What do you get when you get five hilariously funny black girls who all share Hot 97 work experience in a room with five different personalities, and five different life experiences? You get the Black Girl Podcast.
The Black Girl Podcast is a new audio series available for download on iTunes and was created by Scottie Beam (Digital producer for Ebro In The Morning), Gia Peppers (entertainment journalist/on-air host), Sapphira Martin (Chief curator at SassBoxx), Bex (Video production coordinator at Hot 97), and Alysha P. (Hot 97 video producer) who all met while crossing paths in the hallways of Hot 97.
The ladies just so happened to be discussing relationships in the lobby of the station one day when, Program Director and morning show host, Ebro Darden passed by and decided to Snapchat a video that said, "This is what it looks like to be in a room full of black women. This should be a black girl podcast."
A light bulb went off and the five ambitious women stepped into the studio for their first show shortly afterwards. Each week, subscribers can expect conversation topics that include everything from the presidency and heartbreak to goal-setting and whether or not Beyonce's Lemonade was really a good album.
With only a few episodes and a new president stepping into the office, we need the black girl podcast to win for the culture for a list of reasons:
To Remind Us To Follow Our Dreams
One of the podcast's hosts proudly announced that she was quitting her job to jump into full-time entrepreneurship. Some of the ladies celebrated, while others paused because they realized that this would mean that their five person crew would no longer be a five person crew. The response was a classic black girl response, but it also reminded us that sometimes you have to follow your dreams even if that means leaving your comfort zone and friends behind.
"It's about having balance...It's about knowing who to call and what friend to go to for certain advice. You have to realize it's about the journey, and (in) five years you are going to look back and say, 'I'm so happy it went like that.'"
- Alysha P.
To Encourage Us
In episode two, our new favorite podcast hosts delved into the question of if it is okay to share your dreams with others. While the opinion was split half and half, Gia Peppers response empowered us all by reminding us that if we don't share our dreams with others how will we ever be able to find people who can help us?
Church!!
To Remind Us of Why We're Magical
Listening to one episode of the Black Girl Podcast will probably have you laughing hysterically and also have you wondering which hosts closely align with you and your friends. While each woman represents a very distinct personality, the way the girls mesh together so effortlessly reminds us why black girls are so magical.
"We are here to dispel the stereotypes of what a black girl or black woman is. There are a lot of stereotypes but then there are also these great moments when people come together and we support each other. Black women need to support each other, be uplifting, and have intelligent conversations, so HERE WE ARE!"
- Gia Peppers
To Uplift Us
We have all gone through that moment in life where we have reflected on our life experiences and realized we are nowhere close to the place we had envisioned we would be by now. While coming to this realization can be depressing, the black girl podcast crew reminded us in episode one that we are exactly where we need to be and that we need to stop comparing our lives with someone else's highlight reel.
To Show Us The REAL Journey to Success
The thing that I loved most about the Black Girl Podcast is that prior to listening, I, like many others, felt each woman on the podcast had “arrived" in their careers when based on their discussion, they are just touching the tip of iceberg. Which reminds us all that everyone has a journey and success is never handed to you, it is earned.
Wishing much success to these five young ladies!
Never miss an episode by subscribing to the Black Girl Podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud or follow the girls on Instagram: Black Girl Pod
Have you had the chance to listen to the black girl podcast? Leave your comments below.
