Liv.e 's latest record "Couldn't Wait To Tell You..." is a masterpiece in my eyes. She and producer Mejiwahn put together a wonderfully warm, cohesive album that feels unrestrained by convention or structure. It dabbles across different genres and styles, showcasing Liv.e as a multi-talented singer, rapper, and poet. The record feels like the beginning of a long and important career, and I'm so excited to have her on the show. I say it a lot, but her project really is one of my favorite albums o...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 166
Dbangz had a huge smash record in 2017. It was meme rap, it was childish, it was vulgar, it was sexually explicit, purposefully offensive, and it was written when he was 15. The song has garnered hundreds of millions of plays across streaming platforms, and was one of the original Tik Tok smashes. D's always been different, a self-described outcast and weirdo, he concentrated his quirky sense of humor and ability to flame his classmates into lyrically dexterous raps after commandeering some equi...
Sep 09, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 165
Swarvy has become an integral and trusted part of the LA music community. He's produced, recorded, mixed, or mastered numerous songs and projects for friends of the show. But I invited him on because his new solo project, "Sunny Days Blue," is a magnificent accomplishment produced and performed almost entirely on his own. A a formally educated musician, muli-instrumentalist and engineer from Philadelphia, Swarvy moved to LA and immediately immersed himself into the scene. - Lee...
Sep 02, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 164
DeathByRomy is unique amongst KN guests in that she's been navigating the major label system since the beginning of her career. While most of our prior guests have years of independent building and experimenting outside of the spotlight, she was pursued and signed by a major label at while most kids would still be in high school. It seems like a complex and intimidating task for anyone, let alone a teenager, but she's been doing a bang up job so far. We talk extensively about her experience bein...
Aug 26, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 163
Uno Hype has been making music since he was 8 years old. By that measure he's already got almost 20 years of chops under his belt. It puts him in a unique standing amongst his peers as someone who began learning in an analog world (on pause tapes nonetheless!) and grew into the digital realm. He's been uploading music online since Soundclick; heads will remember this predates even Myspace. He's been grinding for years now and, with all the right weaponry aligned, 2020 was primed to be his big st...
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 162
We sat down with Amindi , whose recently released tiny piece of perfection "minztape" made me an instant fan. I was sleep, turns out she had a big moment in 2017 with the release of her biggest song "Pine & Ginger" that got her signed to a major deal before she even graduated high school. Only problem was, "Pine & Ginger" was an outlier from most of the music she made. While she is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, and grew up with dancehall rhythms coming from the speakers of her chi...
Aug 12, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 161
Cashius Green is someone I've known for years through my guys Speak & Westside Ty. We've always been cool and he's exactly the type of dude you gravitate towards while you're backstage at shows, or at various functions. That said, while we're long time acquaintances, we know next to nothing about each other, and I always look forward to learning about folks from the scene I came up in. Cashius just released an excellent album called "Best Western" that really puts his talents and charms on d...
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 160
This week we talk to Gordon Scamsey aka Shia Labustdown aka Bitcoin Batman aka Stone Cold Steve Flossin better known as Guapdad 4000. Guap has quickly become one of the most beloved characters in rap music and he's probably friends with everyone on your current playlist. He's also been busy during quarantine. His "Rona Raps" series has kept everyone stuck in the house entertained with features from all across the hip hop spectrum from Isaiah Rashad to EarthGang to Murs. This year's "Platinum Fal...
Jul 22, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 159
Rhythm & Flow began as a hate-watch for me, but quickly grew into a show I looked forward to every week, and Rae Khalil was my early favorite to win. She started off quietly, no flashy style or big forced personality that would normally make someone jump out on a reality show. What made her standout to me was she could actually rap. I noticed a lot of other contestants making rookie mistakes, or using bars that were just unexplainably bad to the untrained ear, but Rae's verses were all flawl...
Jul 15, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 158
Adam Weiss has become one of my closest friends and confidants since the last Kinda Neat episode we did in together in 2013. That first conversation centered around the journey into his addictions, and his eventually path to sobriety and recovery, and building one of the most well known underground party brands in Los Angeles. Since then his life has continued to change as he’s delved into Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA). After years in various recovery programs, he felt like SLAA really h...
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 157
Nedarb wears many hats. Musician, producer, A&R, talent scout, manager, and overall connector of dots are just a few of those hats. We spoke on an episode a few years ago shortly after he'd produced an EP for Lil Peep and became a big factor in Peep's meteoric rise. In this episode we catch up on everything that's happened in his life since, and it's been a lot. Peep's tragic passing, not long after our last conversation, obviously had a huge impact on his life, and shortly thereafter Ned fo...
