Talib Kweli, yasiin bey, and Dave Chappelle Launch The Midnight Miracle Podcast on Luminary
Luminary Original The Midnight Miracle Features Salon Style Conversation with Kweli, bey, Chappelle, and Guests from Among the Country’s Most Influential Cultural Icons
New York, NY, May 11, 2021 - Luminary, a subscription podcast network, announced today the launch of The Midnight Miracle, a salon style show that releases its first two episodes today. The Midnight Miracle is created and hosted by Talib Kweli, yasiin bey, and Dave Chappelle, and features guests from among the country’s most influential cultural icons. The show was recorded in Ohio in the summer of 2020, and provides a glimpse into a very interesting season in the lives of the hosts and their friends.
Episode One and Two of The Midnight Miracle dropped today. Episode One is available to all listeners for free on the Luminary app, across social media channels – including Instagram and YouTube – and on Apple Podcasts. Episode Two and all subsequent episodes of the show will be available only to Luminary subscribers on the Luminary app. For subscription information, visit luminarypodcasts.com. The Midnight Miracle will also be available to Luminary channel subscribers on Apple Podcasts when the platform launches its subscription offering later this month, and it will be released for purchase on vinyl.
Episode One: “How to Inspire”
“How do you keep a despondent person alive?”— Dave Chappelle
The episode includes audio clips featuring Robin Williams and Richard Pryor, and music from Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, Robert Glasper, The Roots, and Stevie Wonder.
Featured guests in order of appearance include Radio Rahim, Mo Amer, Chris Rock, Donnell Rawlings, Jarobi White, and Questlove.
Episode Two: “Gladiator Circus World”
"It's a gladiator f**king circus.” — yasiin bey
Kweli and bey’s hip hop duo Black Star premier new original music in this episode, which is their first new composition in more than 20 years.
The episode includes audio clips from Alex Jones, Donald Trump, and Rush Limbaugh.
Featured guests in order of appearance include Questlove, Radio Rahim, Lamorne Morris, and Jon Hamm.
“Making a podcast isn’t the obvious next move for me, but it’s the right one. The Midnight Miracle gives you a look into how me and my friends process the world around us, and I think it will change the way listeners think of what a podcast can be,” said Chappelle.
The Midnight Miracle was recorded during Chappelle’s legendary 2020 Summer Camp. Listeners get the sense they’re sitting in on conversations among friends in a clubhouse. In the variety show tradition, the conversations are punctuated with sketches, impersonations, archival audio clips, and a powerful soundtrack that includes music from Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, Charlie Parker, D’Angelo, Dizzy Gillespie, Heatwave, Nina Simone, Robert Glasper, The Roots, Sada Baby, Stevie Wonder, and Thelonious Monk.
Kweli, bey, and Chappelle meticulously edited more than 100 hours of recorded content to make The Midnight Miracle in partnership with SALT. A single season is planned, with new episodes starting today and continuing throughout the year, with a summer hiatus.
Kenzi Wilbur, Luminary Head of Development and Miles Hodges, Luminary Head of Acquisitions have led Luminary’s efforts to bring this outstanding programming to fruition.
About Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television and film producer, and actor. Recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time, Chappelle was awarded the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2019. Chappelle’s work in stand-up comedy, writing, producing, and acting has earned him more than 30 nominations and awards in television and film for projects that include his groundbreaking sketch comedy television series, Chappelle’s Show, guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, and his comedy specials, most recently earning his third and fourth Emmy Awards for Sticks & Stones in 2020. In audio content, Chappelle has won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album three years in a row, 2018 through 2020. In 2017, Netflix cited Dave Chappelle: Collection 1 as the most-viewed comedy special ever on their network.
About yasiin bey
yasiin bey is an American born international multi-media artist. bey began his musical career in 1994 and performed with Talib Kweli for the seminal hip hop album Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star. In 1999 he released his solo debut album Black on Both Sides which was #1 on the Billboard Top Rap Album chart. Since then, he has been nominated for 6 Grammy Awards for his musical performances and has performed with such artists as Kanye West, The Gorillaz, The Roots and Robert Glasper. Having acted on the Lincoln Center Theater stage in A Free Man of Color, as well as at The Public Theater in F*cking A, for which he received an Obie Award, bey appeared in Topdog/Underdog on Broadway which garnered him a Tony nomination. During his film and television acting career he has appeared in numerous films and television programs including Dexter, Life of Crime, 16 Blocks, Monster’s Ball, The Italian Job, Be Kind Rewind, and Cadillac Records. In 2019 as a mixed-media artist his work Negus was staged at Art Basel Hong Kong, at the private gallery of artist Hassan Hajjaj during 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech, Morocco, and made its American premiere at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Negus has just concluded a presentation in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the Third Line Art Gallery.
About Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli, a Brooklyn-based MC, is one of the most lyrically-gifted, socially aware, and politically insightful rappers to emerge in the last 20 years. Kweli has recorded with producer Hi-Tek as the duo Reflection Eternal, released landmark solo material, and collaborated with Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and more. Kweli founded Javotti Media in 2011, a platform for independent thinkers and doers in music, films and books. In 2019, in partnership with UPROXX, he launched People’s Party with Talib Kweli, a podcast where he explores hip hop culture and politics with thought-provoking guests like Lamar Odom, Don Cheadle, Lil’ Kim, Dax Shepard, Jemele Hill, Ice Cube, Perry Farrell, and Michael Rapaport. And in 2021, Kweli released Vibrate Higher, a book that illuminates Kweli's upbringing and artistic success, and discusses the power of hip hop as a political force.
About Black Star
Together, yasiin bey and Talib Kweli are known as Black Star - the seminal hip-hop duo from New York City who changed music forever in 1998 with their self-titled album Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star.
About SALT
SALT is an audio first media company that creates exceptional experiences with the world’s leading artists, studios, and talent. What began with award winning and genre-defining work in audio fiction has quickly grown into SALT becoming the pre-eminent one stop partner for creating outstanding audio storytelling and brands. More than a podcast company, SALT stays true to its name helping everything taste just a little bit more like itself. Founded by partners Jamie Schefman, Noah Gersh, and Nick Panama, whose shared wealth of experience in music built the foundation of the company, SALT successes include Blackout, Carrier, The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon, Hit Job, and most recently The Midnight Miracle.
About Luminary
Luminary is a subscription podcast network with an award-winning lineup of original shows you won’t find anywhere else. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to the full collection of Luminary Original Podcasts, featuring celebrated creators, diverse voices, and important stories told through a new lens. You can find Luminary’s original content via the Luminary app, available on iOS, Android, the web. It will be available on the Luminary channel on Apple Podcasts when its new subscription platform debuts worldwide later this month.
Luminary was founded by Matt Sacks in 2018 with backing from NEA, a global venture capital fund. Driven by a love for podcasts, Luminary is elevating the podcasting experience for both listeners and creators.
Luminary offers all listeners a seven-day free trial. After the free trial, the annual subscription is $34.99, or the equivalent of about $2.99 per month. Luminary also offers a monthly subscription for $4.99 which will increase to $5.99 for new subscribers concurrent with the launch of Luminary’s subscription channel on Apple. International pricing is similar to US pricing, with annual and monthly plans available in each territory.
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