Cartoon Network’s nightly offshoot, Adult Swim, has always embraced Hip Hop in some capacity, even going so far as to help set in motion the creation of Run The Jewels. No initiative from the network supports the cause more than its Adult Swim Singles Program.
This year, the program plans to run for 52 consecutive weeks and feature music from notable artists such as Run The Jewels (naturally), Migos, Oddisee Thundercat, Maxo Kream, Shabazz Palaces and Zaytoven.
The first single from the project comes in the form of Zaytoven’s “Pose To” featuring Bankroll Fresh, Yung LA and Twista.
Seven years since the program’s start, nearly 16 million Soundcloud streams have been generated with music from artist like Ghostface Killa, Future, Rae Sremmurd and Vince Staples.
In an interview with Verge, Adult Swim’s creative director Jason DeMarco spoke on the program’s uniqueness.
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“We’re kind of an outlier in that TV networks and licensing are one of the only remaining important revenue streams to artists,” DeMarco said. “So in that way, we’re like a TV network because we’re licensing music for a purpose. But we’re unlike a TV network in that we’re not licensing these tracks to use in commercials, we’re just doing a music program, which most TV networks don’t do. So we kind of stick out in that ecosystem because we’re doing something no one else does.
“I don’t know why they don’t do it,” he continued. “Maybe they don’t want to or maybe no one is motivated enough to do it. But it’s been seven years, no one else is doing it, and I get the feeling that no one else is going to. But Adult Swim is a small and idiosyncratic network, and someone like me who loves music is empowered to do this thing that’s not a direct and obvious revenue driver, whereas someone at Viacom might not have that support.”
Bump “Pose To” above.
