Sunday Music: Kenny Beats – Best Since Dilla?!

I’m not a big instrumental hip-hop guy. And while there are some vocals and other things on here, I haven’t been this into an album in this space since Dilla.  If you need some semi-background music to vibe to, throw this on. Magic. Kenny Beats, give me more.  It’s a 33 minutes album and you … Continue reading Sunday Music: Kenny Beats – Best Since Dilla?!

Sunday Music: Mos Def And Fat Booty Love

By the time I first heard Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides I was not just deep in Black Star and Mos’ many amazing guest spots, but I was a reggae and soul-loving teenager too – steeped in Aretha Franklin and Gregory Isaacs.   It all came together when “Ms. Fat Booty” came on. A love … Continue reading Sunday Music: Mos Def And Fat Booty Love

Podcast Of The Week: Kenny Beats And Rick Rubin (Again!)

When Kenny Beats explains how he mailed cassettes and headphones, with no labels, notes, or explanations, to a bunch of his favorite music people… wild.  All he wanted was them to hear it. He had to make the packaging so curious somebody would press play. And it worked.  Guy could have had a marketing career … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Kenny Beats And Rick Rubin (Again!)

Your Job Is Not Your Identity

Maren Morris has been distancing herself from the country music scene. Or at least the country music machine. Because she understands their labels do not define her identity. This is the funny thing about career building. You start by wanting a job. Getting onto a track, climbing a ladder, being accepted into a group.  The … Continue reading Your Job Is Not Your Identity

Sunday Music: Protomartyr’s “Formal Growth In The Desert”

Protomartyr’s latest album, Formal Growth in the Desert, is out now.  I’m well-documented as being a huge fan of this group. I’ll restate that they are an acquired taste. I still stand by my explanation of them as, “If the Dead Kennedys, the Stooges, and some Russian existential literature were thrown into a demonically possessed … Continue reading Sunday Music: Protomartyr’s “Formal Growth In The Desert”

Sunday Music: Don’t Sell Yourself To Fall In Love With The Things You Do

I’m having a spiritual awakening over this lyric ever since my flight home from Nashville. Dan Charnas spends a minute on it towards the end of Dilla Time and it caught me off guard.  My early 2000s thing with Slum Village was… the music floored me. My buddy Mike put me onto them (he was … Continue reading Sunday Music: Don’t Sell Yourself To Fall In Love With The Things You Do

Berry Gordy – Invest In Your People

Before there was Motown Records, there was Pop and Bertha Berry. This is a story about investing in your people.  The entrepreneurial couple had grocery stores, contracting businesses, and an insurance agency on their list of accomplishments. None of them became Fortune 500 companies, but the companies were theirs. The ethos came from Booker T. … Continue reading Berry Gordy – Invest In Your People