Podcasts and Social Media Broadcasts are transforming into the new Talk Show norm. Digital based programs are making waves in the media space and the focus is on more than gossip and entertainment news.
Tackling social issues like Prison Reform and Systemic Racism are just the tip of an iceberg that’s spanning into the political space and having a major impact on the way their subscribers, specifically those in the African American space, view politics.
With results of the 2020 election still in the process of being certified, the question of these influencers impact on the political landscape is one that should be considered. Seemingly more powerful than the ridiculously transparent last ditch effort of some politicians to gain the black vote by shaking hands and posting pictures with rappers at the eleventh hour.
Hosts like Jason Lee of Hollywood Unlocked with Jason Lee [Uncensored] and The Breakfast Club‘s Charlamagne Tha God are intertwining meaningful conversations with politicians and activists into their platforms, which are traditionally known for unfiltered talks with the entertainment elite.
Black Media Matters – And Jason Lee Is Proving It
Lee found extreme popularity as a reoccurring guest on VH1’s Love and Hip Hop Hollywood and was able to transition that success into a five-season run on Nick Cannon’s improv show Wild ‘N Out. With a new base of fans and a healthy following, Lee expanded his existing platform at Hollywood Unlocked into a media power house and introduced fans to the rebranded hit series Hollywood Unlocked with Jason Lee [Uncensored]. The podcast, co-hosted by DJ Damage and Blue Telusma, is now available on Fox Soul and airs weekends via his nationally syndicated radio show on iHeart.
During an interview with Congresswoman Maxine Waters in June, Lee had an in-depth conversation about combating the presence of racism in our current administration. When asked how we can work with Congress to fight against it, Waters responds saying, “You can’t change the President, he’s a racist . . . You have too much of that. So it has to be that you’re going to do the work.” An extraordinarily powerful interview that can not be summed up in one sound bite. But the strength of words shared with an expansive base of viewers during an election year should have garnered more attention from the opposition.
In Lee’s home town of Stockton, CA. the 2020 Mayoral race between Incumbent Michael Tubbs and Moderate Republican Kevin Lincoln was extremely close. Lincoln held on to a slit lead with a multitude of factors at play. While a push from Lee across multiple media outlets and his social platforms may not have been the only factor in deciding the race, it undoubtedly helped push Lincoln across the finish line where he ultimately unseated Tubbs.
Political leaders who see the power in working with black influencers in the media space like Lee, are proving to understand the important role these voices play in shaping the conversation.
Charlamagne Tha God And The Black Effect
As the world braced for an announcement in the presidential election between President Donald Trump and now President Elect Joe Biden, results began to reflect a massive turnout to the polls. Biden and running mate Kamala Harris received a record breaking number of votes totaling more than 81,000,000. A number never before achieved in a presidential election.
Charlamagne Tha God, host of the wildly successful podcast The Breakfast Club, with co-hosts Anglea Yee and DJ Envy, has locked in a deal with his partners at iHeartMedia and launched the Black Effect Podcast Network further demonstrating the vast reach and value of these platforms.
Charlamagne spoke one-on-one with Biden during his campaign run which sparked wide spread conversation after a sound bite went viral. Biden was briefly under fire for his controversial statement during the interview where he said, “If you have a problem figuring out if you’re for me or for Trump, then you ain’t black.”
The statement, taken by many as a misguided democratic view of owning the black vote without earned behavior, did not fair well. Black communities across the country were in real time dealing with the physical, mental and economic effects of the COVID 19 pandemic in addition to a global outcry for social justice after the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
The awareness of the Biden campaign to repair this misstep was key. Their subsequent understanding of the value in reaching the African American base through outlets that speak directly to them in their language proved successful.
As political journalists like Angela Rye, Brian Tyler Cohen and the team of Pod Save America continue to inform the already politically savvy, journalist like Jason Lee and Charlamagne Tha God are tapping into a new base of political thinkers. They have begun the work of shaping the conversation with a new wave of politically minded listeners who may have once been discounted as non-voters.
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