Day 1 Radio

Funny story, Too $hort was scheduled to be the very first guest on Day 1 Radio podcast nearly 8 years ago. Although we did do a live interview with the legendary artist at A3C in the past, this is $hort’s first official appearance on the pod. Another classic in the books. Subscribe, Rate, Review! 1:30 - $hort is celebrating his birthday and he explains why he doesn't celebrate it as just a day, but as a season. 2:40 - $hort explains how the super group Mt. Westmore with him Ice Cube, E-40 and Snoop Dogg came to be. He says that they've always done shows together as separate entities, but this allows them to be a stronger unit. He also states his case for being the opener of the show. 6:25 - $hort talks about his history and musical relationship with the late Shock G of Digital Underground and how they were friends before making music together. 9:00 - Too Short came from a family of college graduates and even played instruments himself in high school. He shares a story about how one of his only regrets in life

On the latest Day 1 Radio pod, Maurice and BP dig into the topics that our culture has been dealing with over the past few days.    1:50 - We open the show with a topic we've talked about too many times over the years, police killing unarmed Black people. In a fit of unfortunate irony, Daunte Wright was killed by a police officer in a town just 10 minutes away from where George Floyd was killed last year, during the Derek Chauvin trial. Here we talk about dealing with the trauma of seeing this and debate whether or not videos of these killings should be banned from being posted on social media.   9:15 - Another repeat here as we again ask why families of police killing victims hire Ben Crump everytime. We also talk about how families "forgiving" the police may not help anything. Then we address the need for a federal database that keeps track of murderous, aggressive cops after they resign or get fired.   28:50 - We couldn't record without speaking on the passing of Hip Hop icon DMX. Here we shared our favori

This weeks' guests Cardo and Payroll Giovanni have been making dope music for a few years now and it doesn't sound like they are slowing down anytime soon. Here we talk with them about how they met, their chemistry and how they've been able to mesh their individual styles together so seamlessly.  1:00 - Cardo is originally from Minnesota and moved to DFW. Payroll is from Detroit. So, we had to ask how these two even met and started making music. Ironically, their incredible chemistry was from working together in Atlanta on a halted super group album with Jeezy and YG. Cardo and Payroll remind a lot of listeners of the Bay Area's "mob music" sound. They both speak on how the style influences their music.  10:00 - Payroll and Cardo talk about how their chemistry hasn't been impacted too severely by not being able to work together in the studio during COVID. They reveal how even though email has become their primary mode of communication, the magic is still there. 15:15 - Payroll will be starring in a film about

This week we talked with former NBA player and current cannabis industry innovator Al Harrington. While many know him from his days as a hooper, this conversation focuses on his endeavors in the cannabis industry as the founder of VIOLA. Listen in as he shares his journey in this business why he views it as an opportunity for Black people and people of color to create generational wealth. 2:00 - Al shares the remarkable story about how his grandmother inspired him to start his company VIOLA and how the company is actually a platform for more people of color to get into the legal cannabis industry. He also explains the challenging, expensive process of how he actually got into the business. Al then talks about the different ways people can enter the game outside of being an actual cannabis grower. 8:00 - Al talks about the business incubator he has started to create 10,000 entrepreneurs in the cannabis space. He then talks about people still having "PTSD" in dealing with marijuana and their hesitance to enter

This week we caught up with award-winning journalist and university professor Christopher A. Daniel to have a candid talk about the upcoming Grammy Awards. In addition to writing for the Grammy’s, Chris’ byline has also appeared on CBS News, The Washington Post, MSN, The Undefeated and more. We also took some time talking about the current state of Hip-Hop and Black journalism and the somewhat muted response to Drake's new music. 9:30 - With the Grammy Awards coming up, we each offer our takes on this year's nominees in the Rap music categories.  27:40 - The three of us take a moment to talk about the new music Drake is dropping and how the reaction has been tepid compared to prior year.  32:00 - Chris and Branden speak on some of the nominated music that they didn't expect to see or that people slept on this past year. We also spoke on the new Silk Sonic (Anderson.Paak and Bruno Mars) music and hopes for a tour.  38:00 - With each of us being journalists and writers, we have a discussion on the state of Blac

