WMX, Warner Music Group’s artist services, media and creative content division, is set to launch a visual podcast series exploring the legendary final album of The Notorious B.I.G.
The series, entitled Iconic Records: Life After Death, launched this week on The Roku Channel, hosted by radio personality Angie Martinez. It will premiere on Roku’s new WMX Hip-Hop channel (Ch. 1137).
Viewers can also watch the visual podcast on The Notorious B.I.G’s YouTube Channel, and listeners can stream the podcast on all major audio podcast platforms beginning May 1.
Martinez will be joined by hip hop artists who took part in the creation of, or were influenced by Biggie’s 11x-platinum double-LP magnum opus.
Guests in the eight-episode podcast include Lil Cease, Fat Joe, Pusha T, Rick Ross, and Too $hort and other surprise appearances.
The podcast will focus on Life After Death (1997), Biggie’s final album. Martinez and her guests will be discussing the making of the album and explore its cultural impact.
“It’s an honor to host the first-ever season of Iconic Records. Biggie was, and still is, one of the most important artists of our lifetime and Life After Death is a masterpiece,” said Martinez.
“To collaborate with WMX on this series has been an incredible experience. It’s especially meaningful as we also pay homage to 50 years of hip hop and how it’s changed the course of history.”
Martinez, a Radio Hall of Famer, has almost 25 years of radio experience and has interviewed various artists and icons like Michelle Obama and Taraji P. Henson.
Martinez is also a New York Times best-selling author, actress, television host, and Grammy-nominated recording artist. Last year, she launched her hit podcast, IRL with Angie Martinez. Martinez is the executive producer of The Notorious B.I.G. podcast series, alongside WMX’s Kevin Hofman.
The series is directed by Bonsu Thompson, in collaboration with the Estate of Christopher Wallace.
Wayne Barrow, manager of The Notorious B.I.G., said: “The Notorious B.I.G. is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. His work has been examined and reviewed before, but this series provides new stories and firsthand accounts by the people that were there. It’s something special.”
Ben Blank, President, Media & Creative Content, WMX, added: “We’re excited to be able to share stories about the albums that have shaped entire generations so profoundly – beginning with Biggie’s Life After Death.”
“The launch of Iconic Records embraces the huge appetite and need for unique content tailored for genre-specific audiences. WMX lives at a crossroads where artists, content, and experiences converge to reach music fans where they are, and this exciting series is the first of many forums in which we will continue to tell the stories about the art that shapes and inspires our culture.”
The Notorious B.I.G.’s birthday and anniversary milestone was recently celebrated via campaign featured box sets, live events (including an Empire State lighting ceremony), and a collaboration with Atlantic artist Ty Dolla $ign for the single G.O.A.T. It was organized by the team of Kevin Gore, President of Global Catalog at Warner Music Group.
Biggie’s visual podcast on Roku follows WMX’s partnership with Roku in December, marking WMX’s expansion into the connected-TV space.
The launch of Biggie’s visual podcast comes amid the increasing popularity of podcasts. Spotify, the world’s most dominant music streaming app, has invested heavily in its podcast business.
Spotify recently launched a new tool to let radio broadcasters turn their audio content into on-demand podcast content.
In 2020, Spotify launched creator-made video podcasts globally for free and Premium users.
“Many podcast fans love watching their favorite podcasts as much as they enjoy listening to them… Through these visuals, fans can get to know their favorite podcast hosts even better, and creators can more deeply connect with their audiences,” Spotify said at the time.
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