Warner Music Group’s WMX division has created a new podcast series called Iconic Records that looks in depth at, of course, iconic records. The first in the series is a deep dive into 1997’s Life After Death, the final album by late rapper Notorious BIG.
It is no small undertaking and will unfold over eight weekly episodes. In each one, host Angie Martinez will be joined by people involved in, or influenced by, the album. Confirmed guests include Lil’ Cease, Fat Joe, Pusha T, Rick Ross and Too $hort. There is also the promise of surprise guests as the series runs.
As it is a “visual podcast” (or, as they used to be called, a documentary), each episode will debut on the new WMX Hip-Hop channel on Roku. They will also be made available on the official Notorious BIG YouTube channel. Audio versions will also be on the major podcast platforms.
“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.”
Ben Blank, president of media & creative content at WMX added, “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.”
When we say “deep dive”, we mean it. The first episode is 47 minutes long while episode 2 is 53 minutes.
They are mostly one-on-one interviews shot in a studio so that it works when stripped back to just the audio. It does not have the expense of licensing and incorporating archival footage, but what it does have to its advantage is the generation of hours of fresh interviews that look at the album’s creation and impact from multiple angles.
It is an interesting way to bring new tools to catalogue marketing departments, sitting somewhere between a podcast and a Netflix-style long-form documentary series.
