Uncle Shoes swings by the podcast to keep the Detroit vibe going through the podcast. As we reflect on his time on the West Coast for the last decade we deep dive into the legacy of Bugz, Proof, Dilla, and he responds to Esham from last week as we finally put that to bed. In the end, its all love and business. Growth, entrepreneurship and having an ear for music is what we chat about as we navigate stories of Shoes DJing at his high school, to become a living legend, fatherhood, and whats up ahe...
Jun 10, 2020•34 min
How does a guy get inspired by AC/DC and Prince to become the first cat in Detriot to create a new genre of music? Esham captured peoples attention by being different. #AcidRap, the wicked shit, this 10,000 hour journey begins with Boomin' Words from Hell and we navigate through the rap game up until now. Eminem's success didn't represent his region because he was affiliated with the west coast so the people who had to claw their way to the top are the OG's like Esham. The spirit of Detroit, the...
Jun 03, 2020•39 min
CHAII is the genre-bending New Zealand/Persian rapper pushing a bold creative vision, and today, she swings by the podcast to give me a picture of her life as a kid who grew up in Iran. From playing soccer in the streets, bike riding, listening to music on her cassette player, climbing trees, swimming in the river…how does did play a role in her becoming a music producer? Her music tracks channel southern-Iranian influenced drum patterns while her distinctive vocal delivers a dance floor command...
May 27, 2020•32 min
Great episode this week as Jay ARE = (Dr. J Rawls + John Robinson) swing by the podcast to discuss how and why Hip-Hop culture is the dominant culture among the students, in our schools. In their book, released last year, entitled Youth Culture Power, J Rawls and John Robinson, argue that Hip-Hop culture could be useful in building relationships and building student engagement. I focus on that and the music as Youth Culture Power (the album) is jazz-infused hip-hop tracks over which the emcees r...
May 20, 2020•41 min
Special week indeed, because the legend Steve Arrington swing by the podcast to chat about the old days of going to Black Sabbath concerts and playing with Santana and what it was like growing up in Dayton being influenced by the Mighty Ohio Players. Through that journey I find out what it was like crafting songs with modern marvels like Dâm-Funk and Thundercat and how it all leads up to his new album dropping towards the end of this year. Gems are dropped as I sit down with a key part of Dayton...
May 13, 2020•42 min
This 10,000 hour journey has to rank as one of my favorites. This week, Cam O'bi swings by the podcast to tell the tale on how he quit his boring job to pursue music full time while only knowing one person who owned a studio. He took the leap and his resume is insane with placements on Acid Rap with Chance, Vic Mensa, Kendrick, J. Cole and more. We chat about his childhood, his long awaited album 'Grown Ass Kid', this GRAMMY-winning producer and rapper looks to the future and delves completely i...
May 06, 2020•46 min
Born in Africa’s Ivory Coast before coming to the U.S. with his mom at the age of five, snny has announced his new Otitọ EP due out May 8. With all the craziness in the world today, I thought bringing his story a week before the EP drops, would be beneficial for those who are seeking music that pushes the boundaries of modern pop music while exploring universal themes of love, family, and identity. With pulsing synths, deliciously rubbery production touches, and snny’s elegant and elastic R&...
Apr 30, 2020•20 min
MNDR joins me in the studio this week to reminisce about her career and life which starts in a farm in a desolate area, and evolves to sharing the stage with Mark Ronson, Duran Duran, Q-Tip and working with Rihanna and more. There is definitely a 10,000 hour journey somewhere in there and we talk about navigating this journey as a woman in the industry and how shes able to apply her talents to multiple genres. Speaking of which, California legend MURS swings by to provide insight working as a em...
Apr 29, 2020•31 min
J-live is someone I've wanted on the podcast from day 1. The man simply has classics to his name. We chat about the old days in Spanish Harlem, New York and his days being put in The Source magazine and first garnering notice with the release of his 1995 single Longevity, with its classic B Side, "Bragging Writes". How does he view his musical releases now? We also talk about education standardization: Essential or Harmful? We also dive into 5% culture, politics, and his latest project Solar [Tr...
Apr 22, 2020•44 min
Kelly Finnigan swings by the podcast at a very crazy time. His timing in life, amidst this pandemic, was one with a stroke of luck. He just finished a tour to support his debut album 'The Tales People Tell', and was able to get his song in a hit movie before all the movie theaters in the country closed. If that good fortune wasn't enough he is celebrating the release of Monophonics new album '“It’s Only Us,” their fourth release since 2012, and we're able to reflect on his solo album and celebra...
