Canadian Podcast AMPLIFY Aims To Uplift Black Voices In The Music Industry

A Canadian podcast dedicated to uplifting Black voices within the music business has released its second season. AMPLIFY, produced by Canadian Black Music Business Collective, ADVANCE, aims to educate and inspire underrepresented music workers navigating the entertainment and music industry.

ADVANCE was launched in 2020 by founders Vivian Barclay, Craig Mannix and Miro Oballa. As Black professionals in the music business, their goal was to create a space to increase Black presence in the industry. AMPLIFY is a product of this push for change.

Season 2 features interviews with people like artist Jully Black, Canada’s Drag Race choreographer and artistic director Hollywood Jade and Grammy nominated-producer LordQuest, as well as a number of Black executives from record labels and ADVANCE. Originally launched in 2022, the podcast’s second season will explore the teachings of guests and navigating the music industry by providing mentorship to aspiring Black Canadians.

This season aims to widen the scope from its first set of episodes. Media personality Jesse Jones makes her return as narrator, while TV host Marieme Ndlaye will narrate two episodes in French that explore stories and experiences from a francophone lens within Canadian music.

“Offering conversations with an even more diverse lineup of guests with unique journeys, and expanding the conversations surrounding success, season two advances AMPLIFY's goal of being an accessible resource in our community with universal truths that all people can benefit from,” says Jones in a press release.

“It’s important for us as a part of the quilt of hip-hop, to understand we’re laying in the pages of history,” says Jully Black in episode one, which debuted on Oct. 5. “The next is now.”

First Steps, Big Dreams | AMPLIFY by ADVANCE Season 2 Episode 1

Amplify is currently airing on YouTube. Full audio episodes will come out Nov. 24 on all major podcast platforms.