This week's guest Dustin Canalin is the creative force behind some of our favorite and most meaningful sneaker and streetwear designs and logos. With a resume that includes adidas, Nike, And 1, Undrcrwn and more, he is now using his talents to launch new campaigns and product lines with L.A. Gear and Puma. Here we talk about a small part of his journey so far and what it has been like navigating the creative space over the last 12 months.  3:30 - Dustin talks about adjusting to the realities of COVID as a creative, especially in the design field. He speaks on how working from home is not new to him and how he's pivoting to designing more casual items now that so many of us are at home a lot more.  7:00 - Dustin is the lead designer for PUMA's new "Black Fives" campaign celebrating the first wave of all-Black professional basketball teams. Here he talks about how the collection came together and its significance. He also talks about he specializes in telling stories through products and if brands are always op

After starting the year with interviews focusing on film history, this week are talking about present and future music. Seddy Hendrinx is the latest signee to Generation Now (Lil Uzi Vert, Jack Harlow) and he is poised to have a good run. Here we talk to him about growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, developing his musical style and of course the struggling football franchise in his city. 3:00 - Seddy is perhaps the first rapper from Jacksonville to break out nationally. Here he talks about how much talent is in "Duuuuval" and how he aims to give more than the "shoot em up bang bang" that many rappers from there come out with. 5:30 - He talks about his upbringing in Jacksonville and how his mother is the one who introduced him to music as a form of therapy. He also reveals how Kendrick Lamar Good Kid, Maad City is the album that inspired his style and content when he decided to start a rap career.  11:00 - Seddy talks about the moment he realized that he wasn't the only one going through tough times and how h

Day 1 Radio has started 2021 speaking with a number of influential filmmakers and this week's episode keeps the trend going. Actor/director Nate Parker opened up about what inspired him to write his recently released film American Skin. In the conversation, we speak on race, police brutality, and all of the themes covered in the film and how it acted as a mirror to real life.  1:30 - Who did you make this film for? Nate talks about taking in his young nephew and Michael Brown's 2014 death as inspirations to make this film about young Black men and their relationship with the police. He calls the film an "answer" for young people with questions on how to protect themselves. 7:40 - Nate speaks on the first time he had to have the "the talk" with his mother about how to deal with the police.  9:45 - Nate talks about if he feels films like this will actually change people's (i.e. cops, cop apologists, etc.) minds about how they see the police's relationship with the Black community.  13:40 - Branden asks Nate to

Fresh off the heels of celebrating what would've been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 92nd birthday, we interview Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated director Sam Pollard about his new documentary MLK/FBI. Here he talks about the journey of making the film and how he used newly declassified files and never-before-seen footage to present new information about the FBI’s surveillance of Dr. King. 1:45 - Pollard talks about the responsibilities of a documentarian. He speaks on not wanting to use his documentary to further deify MLK, but present him as a man who had a lot on his plate as he led a movement to combat discrimination in America.  5:30 - Pollard gets into the two-and-a-half-year journey of making this film and how so much of what was captured 50-60 years ago still rings true today. He also talks about where the research began when starting the project.   10:35 - Pollard talks about why after all of the work MLK had done, the March on Washington is what made the FBI start paying attention to the movemen

This week's guest is one of those guys that you just let talk and share wisdom and experiences. Actor/producer/director Mario Van Peebles is no doubt a legend in the film and television game. But, he's also still out here putting in work. His contribution sees him directing Salt-N-Pepa's upcoming Lifetime movie. MVP sits down with us to talk about how he landed the opportunity, some funny stories about his classic film New Jack City, plus he drops all kinds of other gems he learned from his father Melvin Van Peebles too. 2:20 - Mario Van Peebles lays out the decades-long history he has with Salt-N-Pepa and how he wound up being the director of their upcoming Lifetime movie. After years of working with both of them directly and indirectly through different projects, SNP felt comfortable with him bringing their stories to life. He also speaks on working his son Mandela into the script. 8:15- - MVP addresses Lifetime's history of Black culture biopics and how he approached them to make sure that the best project

