The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast

by Durell Peart
EntrepreneurshipSelf-ImprovementSociety & Culture

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 68 - Feat Rob Diggy

Episode Title: Musicianship And Composition Scoring For TV & Film Feat. Rob DiggyIn this episode Durell is joined by musician, television, and film composer Rob Diggy. Durell and Rob begin the episode talking about his earliest memories of music and that even though he was exposed to music early he shares that he wanted to play football because that’s what his friends were doing and he wanted to follow along. Durell and Rob talk about him ultimately deciding to later on in his high school years make his focus on music because he knew that he could get a college scholarship. Rob is a graduate and a Hall Of Famer at The University Of Arkansas Pine Bluff. Rob shares that he began to get opportunities as a musician and producer because he could play piano and to help other producers keep from having to give away large amounts of their publishing royalties. Durell and Rob talk about him getting the opportunity to work with producers who worked with other producers and playing on tracks for the Notorious B.I.G. and a remix for Beyonce’s hit “Crazy In Love”. Durell and Rob talk about his early opportunities to compose and score for film. He shares that he appreciated that his musicianship was able to help create a path for him to make the pivot. Durell and Rob talk about his unique style to composing and film scoring and him becoming known as the sixth man of music because of his cinematic compositions and movie scores. He shares that he appreciates being compared to Brian Tyler and Hans Zimmer. Durell and Rob end the episode talking about the business of Film & TV composing and what Rob sees as the most common mistakes that are made in negotiation and how to get paid. Rob talks about the differences between film/tv composing and synchronization placements. Rob and Durell discuss the importance of having an understanding of music publishing. For more information on Rob Diggy, please visit his social media profiles: Facebook- @Rob Diggy Instagram-@composer4filmz
E68
Mar 22, 2023
59:09

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 66 - Feat Capriccieo Scates

EP: Episode 66 Episode Title: A Music Executive, International Renaissance Man & Political Activist Feat. Cappriccieo Scates Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by music executive, music publisher, author, and political activist. Durell and Cappriccieo begin the episode talking about how he got started in music as a drummer and ultimately decided it was best for him to make a pivot to the business side of music and take an executive role providing promo services for several different major record labels. Cappriccieo and Durell talk about his work in different parts of the music industry from his work in the P.R.O. (Performance Rights Organization) space at SESAC, and representing songwriters as a music publisher. Cappriccieo and Durell talk about his work as a member of The Georgia Music Industry Task Force that consulted former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue on the economic impact of music, film, and entertainment during his last term in office. Durell and Cappriccieo talk about his work as the author of two books. He wrote his first book 10 Steps To Successfully Managing Recording Artists in 2004 & The 11th Step I Missed in 2018. Durell and Cappriccieo talk about how much the music industry changed between the time span of him writing both books. Durell talks to Cappriccieo about him being awarded the Phoenix Award and a Proclamation from the Atlanta City Council proclaiming September 22nd 2011 “CAPPRICCIEO SCATES DAY”. Cappriccieo talks about receiving a Doctor Of Philosophy and awarded an Ambassadorial Appointment in Special Consultative Status with The United Nations Economic & Social Council which is the highest level of accreditation that is awarded internationally to all designates. Cappriccieo talks about being a consultant to the Congressional Black Caucus and being the second person in history to receive the Congressional Black Caucus Lapel Pin. Durell and Cappriccieo end the episode talking about him being knighted into the Royal Order Of Knights Of Malta of Africa and the Diaspora and how he prides himself on his personal slogan “Your floor is someone else’s ceiling” “Always be appreciative for where you are, but never stop trying to reach the best floor” has helped him achieve success in his career. For more info on Cappriccieo Scates, please visit his social media profile below, Instagram @cappriccieo
E66
Mar 8, 2023
55:51

Got What U Need Network Group Podcast

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The Got What U Need Network Team got together to have a fun convo about podcasting, life and how things been going while in this podcast world. Got What U Need Network www.GWUNnetwork.com Instagram: @gwun.network
Jan 2, 2024
1:22:52

