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 24 - What Do You Get When You Mix Japanese Anime With Authentic Italian Roots And A Love For R&B

Explicit
What Do You Get When You Mix Japanese Anime With Authentic Italian Roots And A Love For R&B Feat. Che Murdah SRVC (Service)In this episode Durell is joined by Electronic R&B indie creative Che Murdah SRVC (Service). This episode is pretty cool because Durell has his first internationally born guest on the podcast. Che and Durell begin the episode by sharing how they both met and got connected via The New Skool Rules music conference and festival. Che also quickly dispels the myth that American style Italian food isn’t the same as what real Italian born people eat. Che shares that he was born in a non-musical family and the way he got introduced to music and writing songs by taking famous songs he heard on the radio and re-writing the lyrics to make fun of his sister. Che shares that he had no intention to do music professionally, because for him what really caught his attention was drawing. He says that he would watch Japanese Anime dubbed in his native Italian language everyday after school. Che shares that he grew a love for soul music by first falling in love with hip-hop in the late 1990’s because of the way samples were used. He talks about hip-hop being really underground and the only way to get access to it early on was the mixtapes. He shares that one of the first hip-hop songs that he loved that blended the two styles together was 2pac's “Do For Love'' that had the Bobby Womack sample. He realized very quickly that he enjoyed the soul sample much more than the rap verses. Che talks about R&B not being a big thing in Italy and it being hard to find spaces to really be able to explore the genre. He still loved to sing and make music, but he decided to go to college in Rome and began studying Japanese language with the goal to become a professional Manga artist for the Japanese comic books. While he was in Rome he was able to be around and participate much more within the genre of R&B and even started recording much more professional sounding records. He shares that he moved to Osaka, Japan in 2009 where he was able to really make a name for himself in the city. He says since it was much smaller than Tokyo he was able to make a name for himself. He then moved back to Italy and began to write songs and was convinced by some friends to pitch to some record companies which landed some placements and even a number one record. Che shares that he really didn’t enjoy the politics of songwriting so that's when he decided to go back to the basics and his love for Japanese comics which birthed what he’s currently doing today as Murdah SRVC.Che shares that he wrote a story for a Manga and from the Manga he began to write songs. Today his project is an audio and visual project, the music is the soundtrack to the Manga and the Manga is the visual for the music when he performs live. Durell and Che end the episode speaking about the power of being different and the way that can appeal to indie creatives, building their audience. They also talk about how the pandemic has affected the live music scene. Che also shares that he’s always in the lab creating new comic ideas and that he’s been working with a Dub-Step producer that has really helped to craft a sound for the newest Manga he’s putting together which will take him about a year to finish along with an EP to go with it.For more info on Che Murdah SRVC, please visit his social media handles:Instagram @MurdahSrvcFacebook: @MurdahSrvc
Aug 25, 2021
1:15:20

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 23 - This One Is For Orlando Stand Up Feat. Rob “Southstar” Campman

