Tracy Clayton

Tracy Clayton (born April 29, 1982)[1] is an American writer whose work has been recognized by Fast Company, Ebony, and The Root, who described her as "a superstar” who “writes big, funny things." She served as the co-host of the BuzzFeed podcast Another Round, which has been on hiatus since 2017. Clayton left BuzzFeed in September 2018 amid company-wide downsizing. She hosts the Netflix podcast Strong Black Legends, for which she interviews African Americans in the entertainment industry about their craft.[2][3] Clayton and Josh Gwynn co-host Pineapple Street Studio podcast “Back Issue” which reminisces on how moments in pop culture's past have shaped our present.[4][5]

Tracy Clayton
Born (1982-04-29) April 29, 1982
NationalityAmerican
EducationTransylvania University
Occupation(s)Writer, podcaster
EmployerNetflix
Known forAnother Round podcast

Early life

Clayton was raised in Louisville, Kentucky[6] and received her bachelor's degree from Transylvania University in Lexington.[7]

Career

Before joining BuzzFeed full-time in 2014, Clayton wrote for Madame Noire, Uptown Magazine, The Urban Daily, PostBourgie[8] and The Root. She developed the popular Tumblr, "Little Known Black History Facts", now a feature on Another Round.[9]

She was named the Ida B. Wells Media Expert-in-Residence at Wake Forest University's Anna Julia Cooper Center from 2016 to 2017.[10]

Another Round
Main article: Another Round (podcast)

Clayton and her co-worker Heben Nigatu launched the first episode of Another Round, produced by BuzzFeed, on March 25, 2015. The show received positive critical acclaim. The A.V. Club described Clayton and Nigatu as "passionate and sharp in their distinct points of view."[11] It was named to "Best of 2015" lists by iTunes,[12] Slate,[13] Vulture,[14] and The Atlantic.[15]

An Okayplayer profile said, "known all over the digital world as one of the sharpest voices in the podcast game as well as Black Twitter, Tracy Clayton is consistently one of the smartest people in whatever room she occupies."[16][17] Elle praised Clayton and co-host Heben Nigatu's ability to "serve up a blend of humor, politics, and frank observation that not even the most deft hosts can seem to replicate." Clayton made headlines in the fall when she pressed then-Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to address the crime bill her husband passed as president: '[D]o you ever look at the state of black America and think, 'wow, we really fucked this up for black people?' "[18][11] The Guardian praised their work as "witty, irreverent, intelligent."[19] Also writing for The Guardian, critic Sasha Frere-Jones called Clayton and Nigatu "leading American cultural critics."[20]

Clayton announced she had been laid off by BuzzFeed on September 19, 2018, along with most of the other staffers who had worked on BuzzFeed's original podcasts.[3]

Post-BuzzFeed

On February 11, 2019, Netflix's Strong Black Lead initiative announced it was launching a new podcast featuring interviews with legendary Black members of Hollywood, called Strong Black Legends, to be hosted by Clayton. The first podcast premiered on February 12, 2019, and Lynn Whitfield was the guest.[3]

Clayton also hosts the interview podcast Going Through It launched by Mailchimp in July 2020, featuring 14 prominent Black women.[21]

In August 2020, Back Issue debuted, a podcast hosted by Clayton and Josh Gwynn.[22] Back Issue is produced by Pineapple Street Studios and looks back at formative moments in pop culture. Clayton and Gwynn formerly worked together on the Netflix podcast, Strong Black Legends.[23]

Awards

Personal life

As of at least March 2017, Clayton lives in Brooklyn.[27]

References
  1. Tracy Clayton [@brokeymcpoverty] (29 April 2023). "GOOD MORNING ITS MY BIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! I MADE IT TO 41" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Anderson, Tara (28 June 2016). "Interview: Buzzfeed's Tracy Clayton On Ali, Race And Louisville". Louisville, Kentucky: WFPL. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  3. Osberg, Molly (26 September 2018). "Leaked Audio: BuzzFeed Executives Talk Diversity and Layoffs at Recent All-Hands Meeting". Splinter. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. Gwynn, Josh. "Pineapple Street Studios: Back Issue Podcaat". Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  6. Sonka, Joe (24 December 2013). "2013 People Issue: Tracy Clayton". LEO Weekly. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  7. Burris, Sarah K. (28 April 2017). "Buzzfeed writer horrified to learn that Kentucky machete attacker was her online troll". Raw Story. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  8. Staff. "Tracy Clayton". Mavenly + Co. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  9. "Louisville's Tracy Clayton (aka Brokey McPoverty) heads off to BuzzFeed in NYC - Insider Louisville". Insider Louisville. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  10. Young, Yolanda (5 September 2016). "Another Round with Tracy Clayton, the writer, not the journalist". Rolling Out. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  11. "Another Round and Internet Explorer confirm the power of BuzzFeed's podcasts". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  12. "Apple's iTunes Best of 2015 list for podcasts includes a ton of LA-based favorites". Time Out Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  13. Onion, Rebecca (14 December 2015). "The 10 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  14. "The 10 Best Podcasts and 10 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015". Vulture. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  15. McQuade, Laura Jane Standley, Devon Taylor, and Eric. "The 50 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2016.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. Clark, Kevito (24 April 2016). "Faces of Black Twitter: Meet Tracy Clayton". Okayplayer. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  17. "Most Creative People 2016 - 53 - Tracy Clayton". FastCompany. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  18. Kahn, Mattie (20 May 2016). "How the Internet Fell in Love with A Drunken, Animal-Filled, Radically Original Podcast". Elle. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  19. Locker, Melissa (13 December 2015). "Listen To This: Another Round podcast changes the world one drink at a time". The Guardian. UK. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  20. Frere-Jones, Sasha (25 June 2016). "'We love you Beyoncé': what Queen Bey means to her fans now". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  21. Stidhum, Tonja Renee (13 July 2020). "Exclusive: Tracy Clayton Is the New Host of Podcast Going Through It; Guests Include Tamron Hall, Ilhan Omar, Mara Brock Akil and More". The Grapevine. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  22. "Back Issue". Pineapple Street Studios. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  23. Garcia, Sandra E. (24 September 2020). "The Hosts of 'Back Issue' Want to Throw It Back". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  24. "Tracy Clayton, Most Creative People 2016". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  25. "The Root 100 Most Influential African Americans 2016". The Root. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 28 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  26. "Ebony Power 100". Ebony. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  27. La Gorce, Tammy (31 March 2017). "How Podcasters Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton Spend Their Sunday". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2019. Ms. Clayton, 34, lives in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
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