Jul 01, 2020•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 156
Maxo's "Lil Big Man" was one of my favorite releases of 2019, and really introduced into the scene of rappers I've been gushing about since KN came back. We did a full "life-story style" podcast together last year on the "You Feel Me" podcast I was doing while KN was on hiatus. You can find that podcast here: Maxo on "You Feel Me?", you will get some real insight into his upbringing in the I.E. and his journey into rapping. This podcast was really a chance to catch up, test the waters of podcast...
Jun 24, 2020•58 min•Ep. 155
Jonah Mutono 's recently released GERG is a deeply personal and beautiful record. Full of movement and life, GERG takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and musical stylings all carried by Jonah's wonderfully resonant voice and impressive range. Jonah's been bouncing around his whole life, raised between Philly, Uganda, Kenya, London, and stints in NY and LA, he's a rolling stone with a big bag of influence. A classically trained pianist, GERG also shows his depth as a producer and instrument...
Jun 17, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 154
Lil Lotus is someone I've known about for a while, one of those friends of friends type people who I'd yet to meet. He orbits around a scene in LA that I have a lot of respect for so I figured it was high time we sat down for a chat. To keep it a buck, with my current mindset and musical preferences his style is not something that would generally pique my interest, but I can also honestly say his sound is something I would have been absolutely obsessed with in high school when I was listening to...
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 153
This week we caught up with Hook , who caught my attention last year with the release of her stellar tape "Bully." Had the opportunity to meet up and talk with her last year on the "You Feel Me?" podcast where I learned she's been gearing up to be a musician since childhood. She was in a girl group some family members as a kid, and the bootcamp-like environment of training to be a pop star has influenced her work ethic as an adult. She seemingly bootcamps everything now, an avid learner that obs...
May 27, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 152
Linafornia is a beat maker who honed her craft in Leimert Park. The swing, bounce, and intangible funk of her beats express a true sense of soul that many producers are never able to achieve. She's part of the first generation of beat makers to be inspired by the Low End Theory / LA beat scene mainstays like Ras G, Dibia$e, and FlyLo. In fact, seeing Ras G perform one night moved her to pick up beat making. Finding out he was a friend of her brother's who only lived a few blocks away from her on...
May 20, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 151
Ovrkast . (stylized period) is a rapper / producer out of Oakland, CA. I started hearing about him in late '19 as he was getting tweeted about by other guests we've had on the show, right before he got a huge beat placement on Earl's "Feet of Clay." Soon thereafter he released his "Try Again" tape and I knew I had to get him on the show. Ovrkast. was super patient and a pleasure to talk with and learn about, even as the episode experienced a disastrous technical difficulty. Our talk was very ins...
May 13, 2020•59 min•Ep. 150
I found out about Deborah's Child as she released a string of hypnotic singles in 2019 (including "Margaret's Hymn" that she performed for us). Her recent EP "Look, Maw! A baby deer!" puts those loose singles and a couple new songs together in the context of a perfectly concise alt pop project. The level of polish on the songs is mind-blowing, particularly for how relatively unknown she seems to be at this moment. She and production partner Miles are making songs that would sound at home on the ...
May 06, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 149
San Diego native Jelani Aryeh is a genre-fluid standout from the crew Raised by the Internet. 2019's "Helvetica was a display of heartfelt songwriting, textural production, and an early look at a potential superstar. Hear us talk about quitting a promising football career to pursue music, how "Because the Internet" fittingly changed his life, and scouring reddit for like minded creatives. Head over to our YouTube page to see him perform "Patagonia" live in studio. - Lee...
Apr 29, 2020•53 min•Ep. 148
lojii is part of a rap scene I've been loving the last couple years. Guys like him, Mike, Pink Siifu, Maxo, Medhane, Earl, and a bunch of others are taking rap to places it's never been, while still making reference to and pulling influence from those that came before. The loose style of song structure, and deceivingly stream of conscious songwriting seem to dissect the genre to its most basic needs: a loop and some raps. Songs often come in under the 2 minute mark, and if the idea is finished a...