In this episode Durell is joined by hip hop artist and one half of the duo Smilez & Southstar” Rob “Southstar Campman. Durell and Rob begin the episode talking about how they’ve had a relationship for a very long time and it’s not always about speaking everyday but the fact that having a great energy and genuineness within the relationship. Rob shares that he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii but grew up in Los Angeles and then after the Northridge Earthquake he moved to New Jersey and then to Orlando. Durell & Rob talk about him first loving hip hop at 11 years old and how he fell in love with the culture. He shares that he’s always loved music and the first record he remembers really loving was N.W,A. “Boyz In The Hood” as well as many of the great West Coast Rap that was out at the time. He remembers at the time that there was no one in hip-hop that looked like him so he never really thought that pursuing a career in music was truly an option. Rob shares that he was an avid music collector which started from him working in a local record store called “Peaches Music” in Orlando. He said that during that time they would allow you to open the CD and listen to the whole album before you purchased it which is much different from today’s era where as a music consumer one has instant access to the new releases that come out in the marketplace. Durell shares that during that time you would see three or four singles drop before the album was released, and really the album cuts were the ones that consumers really wanted to hear. Rob shares that he would learn the lyrics to his favorite songs by writing them down, which he actually credits with really learning bar structure for his own rhymes later on. Rob talks about him doing an open mic contest where he and a friend got on stage and rapped to a Roc Wilder beat and won the contest. He shares that after he got off stage everyone was coming up to him and saying that they didn’t know he raps and he was like neither did he. He credits that experience as his first introduction to being a performing artist. Durell and Rob talk about him being signed to a local indie record label and one of his songs being in the indie top 10 on a pirate radio station called “95 Live”. Rob shares that he just really loved the craft of writing raps and trying to make each song better than the last. He never imagined him achieving what would ultimately happen later, especially him being an asian kid from Orlando. Durell and Rob talked about indie artists not being played on major terrestrial radio unless it was inside a mixshow. Durell asks Rob how he first met Smilez and Rob shares that he saw him during a local performance and was really impressed by his stage presence and he told him that they should do a record together. He would always see Smilez during them, both opening up for artists when they would come through Orlando. Rob shares that the big opportunity to work with Smilez didn’t happen until he met music producer Dakari who was an in-house producer with TransCon Records which was the record label owned by Lou Pearlman. He shares that Dakari gave him and Smilez a bunch of tracks and they would come back to the studio everyday to knock out songs and then one day Dakari approached them both with the opportunity to do a production deal and that is what birthed them as an official group. Durell shares with Rob that he always wondered why he would never see them both together out and about in the city and Rob said the reason that most people would never see them together is because when they would be home off the road they both wanted to do their own thing because there were many times they wouldn’t get to spend time with other important people in their lives and also quite frankly they would be tired sometimes of being around each other because of all the time they would spend together working. Rob and Durell talk about Dakari putting him and Smilez through artist development and te
Aug 11, 2021
1:33:24

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 22 - Feat. Kim Manuel-Dickens

Blending The Two Worlds Of Being A Corporate America Executive & The Music Business Feat. Kim Manuel-Dickens In this episode Durell is joined by Kim- Manuel Dickens who is a corporate executive as well as a music business consultant. Kim and Durell begin the episode discussing how they met and got connected on the Clubhouse App. Durell speaks about how he really appreciates Kim because of the similar mindset and thought processes they both have when working with indie creatives. Kim shares about her first introduction to music at the age of 5. She shares that it was inevitable for her to get involved in music. She began to play instruments and she became a classically trained pianist. During her later years her involvement in music evolved her to play in school bands, spend some time as a music director, playing in various music ensembles which she thought would’ve led to a career as a music producer. Kim shares that her parents wanted her to get a real job and not be a struggling artist so it wasn’t even up for question if she would go to college. She didn’t object to going to college and pursuing a degree because she also knew she had a strong interest in business and entrepreneurship. Kim shares that she earned an undergraduate degree from the University Of Maryland and a Master’s Degree from the Wharton School Of Business. She talks about the fact that she only went to the Wharton School of Business because she was told that black people couldn’t go. Kim shares that her father instilled in her a strong work ethic, and not to let someone tell her that she couldn’t do something that she knew was achievable and attainable. Durell shares with Kim about how his path in school he initially thought was going to lead him in a different direction being that he thought a career in the hospitality industry was the goal but that he ultimately found his passion which led him to the entertainment industry and a degree from Full Sail University. Durell shares that he has been a freelancer doing his own thing pretty much since he graduated from Full Sail University. He feels that in today’s music ecosystem there’s really not a huge need for people who work with indie creatives to have a major record label background. Having the ability to help indie creatives get to where they want to go while giving them access to knowledge and how to execute is much more valuable than having what they think is the fastest and easier way to achieve success. Kim shares that she’s a big advocate for everyone being very comfortable with what value they add and when she works with her creatives that she doesn’t mind not exploring all desired options but will often ask the question what can an entity whether it be a consultant or label do for them that they can’t do for themselves. She also shares that indie creatives who are savvy and know how to plug and play rather than waiting for one thing are often going to put themselves into a much better situation to succeed. Durell and Kim talk about the importance of indie creatives having their framework for success. Oftentimes so many artists don’t have their ducks in a row when it comes to setting up their business structure properly. Kim shares that since the music ecosystem which used to be about getting a label deal and the barriers to entry being really high to now it being extremely low, the importance for indie creatives to have a strong team is so important. Kim talks about some of the inquiries she receives when being approached by indie creatives and the reason why she charges her fee because she says that so many of them are simply taught that someone should work with them for free and eventually they will pay. Kim has to often tell them that’s just not how it works. Kim talks about how she has in the past helped to pay for certain things for her creatives that she works with because she has a very lucrative career in corporate America but that it’s definitely not
Aug 5, 2021
1:40:40

