Michelle Obama is using the success of her new podcast to help uplift Black music and Black artists.
According to Elite Daily, Obama shared her Spotify playlist, “Vol 1: The Michelle Obama Playlist,” on Friday via her Twitter account to rave reviews.
"Excited to share with you a new @Spotify playlist inspired by the first season of my new podcast," she wrote. "It's filled with incredible new artists and a whole lot of #BlackGirlMagic. I hope you'll give it a listen."
Excited to share with you a new @Spotify playlist inspired by the first season of my new podcast. It's filled with incredible new artists and a whole lot of #BlackGirlMagic. I hope you'll give it a listen. #MichelleObamaPodcast
https://t.co/jsJS30UVqp
pic.twitter.com/b1QeAwHe99— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) August 7, 2020
What has resonated well with fans of The Michelle Obama Podcast is that its episodes are intentional about matching music to its content. Since its launch on July 29, the podcast has featured songs from SiR, Beyoncé, Chloe X Halle, Teyana Taylor, H.E.R. and other Black musicians. In the debut episode, Obama played singer Mereba’s “Black Truck,” a song about having found success, prior to her conversation with her husband, Barack, about prioritizing community even after you've achieved affluence.
On August 5, the Chicago native shared that she was struggling with a form of “low-grade depression” on the second episode of her podcast that featured former NPR host Michele Norris.
As Blavity previously reported, Obama said she, like many Americans, has grown tired of seeing Black bodies being disrespected and has become weary of the hypocrisy of the federal government.
"Spiritually, these are not, they are not fulfilling times,” she said. “I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression. Not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it, day in and day out, is dispiriting.”
In a subsequent Instagram post, Obama wrote that she was doing fine and that she’s more concerned for first responders, essential workers, students, teachers and parents during this time. She encouraged her followers to take time to reflect on all that is going on.
“The idea that what this country is going through shouldn’t have any effect on us—that we all should just feel OK all the time—that just doesn’t feel real to me. So I hope you all are allowing yourselves to feel whatever it is you’re feeling. I hope you’re listening to yourselves and taking a moment to reflect on everything that’s coming at us, and what you might be able to do about it,” Obama wrote over the weekend.
President Barack Obama was honored as his wife’s first guest on the podcast, where they talked about how they fell in love and how they stay in love. Elite Daily reports that the former first lady announced that her future guests include Conan O’Brien, Valerie Jarrett and members of her family.
