AMAZON EXPLORES THE INFLUENCE OF BLACK MUSIC

Amazon Music’s Black History Month celebrations include a new weekly Twitch series, playlists, podcasts and two Amazon Original songs.

Beginning Friday at 2pm PT/5pm ET on the Amazon Music Twitch channel, Wayno will engage in conversations with performers who've redefined Black artistry.

Amazon Music’s Black History Month content will also include the Invisible Blackness podcast from Adrian Younge, which will document the development and evolution of racism in America. It starts Thursday.

Tuesday’s edition of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums podcast will focus on the legacy of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, featuring archival interviews with Gaye and new interviews with Marvin’s sister Zeola Gaye, Aaron Neville, Smokey Robinson and Gaye biographer David Ritz.

Amazon Music’s global catalog brand, [RE]DISCOVER, will unveil a new series of playlists every Tuesday in February. Among the artists featured will be Sam Cooke, Sly & the Family Stone and Janet Jackson.

Debuting on Friday, new playlist PRSM will focus on artists bending genres and defying expectations like Thundercat, Sault and Arlo Parks.

Mickey Guyton will cover Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy” for Amazon Original songs, and Blxst will release a new track for the series as well.

“The stories and sounds across America's Black music landscape have contributed heavily to American culture and directly inform today's popular music, from hip-hop to dance, pop and more,” said Rochelle Balogun, Senior Music Curator at Amazon Music. “This February, we’re excited to showcase a range of incredible creators from whom our Amazon Music customers may learn more about the enduring influence of Black music.”