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 67 - Curtis Richardson

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Episode Title: Songwriting, Early Success, & Music Education Feat. Curtis RichardsonIn this episode Durell is joined by songwriter, producer, and music publisher Curtis Richardson. Durell and Curtis begin the episode talking about how they got connected and his earliest memories of music. Curtis shares that he got a late start to his music career compared to most people being in his mid to late 20’s. He shared with Durell that he had a whole different career path in corporate america and made the decision right before September 11th to go hard for one more year and if he didn’t have success he would go back to his career in corporate america. Curtis and Durell talked about the opportunity he had to write his number one hit entitled “All I Have” with Jennifer Lopez & LL Cool J. Durell and Curtis talk about when he understood the power of being international and made a conscious pivot to build his international catalog working with foreign superstars in Asia such as Taemin, Kumi Koda & Tohoshinki. Curtis and Durell talk about the business of songwriting and music publishing. Curtis shares that he sees a lot of mistakes that new songwriters make. He shares that so many of them don’t approach their songwriting career as a business and oftentimes put themselves in situations that don’t set them up to achieve success. Durell and Curtis end the episode talking about something that they are both very passionate about and that is educating songwriters and creatives on the business of music. Curtis shares what really got him excited about education and why he thinks it’s so important. For more information on Curtis Richardson, please checkout his social media profile, Instagram @curtisricha
Mar 15, 2023
45:23

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 40 - The Triple Threat Teenage Entertainer Feat. Nya-Jolie

In this episode Durell is joined by singer, rapper, model, and actress Nya-Jolie. Durell and Nya-Jolie begin the episode talking about how they first met in New York City during the Nu-Vybe Records launch party . Durell and Nya-Jolie talk about how she wears a number of different hats as she navigates her career in the entertainment industry. Durell shares the importance of having parents that are all the way in when they have teenagers who want to pursue the industry professionally. Durell asks Nya-Jolie about her earliest memories of music and she shares that she was about 2 years old humming songs because her parents at the time were both pursuing the industry so she was introduced to cadences and melodies and recorded herself singing cover songs. Durell and Nya-Jolie talk about the importance of having an education if you want to be taken seriously as a professional in the industry. Nya-Jolie shares that she always makes it a point to create positive lyrics because she knows that people are listening. Nya-Jolie shares that she remembers being very young around 4 or 5 years old, starting to write her own music and really getting into what goes on behind the scenes in pursuing a career in music. Durell shares how much he respects Nya-Jolie’s parents for making a constant effort to make sure she keeps and maintains a positive image. Durell shares how much he likes Nya-Jolie’s song called “Mamba” that she wrote and dedicated to Kobe Bryant. The song embodies everything that he stood for and believed in. Durell and Nya-Jolie talk about the inspiration behind the song. She shares that her whole family are fans of Kobe so she knew that she had to make a song that would reflect what he meant not only to them but many people across the world. Durell and Nya talk about why she wanted to get into acting and modeling. She shares that she started doing pageants and at 5 years old she auditioned for one of Tyler Perry’s films. Once she began auditioning she started to see how acting allowed her to be able to totally portray a whole other person which fascinated her enough to where she started to book commercials which gave her the opportunity to work with QVC and other print ads. She has also done several independent films.Durell and Nya-Jolie talk about her getting paid as a child actor and how sometimes if parents aren’t careful it can create a warped reality because oftentimes the child can become the main provider for the family. Durell shares that he listened to Jaleel White on a podcast say that his mother did her best to make sure that he lived as normal of a life possible by doing the things that most kids would do when they were done with school or work like washing the dishes. Durell asks Nya-Jolie how she deals with having her mother as her co-manager and she says that her mom does a great job in balancing the roles between mom and manager. Durell and Nya-Jolie end the episode talking about how she balances school and her entertainment career. She shares that she now does all of her schooling online because going to regular public school just became too much of a hassle to keep up with. Durell shares that as she gets older her experiences will change and she will want to get into more adult things but she’s doing so many great things as a teenage entertainer. Durell shares that he really likes her latest single entitled “Bonafide” and asks her about the inspiration behind the song. Durell asks Nya-Jolie if she plans to go to college or continue on in entertainment after she graduates high school. She shares that there is so much more she wants to do within the industry and she doesn’t plan on taking a break anytime soon. She also quickly teases a little bit about the stage play that she is a part of and what people can expect to see.For more info on Nya-Jolie, you can follow her on her Instagram:@official_nyajolie
Dec 15, 2021
39:45

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast - Being Blind Isn’t A Bad Thing Feat. Joey Stuckey