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 21 - Feat. Rick Goudzwaard

Title: Preparing The Mental Approach To Succeed In Your Artistry For Indie Creatives Feat. Rick GoudzwaardIn this episode Durell is joined by musician, singer, and certified coach Rick Goudzwaard. Durell and Rick begin the episode by sharing how they got connected via Linkedin and that Rick really resonated with the content he shares daily which prompted him to want to reach out and begin to establish a rapport and build a relationship. Rick shares that he was first introduced to music by being introduced to record players in the early 60’s from a singer named James Dafney. He then learned to play guitar and by the age of 15 he traveled to coffee shops and learned how to sing. He then toured with a vocal band in a motorhome and traveled the states for a while and then his band was asked to go to Europe and perform in Cathedrals. Rick was also fortunate to visit places like Holland, Belgium and some great places in between the singing gigs. He shares a story about playing at a middle school on a wooden stage playing a mandolin. He remembers being a wild man on the stage and wearing a green polyester suit that ripped while he was having a great time on stage.Rick shares after the overseas tour he decided to leave the band for good to start a new journey as a school counselor in which he did for 25 years. He shares that while spending many years as a school counselor he still kept up with what was going on in the DIY space and released a few albums here recently pre-pandemic to keep his creative juices flowing. Durell and Rick also speak about his time as an adjunct college professor teaching courses in adolescent and human development. He also taught for many of the school districts where he lived teaching behavior management with kids as well as a stress management consultant.. He also taught again at the college level teaching marriage and family studies and youth studies. Rick shares that he decided to learn about professional coaching in 2009. He saw that coaching was much different from what he had done as a counselor. He found a school where he learned how to become a professional certified coach. He shares that the course he took was much harder than what the coursework was for his masters degree. He then began to coach people on various different subjects like relationships, jobs, parenting etc. After he retired a few years ago, Rick decided that he wanted to narrow his coaching focus down to music. He wanted to talk to musicians about the things that they were struggling with that was getting in the way of them achieving their goals. Rick shares that his coaching philosophy is about getting really clear about the vision of what an artist wants to achieve as their big goal. He shares that he is not a mentor or the expert but that he and his clients work together in partnership because Rick feels that everyone is an expert. Rick's goal is to make sure that his clients are able to move forward after working with him with the utmost confidence as they move toward their goals. Rick shares about the importance of having the knowledge of the business and a base of a solid foundation. He shares that so many musicians crash and burn because they try to go from zero to sixty and because they don’t reach their goals quickly enough they quit. Rick shares artist development as so much more than teaching someone how to sing and the things that come along with being an artist but he says that it’s even more about personal and professional development. He shares that being able to communicate well is such an important skill in artist development. Durell and Rick talk about how so many artists are looking for the golden ticket and hoping someone discovers them and that just most of the time isn’t the case. Durell and Rick talk about having a strong mental approach to achieve the goals that an artist sets out for themselves. Rick and Durell end the episode discussing Rick’s 5
Jul 28, 2021
59:57

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 20 - Why Metadata Matters For Indie Creatives Feat Keith Kirk