Apr 15, 2020•48 min
This week, right before the pandemic really took hold of the world, lauded Wu-Tang clan affiliate Bronze Nazareth, swung by the show to give us his take on what is happening in the world. We discuss being in the studio with RZA, the OG hip hop group Wisemen while honoring the legacy of his brother, the lyricist and producer Kevlaar 7. We also dive into his days as a social worker, and what lies ahead as his career as a producer only gets brighter with his new album with Long Beach legend Kxng Cr...
Apr 08, 2020•36 min
Dumi Right, who was apart of Zimbabwe Legit, were the first African group to record hip-hop in America. They provide a high energy, multi-dimensional live show that highlights various hip hop elements and incorporates a musical soundscape that seamlessly blends gritty beats with sundry influences of African rhythms, jazz and funk. Not your typical rapper, Dumi’s performance is more of a hip hop cultural celebration or immersion and an invocation of the spirit that the founders intended. We discu...
Apr 01, 2020•42 min
Composer/remixer/producer André Allen Anjos (aka RAC) swings by the podcast this week to chat about his 10,000 hour journey which follows us through a myriad of topics from attending over 13 different schools, getting gigs at HBO, and how he cold called his way into his first remix project with The Shins. Years and years of hard work have paid off, because his third album, is on the horizon. We deep dive into how this project is a symbol of growth for him as a producer. The glowing new track "St...
Mar 25, 2020•42 min
Pat Lok is a widely celebrated producer who has been synthesizing the sounds of the future for years and years. We discuss growing up in Vancouver and tales of him and his grandfather visiting Chinatown, eating delicious food, and soaking up the culture. The transition from there only led him to dream bigger as he takes on the west coast head-on by headlining shows around the world and releasing upbeat, amazing music that is appreciated by millions. Other topics include Covid-19 blowback, the cr...
Mar 18, 2020•37 min
Overjoyed to bring you my next episode with guest Lincoln Jesser. This mans 10,000 hour journey starts in grade school, or perhaps his move to L.A, but as I navigate through his story I realize his music is a reflection of who he is not only as a musician but as a human being. For a guy who is knee deep into a fruitful musical career, what distracts him from happiness? As 2020 arrives, he is putting out his first piece of music in years, and —depending on when you first started following Lincoln...
Mar 11, 2020•40 min
This week I present a musical legend with the hefty pedigree and the skills to move with the times. STLNDRMS! We chat about the struggles and successes that come with being the 'everyman' producer. I find out the base layer motivation for the weekly event hosted by Controllerise, which allows patrons to have an unique alternative for nightlife on Mondays in Atlanta. I am happy to report that I am catching him after celebrating 20 years with his wife, his family unit is as strong as ever, and his...
Mar 04, 2020•39 min
This episode I am proud to sit down with a legend in scratch DJ production, a pivotal ingredient to the overall late 90s California underground sound. If I use a wide-angle lens and looked at the culture of hip-hop, all roads lead to producers, turntablists, and historians like him. We deep dive into a wide array of topics such as why you had to breakdance if you wanted to rap. In fact Adrien Younge, Ras Kass, ALL the OG emcees did it. In addition we talk Guerilla marketing your music before the...
Feb 26, 2020•40 min
As someone who is obsessed with the rhythm of the soul, it's only natural that I invite RJD2 onto the podcast to talk about his journey as a musician right before he breaks ground on his new album 'The Fun Ones'. From fatherhood, to tales of Def Jux and Scribble Jam, to his own legacy as a record label owner, we run the gamut to get behind the mind of someone who has been making original electronic music for 20 years. He has a fresh view on song composition, and as we dive into details on his ne...
Feb 19, 2020•45 min
It's February, which means that the world is celebrating the Life & Achievements of a Detroit Legend. James Dewitt Yancey - Jay Dee aka J Dilla. I found the best way to celebrate, is by focusing on his legacy and the future by inviting Young RJ of Detroit-based hip-hop heavyweights Slum Village on the show to tell us about his journey as a 15 year old being mentored by Dilla and showcasing various artists on what his work has meant to them over the years. We talk about the Slum brand, his so...
Feb 12, 2020•31 min
Ben Boogz and Deep, who have known each other since grade school, are two big guys with a common love for food & great music who are known collectively as The 2 Hungry Bros. We have a deep dive conversation which includes topics on religion, theology, and common facts about Celiac Disease. Oh, and music. Duh. I ask them both a bit about fatherhood, and how Boogz always studied his father and honored his Hero with the instrumental album I Moreno. On the flipside, Deep has just finished this t...
