5 Spotify Playlists From Yo! to You (COVID-19 Edition)

Phew. To say that the past couple months have been an emotional roller coaster feels like an understatement.

In an attempt to navigate the chaos, I’ve tried to heed the common advice of being more intentional and mindful during this “unprecedented time” by incorporating practices like regular walks, prayer/meditation, work day boundaries, feeble attempts to stop scrolling through social media/news, and scheduled calls/distanced meetups with loved ones. The frequency of some of those practices is newer to my routine, but what I’ve found to provide a sense of grounding has actually been running in the background of my day to day for a long time now: music.

A little bit about me before we start - on the wide spectrum of ways people consume music, I fall into the category of “there’s always something playing.” I’ll most likely be yelling, “Hey Google, play music,” to the Google Home Mini in my kitchen or walking to my vinyl player to flip a record to the second side. Since I’ve loved having these sounds fill my day to day, I wanted to share some playlists with you all (while also fulfilling some of my own personal DJ dreams).

Without further ado, here’s a curated list of some of the themes/moods that have gotten me through sheltering in place, engaging with the fight for racial justice, and beyond. Click on any of the playlist images to take you to Spotify and feel free to save any of the playlists to your library if you enjoy them. Happy listening!

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Click the above playlist photo for some smooth jazz, soul, and funk. (Also hi mom - this is an homage to you and how much I've grown to love this era of music).

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Click the above playlist for some lo-fi beats to listen in the background of your work, studying, reading, etc. (I'm not normally a lo-fi fan, but I've had this on repeat to help my highly extroverted and distracted brain during work).

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Click above if you need a break from productive podcasts/audiobooks. I put this together with my own walks in mind - shout out to LA for mild weather and great outdoor options!

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Click above to be inspired by some incredible Black artists as we celebrate Black communities. This playlist could theoretically last three whole days, but this is an excellent mix to start.

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Click above to help soothe some of the looming end-of-the-weekend sadness. Time feels like a strange thing these days, but this mix will put a pep in your step regardless of what day you think it is.