I’ve been playing around with the idea of creating a podcast for a few months now and lately I’ve been trying to get some ideas together along with just being more organized in general.  What would make me want to do something like this?  Well, music but more specifically, the Hip Hop genre, is pretty much an essential part of my everyday life and it’s been that way for as long as I can remember.  Anyone who truly knows me I’m sure would attest to the fact that all I really want to talk about for the most part every single day is Hip Hop music and if it’s not that it’s probably skateboarding.

I was fortunate enough to grow up with older cousins who were heavily influenced by the Hip Hop culture and by elementary school I was already infatuated with break dancing, pop locking, graffiti and MCing.  However, what really peaked my interest more than anything was when I was able to get my hands on N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton LP. I have to give my mom the credit for that as I was just a kid who had no business listening to anything said on that cassette tape but what’s even more crazy is I can actually still remember that moment when I got it.

Throughout middle school and high school music remained a strong passion of mines and eventually I decided that I wanted to professionally cover and write about it so I pursued an education in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism.  If I recall correctly, Kanye West’s first ever solo performance in Los Angeles was the first live Hip Hop show I ever attended back in 2004.  Since then, I realistically couldn’t give you a real estimate on the amount of shows/festivals I’ve been to as a whole because honestly I’ve lost count.  I’ve been to so many obviously just as a fan and plenty on business to either conduct an interview backstage or cover the event for either a third party or my YouTube Channel.  From 2003 to 2011 my passion also led me to the recording studio where I was able to release a number of projects independently through my upstart record label, Speakin’ Real Music Group.

After graduating college, I had the opportunity to write for a few Hip Hop websites such as BlogOrDiePGH.com and TRUEMagazine.com while at the same time interning for the video production department over at SKEE TV.  I also at one point even interviewed with HipHopDX.com in the hopes that I’d be hired for a paid position.  Looking back, the interview probably didn’t go as smooth as I would have liked and at the time I really couldn’t commit to anything less than a paid position because financially I was hurting and needed to provide for my family.  Still, it would be at SKEE TV or now recognized more as Dash Radio in Hollywood, where I would learn video production, the process of recording a radio show, how to distribute content effectively over the internet and so many other valuable skills that I still utilize today.  I even got the chance to write for a few segments and prepare interview questions for artists featured on AXS TV’s ‘SKEE LIVE’ show.

Currently, I still find myself in and out the SKEE TV office to shoot and edit interviews for White Label Radio which are featured every Sunday on Dash Radio and can be seen on the official YouTube channel for White Label Radio.  My YouTube Channel, Collective State TV, is a digital outlet I use to showcase some original visual content as well as performances from many of today’s rising and biggest Hip Hop artists.  In fact, Collective State TV boasts over three million views, continues to attract new subscribers almost daily and several of my videos have been featured on notable sites such as NahRight.com, Billboard.com, 2DopeBoyz.com, MissInfo.com, WorldStarHipHop.com, RapRadar.com and more.  It would be safe to assume that if you follow this website/blog than you’re already aware of what ItsTheDaily.com has to offer and its Hip Hop roots.  Finally, Fly Society clothing is another company I currently help contribute to by shooting and editing promotional videos and photos that are featured at FlySocietyOnline.com and the official Fly Society Online TV YouTube Channel.

With all that being said, I just kind of wanted to give people somewhat of an idea for the type of passion I have for Hip Hop simply as a music fan, highlight some of my “professional” credentials and to share a little information about myself.   Overall, this is the reasoning behind my current motivation to want to step into the podcast world and take a stab at it.  If anything the experience should at least be fun and educational.  I’d like for everyone to take into consideration and remember that I’m just a regular guy who loves Hip Hop and is trying to climb the ladder like everyone else.  I’ve been a fan of radio and grew up listening like many Southern California residents to stations like KDAY and Power 106.  Now I’m not saying I would even know where to begin to work a board or cut vocals and splice them with audio on the fly because truthfully that’s not my area of expertise, it was never really ever a goal of mines to learn and I didn’t take advantage of the broadcasting stations on-campus in college the way I should have.  However, things have changed now with advances in technology, podcasts are now becoming more sought after and at the very least I’ll have an outlet to vent about some of the things I like and don’t like going on in the world of Hip Hop. Still, you can be sure that music won’t be the only topic of discussion but it’ll definitely be a reoccurring one.  I guess I just want potential listeners to know or have somewhat of an understanding of the stranger they’re listening to or at least know what I’m about.  So in advance I’d like to thank anyone who decides to tune in and check out the first episode when it drops and if you hung in there and read all of this until the end I’d like to thank you for your time.