Feb 05, 2020•45 min
An absolute honor to host Funky DL as he carves time in his busy schedule to sit down with me to chat about his 10,000 hour journey. What does that entail? We dive into the significant changes that would begin to shape the most formative years of his transition from childhood into adulthood and his relentless pursuit into the world of music. This includes tales of crafting with Nujabes, navigating record labels and his latest project which is remarkably personal... Dennison Point and Life After ...
Jan 29, 2020•43 min
Juicy the Emissary and I run through a myriad of Texas rap history and obscure K-Mart tales. You see, on Thanksgiving 1989, Kmart employee and audio enthusiast Mark Davis wandered behind the customer service desk to check out the store’s sound system, which looped muzak and top 40 plus ads and announcements under the banner of “KMRT, The Kmart Radio Network.” In September 2015, Davis uploaded the tapes to the internet with the humble intention of preserving them. But within a few weeks he became...
Jan 22, 2020•32 min
I celebrate episode 50 by inviting the very much underrated king of the blerds, P.SO the Earth Tone King on the show to talk about how he has gained the confidence to take his career back into his hands to output a slew of new work starting with American Anime. We also tackle issues such as ex-HiPNOTT Records label owner Kevin Nottingham coming out as a Trump supporter. This was a man that infiltrated the Hip Hop community to its core and we let him in & gave him the keys to our culture only...
Jan 15, 2020•37 min
This week I sit down with the founding member of CunninLynguists and QN5 Music representative, Deacon the Villian. We talk about the days growing up as a preachers son in Kentucky, to Kno's new Built to Fade album. Of course, we reminisce about Big L, The B.U.M.S., sampling and chat about the events surrounding the pivotal album, A Piece of Strange, an album that almost became the new name for the group. A Piece of Strange is a dense concept record that explores the religion and racism that are ...
Jan 08, 2020•40 min
New Mexico-based multi-instrumentalist Miles Bonny is a guy that contributes to a creative feeling, an artistic feeling, a natural sense of creating; it's a worthy thing to have an interest in being creative and not just go to their jobs and fulfilling someone else's agenda. As a trumpeter, vocalist, producer, dj and community empowerment worker his explorations in social issues and world cultures has taken him on numerous adventures so we chat about genealogy, social work, random excursions inc...
Jan 01, 2020•32 min
Toronto born, Brooklyn based Hip Hop Producer Marco Polo is an absolute legend. On episode 47, I run the gamut of growing up in Canada to venturing to New York to intern and start the networking journey that would eventually land him placement on hip hop heavyweight albums. As an assistant Engineer at renowned recording studio, The Cutting Room, Marco honed technical skills and got to know some of the rap game’s finest as he refined his production. We chat about what it was like to be on a recor...
Dec 25, 2019•39 min
Lofi returns in another episode of the podcast, emerging from the great swamp of New Jersey. Dr.Doppler and I chat about his recent experiments, ranging from his new beat tape “FLIPS & BUMPS” to Ray Gun Tony to creating music in his dorm room so many years ago. In the shadow of the lo-fi hip-hop backlash, a number of artists are trying to bring shape and story back to downtempo music. So we continue the narrative as we then dive into other worldly sound theories, sampling disco r&b from ...
Dec 18, 2019•35 min
My guest this week is Stan “Substantial” Robinson, someone who I've been a fan of for many years. The Maryland-born MC and I go deep into the weeds on the philosophy of serving others, hooking up with Nujabes in Shibuya for a month being apart of his musical family, and life as a business owner with his wife. At Substantial Art & Music, LLC they provide design and consulting services to emerging and established artists. His new song is While They Sleep (Remix) which serves as an audio introd...
Dec 11, 2019•45 min
Eligh is my special guest this week. He is a rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California and one half of the infamous, "The Grouch & Eligh". We chat about his evolution of an artist that follows his journey through tales of Living Legends to Grand Tapestry. Rap has gone global but there's still very few instances where the realms of rap and world music meet. So with that said, we dive into the genre bending music he is making, as well as his love of Bruce Springsteen, and the various so...
Dec 04, 2019•49 min
This week I sit down with the other half of Don't Sleep Records co-founder, Awon. There is a lot of confusion around what it means exactly to be a true independent artist. So we take a deep dive into the logistic in running a grassroots label, the ins and outs of business, and the many things that can affect it. We also talk about growing up on the East Coast, from tales of incarceration to discussions around the prison industrial complex and how it effected the black first-generation wealth bui...
Nov 27, 2019•48 min