Why Metadata Matters For Indie Creatives Feat Keith KirkIn this episode Durell is joined by singer, songwriter, arranger, and metadata specialist Keith Kirk. Keith and Durell begin the episode talking about him being originally from London as well as spending some of his early years in Trinidad & Tobago but then coming back to London after the age of 9. Keith talks about his earliest introduction to music being mostly heritage music and singing in choirs. He knew that music was all he ever wanted to do early on because of the impact he had from being around such exceptionally talented people and his classmates in school. Keith speaks about his experiences in college singing with the London Chorale and the BBC. Keith also has penned several compositions that are published by GIA Publications which is America’s largest sacred music publisher.Keith is also passionate about the business side of music. Durell and Keith talk about why most creatives don’t like the business side of music. Keith shares that he’s the type of guy that likes to have his T’s cross and his I’s dotted. He likes to make sure when he fills out information no matter what it is he makes sure everything is filled and locked in. He shares that because of his affinity and love for attention to detail is probably what got him really interested in metadata. Keith shares that in London no one really cares about your degree they really only care that you are able to deliver on what you say you know how to do. Keith has worked for some of the world’s largest music and media companies in the world such as Sony Music Entertainment UK, Universal Music Group, BMG, 21st Century Fox, and the International Copyright Enterprise In Berlin Germany as a metadata specialist. Durell asks Keith what was it specifically that drew him to working specifically with metadata. He shares that he always wanted to work for a company called PPL which is like the equivalent of SoundExchange in the US. While working at PPL he got a message on Linkedin from Universal Music Group requesting to meet with him. He went to meet with them and got hired to work with them in their metadata dept. Durell asks Keith what the official definition of metadata is and he shares simply that metadata is defined as information about information. Keith shares that when you're working in music there are two strands of information to be concerned about. One set of information tells dry information such as song title, duration etc. The other strain of information contextualizes everything together. Durell and Keith talk about why indie creatives should care about metadata. Keith shares that they should care because metadata is the mechanism that compensates them for their work. Keith shares that the only way to receive the revenue that a song earns is through having the correct metadata. Durell asks Keith what are some of the biggest mistakes in which he sees many indie creatives make, and his answer is that they don’t care enough about it. He shares there’s no way for the music industry to pay properly. Durell says that he encounters many creatives that don’t even know what the basics are when it comes to metadata. Keith shares another reason that creatives need to care about metadata is the music business is now a digital algorithmic data driven landscape and everything works automatically . Keith shares that another reason metadata is important is because Kobalt did a study and found that there are over 900,000 possible revenue streams for music that enters the marketplace. Durell and Keith end the episode talking about the digital distributor assigning and owning ISRC codes for indie artists. Keith shares that the digital distributor can assign the ISRC but they actually do own the code and so does the creative. The main difference in ownership is that the digital distributor can prove their ownership via what is called a GS1 license. GS1 is the global
Jul 22, 2021
1:00:12

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 19 - Finding Your Artist Pathway Feat Brianna Ruelas

Finding Your Artist Pathway Feat Brianna RuelasIn this episode Durell is joined by singer, and performing artist consultant Brianna Ruelas. Brianna and Durell begin the episode talking about how they got connected at the Springboard Music Festival and that from the moment they connected it's been so much fun to support each other. Brianna talks about her first introduction to music at the age of 9 where she performed in a talent show singing Debbie Gibson’s song “Out Of The Blue”. She remembers singing over the vocals because back then at that age she didn’t know how to remove the lead vocals and just sing over the backing track. She knew after that experience she wanted to continue to sing and perform and the path in which she took was musical theater, and ultimately decided to attend Pepperdine University to study musical theater. After graduation she started working at a restaurant in Malibu where she ultimately got connected with a voiceover artist and coach named Lauren Adams who helped her secure representation with an agency called Sutton, Barth, & Vernari Inc. Brianna knew that her ultimate goal was to be a performing artist and make music. She made the choice to audition for Season 4 of American Idol. Brianna shared that she actually auditioned 3 times but ultimately didn’t make the final cut. She remembers that it was a very tough experience and even though she didn’t make it on the show she was thankful for her experience. Brianna thought that after her experience on American Idol her music dreams were over but she learned the importance of how to manage expectations. What she ultimately learned was that it wasn’t the end but really it was the beginning of a brand new journey. Durell asked her if the goal was to make a record after that but Brianna said that wasn’t even the case; she just wanted to sing. Brianna and Durell talk about her meeting her husband Victor in Los Angeles and they knew they wanted to start a family. Brianna shares that she ultimately didn’t want to raise a family in Los Angeles for a variety of different reasons. She and her husband decided to make the move back to her hometown in Dallas, Texas. Moving back to Dallas was also big for her husband because his ultimate goal was to open a restaurant and the opportunity for that was much greater living in Dallas. Brianna talks about the fact that she almost bought into the lie that just because she was a mom that she could no longer pursue her love for music. She shared that she didn’t do anything related to music for several years which led to her going through depression. After some encouragement from her husband she decided to start performing with a band and make connections around the music community in Dallas. She made the decision to pivot into consulting and coaching artists/creatives because she was now a mom of three and didn’t want to gig every weekend with her band. Brianna talks about being given the opportunity to work at a music school doing vocal and performance coaching after quitting her full-time job working in advertising sales. She talks about her husband receiving the keys to open the doors to a restaurant and them both suddenly becoming business owners and how scary that was while still having to provide for their young girls. She talked about all the business skills she had to learn to help support the opening of the restaurant being the foundation of what she does today as a strategist in helping indie artists with their careers in showing them how to take a small business approach to achieve success in their music career. Durell asks Brianna how she feels about artists who only view success from the viewpoint of being one of the biggest acts in the world. Brianna says that she always likes to dig a bit deeper to find out why they view success that way and that she isn’t the right person to coach them because she doesn’t promise that’s what she can help them ac
Jul 15, 2021
1:13:04

