Black women have always been at the forefront of diversifying mainstream spaces for our community, and the women of the newly-launched platform, The Joe Budden Network, are no different as they strive to amplify more Black women in media.
As co-hosts of the See, The Thing Is… podcast, singer Bridget Kelly, popular podcaster, Mandii B, and DJ Olivia Dope have integrated themselves as part of the growing legacy that The Joe Budden Network is working to be for Black media personalities.
In an effort to expand the network’s reach, Joe Budden and his team unveiled the women-led podcast last month as part of its plan to give these women a place to speak their minds in the digital space.
On their show — which premiered earlier this month — the ladies discuss all things pop culture, music, media, and real-life through the transparent lens of millennial Black women.
As a newcomer to the podcast world, Kelly shared that Budden’s formula for navigating the media and entertainment industry as a former music artist turned leading figure for Black media personalities helped lead her toward a similar career path.
“Coming [into the podcast space] and having the respect, partnership, and co-sign of someone like Joe Budden makes [See, The Thing Is…] want to maintain that same level of output and professionalism,” she said.
She revealed that the show came together quickly from a conversation had over the summer in the midst of Joe’s renegotiation talks with Spotify, who he recently departed with to pursue his own independent podcast venture.
In this day and age, where it’s crucial that we raise up the voices of Black women, Budden’s network is leading the charge for other podcasting platforms and giving Black women a place to be their unapologetic selves.
The purpose of jumpstarting the See, The Thing Is… podcast was to not only be a launching pad for women in media, but also reflect a model of what The Joe Budden Podcast has grown to be.
As one of the first shows to roll out on The Joe Budden Network, the podcast is more geared toward women divulging their unpopular opinions about current events and serious topics such as women’s health, relationship issues, politics, and more.
“It’s exciting, but a bit nerve-wracking as women of color who are coming into the [podcast] conversation in front of Joe’s audience, which is primarily male,” Kelly said. “They’re seeking a different type of content than the perspectives that we as women bring to the table, so we thought it could go either way – this could be incredibly successful combining our audiences together or everybody could hate it.”
Despite this conclusion from Kelly, the show has garnered more than 200,000 views on YouTube within four days of its premiere and only three episodes into the show.
As the podcast world continues to expand and bring in more new voices, See, The Thing Is… is working to carry the torch for women in media to follow suit.
“The main objective for us and what we try to be intentional about is accepting and reinforcing the idea that there’s room for everybody,” Kelly said. “It’s important for us as women to continue to push the narrative that there’s room for multiple facets, opinions, and sources of information from Black women.”
As described by Kelly as the “Destiny’s Child” of the podcast world, the trio is shaping a more level playing field for Black women and women, in general, to be accepting of this space.
“The key point for us is embracing who we are, but also encouraging other women who want to exist and succeed in this space,” she said.
“Everything that we’re doing with each other and how we’re building our friendships is being showcased on the podcast,” Kelly shared in regards to working with Mandii and Olivia.”We have very different personalities and opinions, but I think that’s what makes us so special.”
The goal for “See, The Thing Is…” is to reach women who share similar lifestyles as the shows’ co-hosts and create a dialogue around topics people deem as taboo.
“We’re all trying to rise above family and society’s expectations of being at a certain point in life,” Kelly said. “We want to continue to spread the word that that’s not a thing and speak for those women as well.”
New episodes of See, The Thing Is… premiere every Tuesday.
For more updates on the podcast, click here.
Editorial Note: This article has been updated since being published.