Well, this is a nice way to start 2021. We had a whole "Welcome to the New Year" episode recorded where we recapped 2020 and talked about what we were expecting this year. But then white privilege took over Washington D.C. So, this week we speak on the mob of #45 supporters who stormed the capitol building as the U.S. Senate confirmed Joe Biden's presidential election. 2:00 - Branden and Reese begin to try to unpack what just happened. Branden describes it as "racist with guns, storming the business place of racists with suits." 5:00 - Maurice speaks on how this event and the energy behind it has been brewing for at least 8 to 12 years. Branden doubles down Trump going down as one of, if not the worst president in U.S. history. 8:15 - Maurice wonders how much of this event was an "inside job" as the rioters seemed to be prepared to not only show up in protest, but break into the capitol building, confront law enforcement and rummage through office desks.  10:40 - Branden and Maurice speak on the power of word

This week's guest is senior writer for The Undefeated and new author Jesse Washington. He is the co-author of the late great Coach John Thompson's book "I Came As A Shadow." Here we talk with Washington about how the book came together and some of the highlights of working closely with a sports and culture icon. We also get into his history as a Hip-Hop journalist and hooper as well. 2:45 - Jesse talks about how the opportunity to write Coach Thompson's book came to him. He shares what it was like meeting with him for the first interview and how his own hoop background got him on Coach's good side. 7:20 - Jesse shares some of his favorite Coach Thompson quotables. He also talks about Coach's eagerness to work on the book and how the book isn’t about just basketball.  14:00 - Jesse speaks on finishing the book before Coach's passing away earlier this year. He says Coach told him "you did a good job boy." He also talks about approaching the book as an "act of service" to make sure his story was told from his pe

At this point. Hip-Hop legend J. Prince is officially a friend of the show. In his third appearance on Day 1 Radio, J. Prince speaks on his newest business venture, Loyalty Wine Collection. He also talks about focusing on his boxing promotions company and the current status of Rap-A-Lot Records. 1:30 - J. Prince’s name is synonymous with Respect and Loyalty. Here he breaks down his affinity for wine and what inspired him to get into the business side of it. He also talks about some of the things he's learned and how he's applied his music industry knowledge to this business. 6:30 - J. Prince has been very prolific in the media over the last couple of years. Here he talks about finally opening up on social media and adjusting to the new way of doing things. He also reveals what happened between him and NBA Youngboy on IG earlier this year. 9:40 - J. Prince, whose first love is boxing, speaks on the current status of Rap-A-Lot Records and he says that he's essentially done with that part of his life. He also sp

You may have first heard of Symba thru his LA Leakers freestyle, or maybe it was on LeBron or Shaq's IG pages. Well, be clear, the Bay Area artist isn't new to the game, he's been dropping music for at least a decade. On this week's episode, we talked with him on the day his project Don't Run From R.A.P. dropped. From talking about his upbringing to developing as an artist, we get deep into Symba's history from the Bay to LA.  Day 1 Radio podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, IHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public, and CLNS Mobile Media app. Follow us on Twitter, FB, and IG at @day1radio

It's been a few years since we had friend of the show Glasses Malone on. This time he's here to talk about his new podcast "No Ceilings," his thoughts on the upcoming Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones, Jr. fight and the new music that he has on the way. 1:15 - Glasses Malone is set to debut his own podcast via Charlamagne Tha God's podcast network with iHeartRadio. Known for his strong opinions, Glasses says listeners should expect for the show to be "therapeutic." Also, on the 27 anniversary of Snoop Dogg's "Doggstyle" album, Glasses doubles down on his stance of it being the greatest Hip Hop album of all time. 9:00 - Roy Jones, Jr. is Glasses' favorite boxer of all time and he gives his thoughts on his upcoming fight against Mike Tyson. Newsflash, he thinks Roy will win the fight. He also talks about why he feels Tyson Fury has the potential to be the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.   17:20 - Glasses offers his perspective on the recent Gucci Mane vs Jeezy Verzuz battle. He also gives a rundown of who else w

