- Words Notion Staff
Ever wondered how a podcast is made? We went behind the scenes with Who We Be TALKS_, an important part of the new media empowering young Black voices.
Spotify’s Who We Be playlist has become known for collating some of the biggest and best talents in Hip-Hop, Afrobeats, Dancehall and RnB. Exclusive to the platform comes Who We Be TALKS_, a weekly chat with artists featured on the playlist about their music, lives and culture.
Recorded the day before it airs to ensure that the content is as fresh as possible, Who We Be TALKS_ happens on a weekly basis, going live every Tuesday. With two seasons fully available and a third currently underway, the podcast has proven immensely popular – and it’s easy to see why. For a start, the podcast’s millennial hosts Henrie Kwushue and Harry Pinero spark off each other to create a captivating dynamic. Plus, it’s a chance for music lovers to learn about the songs they love first hand from the artists who made them. Previous Who We Be TALKS_ guests have included everyone from NSG, Aitch, Megan Thee Stallion and Tion Wayne to AJ Tracey, Akala, Future, Giggs, Sneakbo and Dave.
We went behind the scenes of the podcast to get some exclusive snaps from a recording session with Darkoo and caught up with Harry and Henrie to learn more.
What do you hope people will get out of the podcast?
Harry: I want this podcast to be the epitome of celebrating Black excellence. A very raw and authentic look at music and life. Artists drop music and never really get to explain their thought processes behind them and Who Be Talks allows them to do so in the most unfiltered way possible.
Henrie: The whole podcast centres around black music and black culture, so we hope to portray the best aspects of that to our listeners; ranging from the light-hearted to the more serious topics. We also use the podcast as a way of celebrating that culture as well as celebrating the music that features in the associated playlist as well (Spotify’s Who We Be playlist). We also invite a different guest every week and we hope that our listeners feel like they’re in the room with friends, rather than listening to an interview; we want it to have a homely feel to it.
Who would you love to have as guest speakers?
Harry: I would love to interview Young Thug, he is one of the most influential artists of our generation. Sitting down with him and finding out his musical processes is my goal!
Henrie: If it were left to me, I would love to have Rihanna on. She’s such an elusive complex character in the public eye but it feels like we know a lot about her already. I would love to talk to her about her move from pop star to mogul and how she doesn’t care about what anyone says!
What is the process for creating the podcast like? How does it all come together?
Henrie: As we record each podcast the day before it goes out, we always make sure that we’re up to date on what’s happening in the world. So, we have a weekly meeting on a Friday where we get together and update each other on all the hot topics of the week – ranging from the bizarre stories on twitter to the more social stories and movements like Black Lives Matter – and we work toward fitting these topics into a structure that suits the podcast. We record the podcast on a Monday which is when we’re joined by a guest. We open the conversation with them on the topics of that week, as well as discussing what’s happening in their life and then on Tuesday, the episode goes up on Spotify.
Harry: As well as deciding what topics from the week make the cut in those Friday meetings, we also listen to new music that drops and choose our big song of the week.
What do you want the podcast to achieve?
Henrie: I hope that Who We Be Talks continues to be a pillar of Black culture and Black music; always being a part of the conversation and where necessary, driving that conversation too. I’m so excited to see how it will grow and thrive.
Harry: For me, I want it to achieve worldwide success so that the people we interview and their stories are shared across the world. Our Black culture is as strong as ever and is growing at a fast rate; Who We Be Talks will be part of that growth.