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast EP 18

Episode 18 Title: Still Driven: Being A Black Canadian 365 Feat. D.O. Gibson Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by his guest hip-hop creative and entrepreneur D.O. Gibson. Durell and D.O. begin the episode talking about the power of collaboration in music and how a collaboration can just elevate a song and take it to the next level. D.O. shares that this year marks 20 years of him being a pro in the music ecosystem. He started with his first release called “Stay Driven” and now he’s excited for his upcoming release entitled “Still Driven”. Durell shares that most people think that music is something that someone does for fun but the reality is that being a professional creative is a real career and should be treated as such. D.O. shares that his longevity and career success has a lot to do with consistency. He shares that when he talks to kids he tells them to get better each day by 1%. D.O. says that if you apply that mindset that means that in 30 days you will have gotten better by 30%, in 100 days better by 100% and a year 365% better then when they started. D.O. shares that it’s okay to have a big goal but then you need to break that down into achievable steps. He knew that he wanted to build his career and generate income that wasn’t solely dependent on him having a hit song. Durell shares that so many creatives only view success in one prism and that if they aren’t doing things at the highest level they feel they haven’t achieved success. Durell feels that’s the wrong mentality to have because only 1% of professional creatives ever achieve that kind of success and notoriety consistently. D.O. shares that creatives like Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors have never won a Grammy. He says that if you think your career is going to be defined by winning an award then you simply have the wrong mentality. D.O. and Durell talk about the impact Candians have made and the epicenter of some of the top creatives in the industry such as Drake, The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes, and Justin Beiber. D.O shares that he and Justin Beiber are both from Stratford, Ontario. Durell shares how much of a talent Justin Beiber is and that he was worth over $150 Million dollars before the age of 21. D.O. shares that he’s the son of a preacher and that even though he’s from a small town that didn’t mean everything was always good. He says that many people from there and the surrounding areas come from a broken family who’ve had struggles with addiction, drugs, etc. Justin Beiber himself comes from that type of environment as well according to D.O. When you come from that environment and then come into that type of fame and money you will oftentimes make your fair share of mistakes, and Justin to his credit has completely owned up to all of his mistakes.D.O talks about the fact that he is from a small town called Watrus, Saskatchewan . He shares that people travel to Watrus because there”s a pool there and that the pool has healing properties. D.O. shares that Watrus represents hard work and blue collar people for him. He often says that he’s reminded never to forget where he is from. D.O. and Durell talk about his earliest memories and falling in love with music. He shares that it was the summer of 1994. D.O. shares that he bought a tape from the legendary Nas on the way to see his grandparents in Nova Scotia. He shares that after a few days there his cousin came to visit him and they were walking and he asked D.O. if he had ever heard of The Wu-Tang-Clan. He said after that is truly when he fell in love with hip-hop. He talks about reading a magazine called Rap Pages and that it was the first time he saw a profile on The Notorious B.I.G. He brought the album “Ready To Die” and played it from beginning to end; it was just so powerful for him. D.O. shares that he was raised on Detroit radio WKLB and that’s how he heard that Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down. Durell talks about how there’s some s
Jul 8, 2021
1:33:08