This week's guest is L.A. based recording artist Thurz. You may or may not recognize him from his days as a member of U.N.I. Or you may know him from his Party In My Living Room events. Or, you may know him from his recent "More Thurz on Thurzday" music series (check out the latest track "Dollaz" by Chewstick) . Either way, Thurz wears many hats. This week we caught up with the prolific artist to talk about how he's been navigating as a creative during the pandemic and his time working with Aftermath and Dr. Dre. 1:30 - Thurz talks about what the vibe has been like in L.A. this year with Kobe passing, the Lakers and Dodgers winning championships and being on lockdown the whole time. 2:30 - Thurz has been dropping new music and visuals every Thursday for his "Thurz on Thursdays" series. He says it started off with him just collecting music on his hard drive, but he decided to start sharing it at the behest of a friend. He also talks about how he's able to find inspiration from everywhere in order to be able to

If you have been a day one listener of Day 1 Radio then you already know that we cherish bringing you stories that you haven't heard before. We are continuing that tradition with our latest interview with L.A.'s own, artist/producer Blxst. While people on the West Coast are already hip, he's poised to breakthrough nationally any moment now. Get to know the next big thing out of the West!   3:00 - Blxst talks about how he got introduced to Hip Hop music through his grandfather singing A Tribe Called Quest songs to him when he was little. From there he says his uncle (who rapped) encouraged him to step up his vocabulary by reading the dictionary.   5:45 - Blxst shares why and how he's been able to build such a dedicated fanbase so fast and early in his career. He also talks about how his latest project "No Love Lost" came together and his choice to have no features and handle the production. He also talks about directing his own videos and how he learned how to film videos from being a skater.   11:40 - Blxst t

25 years to the day of the release of their classic debut album Soul Food we sat down with Goodie Mob at the opening of the NuStalgia 2020 exhibit to get the goods on their new album Survival Kit! On this episode we get into the making of Survival Kit, reuniting with Organized Noize for an entire project, who could face Dungeon Family in a verzuz battle, Atlanta's dominance in hip-hop and a whole lot more.  This is one of our classics for sure! Be sure to subscribe, rate and review.  Day 1 Radio podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, IHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public, and CLNS Mobile Media app. Follow us on Twitter, FB, and IG at @day1radio

This week's guest is Bay Area radio vet and Sunday Service (Shade 45) host Big Von. Here he talks about his history in the radio game including the records he's broken and the contributions the Bay has made to urban radio culture, period.  1:45 - Big Von talks about the moment he fell in love with Hip-Hop, and like so many others, it started with Run DMC. He talks about how being born in New Jersey and being raised in the Bay and going back and forth played a role in him getting exposed to it so early. Branden and Von also go down memory lane listening to Sway and Tech's "Wake Up Show." 8:20 - Big Von reveals that he started off as an MC and then a DJ and goes through the list of ridiculous names him and his crew came up with.    11:20 - Big Von talks about the history he has with Bay Area icons Tha Jacka (RIP) and Mob Figaz. He also talks about KMEL being the first FM Hip-Hop station in the country and the originator of the "Summer Jam" concert idea.   15:30 - Von talks about how he got into radio as an inte

This week's guest is emcee and entrepreneur Willie the Kid. Long respected as one of Hip-Hop's most skilled lyricists, he is currently enjoying some widespread acclaim for his most recent effort Capital Gains. Here he talks about the process of creating the album during a pandemic while balancing it with his numerous business endeavors. 1:10 - We jump right into talking about his new album "Capital Gains." While it is dropping at a time where lyricism is making a comeback, he feels he's always been on that "island" for the better part of the last decade. We also talk about how it was writing and recording the album during the pandemic. 8:30 - "Capital Gains" has 10 tracks with nine producers. Willie talks about the decision to make a concise album and work with so many producers and have a number of features as well. He also talks about the overall aesthetic of the sound and look of the project including the cover art and videos.   13:30 - Willie has been quite busy outside of music. Here he gives a rundown o