In this episode Durell is joined by blind indie creative, educator, and entrepreneur Joey Stuckey. Durell and Joey begin the episode talking about the several different hats that he wears as an industry professional and the importance of diversification. Joey shares that even though he’s visually impared he has a very active mind and imagination. Joey shares how fast that technology moves and really by the time one gets the hang of one thing the next comes out and the old becomes obsolete. Durell shares that Tik-Tok is the new wave when it comes to social media but it’s not something that he’s been all the way in with. He often says to his clients that he works with that it’s totally okay not to always chase the new wave. Durell and Joey talk about how record labels are no longer signing artists but have really only been interested in signing social media influencers. Joey shares that most record labels in his opinion have never really cared about artists. He shares that’s why he values so much an artist's ability to prioritize their well-being and mental health. Joey shares that he has no issue with making sure the label gets a piece of the revenue that’s generated especially within a 360 deal as long as they actually played a part in making the product and helped to bring it to the marketplace. Joey and Durell talk about indie creatives knowing when to put a value on prioritizing their artistry. Durell shares that creatives have to be able to become comfortable with understanding they must be okay with being able to sell and monetize what they put their blood, sweat, and tears into because bills need to be paid at the end of the day. Joey shares that he got into the music industry for self expression but these days he spends 50 percent of his time handling the business. He says that indie creatives who don’t prioritize the business aspect of their music will become a guaranteed failure. Joey shares that artist development is what made stars in the old industry. He says that indie creatives in today’s marketplace have to find a way to stand out and rise above the noise because it has become so easy to put records out. Durell shares that when he decides to work with an artist he always makes a conscious point to start with education. Durell asks Joey about the cause of what made him blind and he shares that he was told it was caused by a brain tumor which Joey doesn’t have memory of. He shares that his mother knew pretty early on that Joey’s motor skills weren’t progressing normally and he was taken to doctors who initially didn’t think anything was wrong. Joey says that his dad was the one who one day let go of his hand and he fell down a flight of about 30 steps. He shares that the tumor wasn’t cancerous but it was crushing his optic nerves and his doctors didn’t think he would survive. He shares that his parents were advocating for him to live so the only option they felt they had was to take a chance on him having a very dangerous surgery and living vs. not having the surgery and dying. Joey shares that music was something that was very important to him as a child but most of his childhood memories were all about survival. Joey shares that he likes to talk about his struggles because he understands that he must embrace the good and bad times to live in the most balanced emotional space that he possibly can.Durell and Joey talk about how even though there are differences between people, having the ability to find common ground within similar experiences is really important and should be focused on. Joey shares that he makes jokes about himself being blind because it’s quite honestly very funny. Joey shares that he’s passionate about making sure people know that him being blind isn’t a bad thing. He doesn’t want people to feel like they have to walk around on eggshells being worried about not offending him. Durell and Joey talk about the importance of being able to have a conversati
Dec 8, 2021
1:29:30

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 38 - A Producer Who Is More Than A Beatmaker Feat. Young Wyse

In this episode Durell is joined by a new producer named Young Wyse. Durell and Young Wyse begin the episode talking about him growing up in Wilmington, Delaware but having roots in the Bronx, New York. Yung Wyse shares that growing up in Delaware was really no different than any other urban community. Yung Wyse shares that his earliest memory of music was his father being a DJ, so for him he says he was born into music. Hip-Hop was the genre that was embraced in his early childhood. Durell asked Young Wyse when he knew that music was what he wanted to pursue as a career at the age of 7 or 8. Durell shares that the music industry is an unregulated industry and oftentimes there's a lack of understanding for the need of education in order to build a successful career. Durell and Yung Wyse talk about some of his musical influences, Nipsey Hussle who Durell says is like the Tupac of our generation, 808 Melo, and Swiss Beatz. Young Wyse shares that he gravitated to Swiss Beatz because he loves the energy in the drums that he lays on his tracks. He shares that he is heavily influenced by 808 Melo because of the popular “Drill Music” sound. Young Wyse shares that he’s heavily influenced by Zaytoven because of the “Trap Music” sound. Durell shares that real production isn’t something that is easily done and he talks about the difference between real producers vs. beatmakers. Durell shares that he respects that Young Wyse is really into production and crafting the song in full rather than just selling beats online. He shares the importance of having a team behind him and how they’ve helped him in having the right mentality that is going to help him get to where he wants to be in his career.Durell and Young Wyse end the episode talking about him attending Full Sail University to learn about recording. Durell shares about the importance of not necessarily chasing the industry because the industry is always changing and oftentimes so many people never succeed. Durell shares that if you shift the focus onto just building and serving those within your own audience, success is definitely much more imminent. Young Wyse shares about his latest release called the B.A.R. Show and the inspiration behind it and connecting with the main artist Pee Wee who features on it.For more info on Young Wyse, you can follow him on social media:Instagram: @_youngwyse_
Dec 1, 2021
26:04

