About this episode

Dr. Joy discusses the impact of Black music with industry veterans Shanti Das and Ivie Ani.

In honor of Black Music Month, Dr. Joy sits down with two women who experienced twenty years of Black music from opposite sides of the industry. Shanti Das spent over 25 years as a marketing executive at labels like LaFace and Universal Motown, working with artists from OutKast to Prince, before founding the mental health nonprofit Silence the Shame. Ivie Ani came of age alongside the music itself — a Bronx-raised teenager replaying The Beyoncé Experience on YouTube who grew into an award-winning journalist covering music and culture for The New York Times, Pitchfork, Okayplayer, and beyond. Together they trace the road from new music Tuesdays and 106 & Park to streaming, playlist culture, and fan communities millions deep. They revisit the albums that defined two eras — B'Day, In My Mind, Lemonade, Anti — and consider why 2016 feels like the last time we all listened together. The conversation turns to what emotional transparency costs Black women artists, how Rihanna became the blueprint for a new kind of superstar, and why the future of Black music may be taking shape in Lagos and Johannesburg as much as Atlanta and New York. About the Podcast The…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Joy Harden Bradford

Guests: Shanti Das, Ivie Ani

Topics covered

• Black music
• music industry
• emotional transparency
• Black women artists
• streaming culture
• music history

Keywords

• Black Music Month
• music industry
• albums
• emotional transparency
• Rihanna
• streaming
• fan communities

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Silence the Shame, LaFace, Universal Motown

Books & works: B'Day, In My Mind, Lemonade, Anti

Places: Bronx, Lagos, Johannesburg, Atlanta, New York

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