Government Plants: From CIA Jazz to Today

Government Plants: From CIA Jazz to Today

July 4, 2026 · 6 min

About this episode

The episode explores the historical and modern use of artists for government influence, particularly through jazz and sponsorships.

📩 Join the R&R newsletter: https://open.substack.com/pub/rhythmandrhymes 🎧 Listen everywhere: https://linktr.ee/RealRandR If the State Department once used jazz musicians to sell American values abroad, who's doing that work today? AJ and Antonio play a game of "who's a plant" — Live Nation, the Saudi comedy shows, artists who go big in regions where America wants cultural reach — and get into how modern influence might run through sponsorships and shell companies that the artists themselves don't even know about. R&R is Modern Radio for global black sounds.

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