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 37 - The Songwriting Nomad Feat. Kristen Ford

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In this episode Durell is joined by indie singer, songwriter, and actress Kristen Ford. Durell and Kristen begin the episode talking about Kristen living in 6 different states before the age of 18. She shares that her dad worked in education and he moved around alot. Most of her time was spent primarily in Northern Massachusetts and the Boston area. She shares that she has been living in Nashville for the past 5 years. Durell and Kristen talk about how moving around so much shaped her overall outlook on life. Kristen shares that her travels have made really big on appreciating her journey that music has taken her along. Kristen shares that she really appreciates that I talk so much about trusting the process and managing expectations because that’s something that she learned when she was working for an artist management company and being able to go with the flow of where the path takes you because it’s much easier to handle. Kristen and Durell talk about her journey into songwriting at the age of 15. Kristen also talks about her being interested in learning about audio engineering, playing drums, and guitar because she knew she had a passion for creating her own original material. She shares that she now approaches songwriting with a much more professional approach because of her being much more experienced and knowledgeable about the overall craft of how to create and flush out an idea and turn it into a quality product. Durell and Kristen talk about how the format of music has changed now that we are in the era of streaming and music moving much more quickly than in the previous era. Durell talks about the fact that songs are much shorter because of the music consumer’s attention span. A lot of creatives care about having a lot of products in the marketplace today. Durell talks about having a core audience and micro economy because that is really the only way that the majority of indie creatives can establish a long term career without the need of a record label. Kristin shares that from 2008-2014 she averaged about 225 shows per year. She shared that most of the shows she booked and promoted herself. Even though she says that it was probably too many shows, she was grateful to have the opportunity to play music, travel all over the world, and meet new people. Durell shares that as an independent artist you are oftentimes left with the responsibility to wear a lot of different hats along the way. Kristen shares that she’s learned over the years to become more comfortable with the idea that can still be successful in her music career by diversifying the way she earns money. She shares that because she has been able to find different ways to make money within music she can afford to spend money on different things to enhance her live performances as well as her wardrobe. Kristen shares with Durell that she’s done the majority of her international touring in Germany. She says that Germans can sometimes be a bit rigid but she does her best to loosen them up by getting them to interact with her during her shows. Kristen also shares about her tour stops in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru and what stood out to her is how most of the people in those countries make very little money because capitalism isn’t valued the same way as it is in the United States. Kristen shares that it was a major culture shock for her. She still has big dreams to travel to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and places that speak primarily in English.Durell and Kristen end the episode talking about how a lot of indie artists value fame and oftentimes equate fame with success. Kristen says that she’s traveled to places and after her performance there would be people in the audience congratulating her and she’d find herself having a lot of meaningless conversations. She shares that if she can feel that way at times she definitely can see how people like Chris Brown can probably get tired of having those same type of conversa
Nov 24, 2021
1:28:22

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP36 - 90’s R&B, Great Vocals & A Rebirth Feat. Jeiris Cook

