Billie Was a Black Woman is a four-part podcast series that refracts Black womanhood through the prism of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday - widely considered to be one of the most innovative artists of all time. In partnership with the Lee Daniels film, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, in each episode acclaimed host and writer Rebecca Carroll dives into different facets of Billie’s life and legacy, exploring what it means to defy the narrow categorizations thrust upon Black artists, Black bodies, and Black women today.

The full series will release on April 7, 2021.

Billie Was a Black Woman was produced by Spoke Media in coordination with Paramount Audio.

Jazz legend Billie Holiday meant a lot of things to a lot of people. But at the end of the day, Billie was a Black woman. Academy Award nominated actress and Grammy-award winning singer Andra Day, who plays the iconic songstress in the film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, talks with host Rebecca Carroll about what it was like to inhabit Billie’s universe, the power of her most famous song “Strange Fruit,” and the fullness of her complicated humanity.

In this special encore episode, host Rebecca Carroll looks back on the series, reflecting on the many lessons Billie Holiday left behind during the course of her extraordinary life. Billie’s impact is deep and far-reaching. And so, in celebration of all that she was, Rebecca is also joined by a few friends of the podcast to reflect on the singer’s influence on their own lives: contemporary harpist Brandee Younger, supermodel Naomi Campbell, award-winning author Terry McMillan, and The United States vs. Billie Holiday director Lee Daniels.