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast Episode 17

Episode Title: Why Having Leadership Skills Matters To The Indie Creative Featuring Coach MJ TolanIn this episode Durell is joined by entrepreneur and leadership coach MJ Tolan. Durell and MJ start off the episode talking about MJ leaving the USA in 1983 in London and deciding to stay in Europe and build several businesses. He talks about consumers overseas never having been exposed to several different products and services which he found to be quite interesting especially coming from a capitalistic society in America. MJ talks about how the new business model within the music ecosystem has changed to adding value first as a creative and then fans will follow. Durell shares that the record labels today don’t really know what they’re doing in terms of a one size fits all approach that will put a creative “on”. MJ shares the analogy of a young person being in high school and having a summer job so that they could buy a car. There’s often only two ways you could get the car either by taking out a loan or having a generous relative purchase the car. In order to go to the bank and get approved for a loan the bank is going to ask to see a history of how many loans were paid off in your name that would give them the assurance that you as the person applying for the loan can actually pay off the loan. MJ says the music industry often is going to ask for a similar history before they are willing to make that large investment into a creative talent no matter how great. MJ shares that oftentimes if the indie creative hasn’t been coached and groomed to possess the proper skills that not only develops their artistry but even more their leadership and soft skills they have a very difficult time achieving success. Durell and MJ both share that one commonality that they’ve both experienced while working with creatives is that they’re horrible sales people in today’s marketplace. MJ shares that it’s often not because they can’t sell something but rather it’s because they are often sensitive with their art. Durell shares that it’s great for creatives who can do a bit of both (business and creative) because the indie creatives who understand brand and how to deliver their messaging which is often called brand voice are really able to set themselves in motion for success. Durell asks MJ what an indie creative who is just starting out thinks about in preparation to set themselves on a path for success in building a successful music career. He shares a story about Aretha Franklin about who at the time was not well known and struggling to find a successful sound and vibe even though she had great talent. Aretha at the time was signed to a well known label in the North and even with all the great resources they attempted to use in getting her the right song, she made a decision to go to a small town in Alabama called Muscle Shoals and record a song called “Respect”. The moral of the story MJ shares is that there's no magic formula for success. There are creatives who haven’t been successful because of the lack of quality mentorship. MJ talks about knowing what your “why” is and that if you have an ego to be able to know why, you allow an ego to get in the way of your success as a creative. He shares that creativity doesn’t come in a box and for every creative the process of how they display their creativity. Durell and MJ talk about his book “Executive Powers” which MJ wrote that talks about the lessons he learned as an entrepreneur. Durell shares there are a lot of skills that executives in the corporate space must learn that can also be applicable to building a successful music business such as leadership traits and skills, the ability to build and put together successful teams.He shares a quote from his book that says “respect works exactly like a debit card”. He shares that with all the success that he achieved especially when he was in his early to mid 30’s he wishes he had mentorsh
Jul 1, 2021
59:55

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast Show Episode 16

Episode 16 Title: The Truth Shall Set You Free Featuring Patrice K. Cokley Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by talent manager, entrepreneur, and former college professor Patrice K. Cokley. Durell and Patrice begin the episode talking about her earliest memories of being introduced to music with her father holding her head up to the speaker listening to Color Me Badd as an early introduction to ear training. Patrice shared that she dibbled and dabbled in rapping in middle school and early high school as well as organizing talent shows. She talks about auditioning for The Detroit School Of Fine Performing Arts and making it into the school but not going because she was afraid of being a little fish in a big pond. When she got to college she started out as a music major but there was no business program and after a year of music theory and ear training she knew she couldn’t continue as a music major. She decided to attend college and major in business and marketing with the goal of applying her business skills to the music industry.Durell talks to Patrice about being widely known for her work with Matthew Knowles. She shares how much she respects him because of the way he approached and navigated his way through the music business and achieving massive success. Durell talks about how Matthew designed the success of the members of Destiny’s Child after they each went solo. Patrice shares how she got connected to Matthew by reaching out to him for advice as she began to get frustrated with the music industry. She shares that she sent a long email to him about her frustrations and he responded to her within 15 minutes and a meeting was set up to meet and speak about his girl group Blush. They had the meeting one week later and after the call Matthew was officially her client. She began doing work with his girl group by setting up their online brand across social media and the internet. He was so impressed with her work that he asked her to build his brand online and manage his social media accounts. She shares the story of how she was the one who posted about Beyonce’s twins on his social media accounts that went out to millions of people around the world.Durell and Patrice speak about processes of how he goes about getting new clients and wanted to gauge her opinion to see if she uses a similar approach when prospecting. She shares that she used to have that approach but has since changed her process because she gave so much strategy during her meetings. She knew a much better approach was to build her case studies so that they can see her value. She now charges for her initial consultation but for those who don’t want to pay they can take advantage of the free content that she puts out on her social media platforms daily. Patrice talks about the fact that she’s not a salesperson and that she doesn’t believe in putting out content to ultimately sell a course or something similar. She shares that there are so many “gurus” on Instagram that promise all kinds of results and most of the time never deliver. Durell and Patrice share that they both enjoy the face-to face one on one coaching sessions with their clients. Durell and Patrice talk about coaches who build online courses and how difficult that can be. Patrice shares that she rather create a program that might be only for a few people in which she can get her hands dirty in helping them achieve their goals. She shares that when she got hired to teach a multimedia and web development course at SAE in Chicago without any prior teaching experience, and that she was tasked with creating the whole course from scratch. She created the syllabus and even added an element for branding and marketing because she says you can’t build a website and not have those elements intertwined all together. Patrice talks about even though she enjoys the building process of working with a new artist like her artist Ken The Messeng
Jun 24, 2021
1:42:35