Apr 22, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 147
Armani White talks losing his father, growing up in Philadelphia, managing himself, and performs "Thanksgiving" live in studio. Armani White has been on my radar a few years now. We've been trying to get this episode together for since then, but every time we got close, something came up where I was unable to get it together. When KN went on hiatus I just stopped answering emails about it because I didn't know what to tell people, and Armani got caught in that crossfire. So now that we're back h...
Apr 15, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 146
We’re back. Feels good to say it. It’s been too long since I’ve made an official Kinda Neat podcast. For the last two years I’ve been working on a corporate podcast that made KN take a backseat. It was close to what I was doing with this, and it paid really well, but I obviously couldn’t have full control of the creative decisions, and that was a strange place for me to be. So it’s wonderful to be back in the house Ben and I built, doing the show Ben and I do. Our first guest is Zelooperz , a pr...
Apr 08, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 145
Omar Apollo surprised me in a lot of ways. Beside dad issues, an ongoing personal theme of this show has been “people will surprise you.” It ties into plenty of old adages, but we tend to paint a picture of who a person is before we meet them. Every time I do this, I come to find out I'm completely wrong in my assumptions. With Omar ‘s dreamy vocals, purposefully polished lo-fi aesthetic, and multi-instrumental self-produced musicianship, I made the assumption he might be an “industry plant.” I ...
Jun 27, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 143
Epic Beard Men is the collaborative effort of Sage Francis and B. Dolan. The two have been touring and working together for a decade now and finally decided to team up for a full length effort. Their release Season 1 was an exercise for the established solo acts. Songwriting and conceptualizing music as a team was a new experience for both of them. Their immense performance chops, and vast knowledge of rap styles and history shine through on the project. Full disclosure: Sage Francis was one of ...
May 30, 2018•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 142
Hunnah is one of the purest vocal talents we've ever had on the show. Jaws drop and spines tingle as soon as she begins to belt out notes. Still a relative unknown at this point, she gained traction and attracted music industry insiders via her YouTube cover videos. Having heard a few unreleased originals, I can vouch for her potential as a future powerhouse. Born in Toronto to Ethiopian immigrants, Hunnah's childhood was relatively strict. Raised in church, no cable tv, and a strict regiment of...
Apr 11, 2018•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 141
Tucker Pillsbury, soon to be much better known as ROLE MODEL, still has a boyish charm. In a movie he'd be the artsy kid next door the cheerleader secretly has a crush on. At 21 years old, he's only recently begun leaving his quaint Maine upbringing to explore the world. His songwriting is already world-building and impressive. I can only imagine how the music will develop as he continues his personal growth. Raised the son of a “ski bum,” Tucker picked up a video camera initially to film his fr...
Apr 05, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 140
phem is the latest and most permanent iteration of Liv Marsico's creative alias'. She's been making music for years in the LA scene. Cutting her teeth in the Low End Theory world, I first heard her on Nocando ‘s “Little Green Monsters.” At the time she was making waves with her band Liphemra. She also as a hired gun drumming for studio sessions and touring acts. An accomplished jazz drummer, phem went to a creative arts high school where the emphasis was on musicianship. But while working on Lip...
Mar 30, 2018•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 139
a l l i e is a soulful sultry singer from just north of the border in Toronto. I stumbled on her thoroughly groovy “ Bad Habits ” video. That led me to her debut LP Nightshade. It's a laid back journey of modern soul with nods to the 90s R&B sound. Hear us discuss her Toronto upbringing, and her half Jamaican heritage. We talk about the Toronto music scene that's bubbling. We talk about coping with depression and what works for us. She also tells a touching story about the revelations of gro...
Mar 01, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 138
IDK grew up in PG County, Maryland, a sprawling suburb of Washington DC. It's one of the most affluent predominantly black counties in America. He lived in a safe neighborhood. He was raised responsibly by hardworking African immigrants. They expected him to thrive in school and work ethic. Yet and still, he ended up as the first member of his family to go to jail and eventually prison. What could cause a seemingly good kid to end up entangled in the law? His new record IWASVERYBAD tries to unpa...
Jan 17, 2018•59 min•Ep. 137
Wes Period is a product of the nondescript Orange County suburb tucked between Whittier and Fullerton. La Habra is one of those places that people ask “where's that?” It's probably why folks from the OC just say their from Orange County. The only other person I know from La Habra is Jonwayne. I only know that because of La Habra's Wikipedia page. But Wes made the most of his OC upbringing. As a mixed race youth he often felt like an outsider in his city's distinctly white and Latino sociological...
Dec 13, 2017•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 136