In this episode Durell is joined by indie creative Jeiris Cook. Durell and Jeiris begin the episode talking about the importance for some creatives to have a pre-production home studio setup. Durell shares that it very much is common for those who are into production and getting ideas out to be able to at least get the idea down to then be able to go back later and flesh it out fully later. Jeiris says he likes to say that ideas are fleeting and he was reminded of one night when he realized that he heard a song on the radio but didn’t realize that it was actually playing in his dream. Durell and Jeiris talk about how much the fall weather is different within their respective cities. Jeiris shares that he comes from a family of vocalists and growing up in Atlanta GA means getting started singing in church. Jeiris talks about being in an R & B group with some of his childhood friends and one of the members really wanting the group to sing Gospel songs but Jeiris didn’t feel authentic to singing primarily Gospel because it wasn’t an accurate depiction of the emotions that people go through within everyday life. Jeiris shares that some of his 90’s R&B influences were groups like Jodeci, Shai, En Vogue and Boyz II Men. He shares that he really loves that these groups would use their voices and harmonize in a unique way to compliment the track and take it to another level.Durell and Jeiris talk about how much music has changed especially now being in the era of the DIY creative. Durell talks about back when record labels controlled the way we consumed music they could actually curate the sound of what would be commercially viable. Jeiris talks about music becoming decentralized and now there are more niches for indie creatives to explore. Durell talks about playlisting being one of the ways that niche artists can really take advantage of building real genuine supporters. Jeiris talks about the origin of the R&B group and how they got started and met their first manager with the goal of attracting a label. He shares that he went through artist development which is something that most creatives don’t want to do today. Jeiris shares that life people don’t live life in a vacuum and that it’s okay that you may go through certain obstacles and challenges along your journey in building a successful music career. He shares that being so open about the things you go through along your own personal journey is something that he recently had to come to grips with being normal practice because he came from a generation where that simply just wasn’t done. Durell shares that this generation of creatives are content creators. The content strategy is a must which wasn’t done in previous generations of creatives. Durell shares the importance for indie creatives today knowing who their core audience is and having a particular strategy to reach and serve them. Jeiris shares that he took a ten year hiatus from music once the R&B group disbanded. He shares that he met his wife in 2004 and had three boys as well as going back to school where he earned a Master’s Degree. He says that around year seven or eight he began to get the bug again to get back into music. He decided to pick up the guitar and learn how to play because he wanted to spend time with his son during his boy scout days around the campfire singing songs. Jeiris shares that once he began to do that he began to start writing songs on the guitar and he knew that he now didn’t have to depend on a producer to be able to simply create. He shares that now being in a place to make music in that way really was the driving force behind him developing a passion for music once again. He shares that he began to go to open mics and play where he also was getting great feedback and after that he decided to begin playing at a local farmer’s market to test out what he’d been working on. Durell and Jeiris end the episode talking about the importance for
Nov 17, 2021
1:09:31

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 35 - Growth, Passion & Hip-Hop Feat. MJ The Rapper

In this episode Durell is joined by indie creative and rapper MJ. Durell and MJ begin the episode talking about MJ’s roots and her being originally from Redondo Beach, California but actually being raised in Pensacola, Florida. Durell shares that they both have Florida roots with him being raised in Orlando by way of Brooklyn, New York. MJ shares that she has been living in Houston for the past 5 years because she wanted to be in a bigger city to pursue her music. She ultimately wants to be in Los Angeles so she shares that she is planning to make another big move. MJ shares that her earliest memories of music was when her mom made her take piano lessons around 8 years old as well as singing in the church choir. She says in terms of hip-hop, her earliest memories of music being from the south was ``Cash Money & Juvenile'' with the single “Back That Ass Up”. She also shares that Lauryn Hill was one of her musical influences as well that got her really excited about music. Durell shares that the South has really left it’s mark on hip-hop and MJ agrees also saying that she feels the South has changed hip hop overall in the way it’s viewed in a positive way. Durell asks MJ when did she know that she wanted to pursue music professionally. She knew that it was something she wanted to do when she was in college. She shares that she wasn’t doing too well then because she was in a major that she had zero interest in and she wanted to pursue something that would make her happy. She knew early on that she had a very strong love for writing and poetry and she would be around her college friends as they would be freestyling and she knew then that she was going to follow her passion. She knew that it was one thing to write rhymes but to get up the courage to get into the studio and see how she would sound behind a professional microphone. Durell shares that there’s a lot that comes with pursuing music as a career. He says that if you aren’t prepared and ready it can become really difficult to be successful. MJ shares that her message in her music is all about authenticity and standing out from the pack. She makes it a point to focus on her lyricism and her cadence and flow. Durell and MJ end the episode talking about the one of what Durell likes to call the “3 Pillars Of Fan Engagement” which is Authenticity. Durell shares that if you want to connect to real people then being authentic is a must. MJ and Durell talk about when she began to release original music after college which was a mixtape where she also tried her hand at production. She shares that that was a pretty rough experience because where she recorded the project the engineers weren’t too experienced in working with hip-hop music. She shares that she had stopped releasing music to get some help in developing and growing as an artist and within the last year began to release music more frequently. For more information on MJ, follow her on her IG@mjtherapper
Nov 11, 2021
28:13
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