The N'Courage & N'Spire Podcast Episode 15

Episode Title: The Power Of Iconic Songs Feat. Kipper JonesEpisode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by iconic singer and songwriter Kipper Jones. Kipper and Durell start off the episode talking about his early upbringing in Flint Michigan and Los Angeles California. Kipper and Durell talk about the fact that making great as well as iconic songs is truly about being collaborative. Kipper stresses the importance of building and having a great team and being able to always know what’s going on in your music business and “signing your own check. Kipper talks about going to high school with Wilton Felder & Wayne Henderson from “The Crusaders”, and eventually getting the opportunity to audition for Tammy Ellison's mother Marilyn McLeod who was a part of a very successful songwriting team with Pam Sawyer. Kipper then landed his first professional gig as a demo singer working for Motown Records.Kipper and Durell talk about the life and passing Of DMX and the fact that he was truly an iconic artist who impacted so many even though he definitely had his demons. They speak about creating art and how that translates into emotion and how that impacts so many people. Kipper and Durell discuss how each generation has “its own thing” and that it doesn’t do anybody any good to be a hater. Kipper says there will be a time when what the young people are doing today will become old. Durell shares with Kipper that he deserves to have his flowers because of the power of the iconic songs that he has written during his career. Kipper is passionate about having a powerful product because nothing else matters if the song isn’t impactful because other than that you are wasting your time.Kipper and Durell then discuss the vast and eclectic type of artists that he’s worked with over his career like Darius Rucker formerly of Hootie & The Blowfish and the fact that he absolutely loves Country music. He shares that there’s something special about the stories that are told in country music and that he’s ready to offer something to the genre. Kipper and Durell speak about how blacks are trendsetters in mostly every major music genre, and that people love black culture except when the police officers come. Kipper shared how he got signed as the first male black artist to Virgin Music and he released his one and only major label release in 1990 entitled “Ordinary Story”. His album got many great reviews from publications like USA Today and L.A. Times. Kipper talks about even though he had all these departments within the label, if they aren’t all working together it’s easy to get caught up in major label end fighting. Kipper felt his album ultimately didn’t receive the marketing and promotion it deserved. Kipper talked about how he got the opportunity to write and produce for Vanessa Williams . He wrote a couple songs called “Comfort Zone” which became the title track and “Freedom Dance” which became a huge anthem for the LGBT Community. Vanessa’s album “The Comfort Zone” went double platinum. He then began working with Keith Crouch for what he thought would be for Vanessa’s third album and ultimately came up with this great groove that became “I Wanna Be Down” which the A&R at East West Records wanted to demo the song on a 14 year old teen named Brandy. He also wrote 2 of her other hit singles “Baby” & “Brokenhearted”. He also talks about why her mother Sonja Norwood was so protective of Brandy in making sure she kept her innocence for as long as possible.Durell and Kipper end the episode talking about the educational element that he brings through a series of seminars & workshops he put together called ``ThePower Of A Great Song”, “ A Songwriter's Life” ``Soul In The Sanctuary” & “The Arbiters”. Kipper also shares why after such a long and successful career, why he decided to attend Berklee College to get his degree so he can continue to give back to the next generation
Jun 17, 2021
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