de ouvintes em todo o mundo recorrendo ao Spotify para embalar seu dia a dia, chega o momento de revisitar o udio que marcou o ano. Nos...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped celebrates the audio that defined our year, and the annual globa...
03/12/2025
COLUMBIA, Md. Lionsgate and its TV syndicator subsidiary Debmar-Mercury have selected LTN to launch and deliver the new MovieSphereGold all-movie digital networ...
03/12/2025
VIENNA, Austria Video streaming solutions provider Bitmovin and ThinkAnalytics, a provider of AI-powered data analytics for TV, have formed a strategic partners...
03/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO & THE COLONY, Texas Dolby Laboratories is making what it is calling a new chapter in its retail efforts as part of an agreement with NFM (Nebras...
03/12/2025
MONTREAL Grass Valley has delivered a 4K Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) outside broadcast (OB) truck to Guangdong Radio and Television (GRT), in partnership with B...
03/12/2025
Our users spoke and we listened. December's Maxon One release delivers long-awaited improvements across Cinema 4D, Redshift, ZBrush, and Red Giant.
Whether...
03/12/2025
DHD audio reports a successful 2025 with new additions to its range of broadcast-quality audio production, post-production and routing equipment.
DHD innovatio...
03/12/2025
Grass Valley recently delivered a cutting-edge 4K Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) outside broadcast (OB) truck to Guangdong Radio and Television (GRT), in partnersh...
03/12/2025
CINCINNATI GatesAir has introduced Maxiva XTK, an update to its Maxiva XTE software-defined TV exciter. XTK is a new cost-efficient model primarily developed fo...