MILI: Who is Syn ? SYN: I’m a vibe guy. I like setting the vibe when I’m creating. For those that don’t know me (synod.com ) is an overall creator. I’m producer, artist, content creator, podcast creator, designer… anything that can be cool, and I can have my hands in. MII: I see you’re also involved with an app. SYN: I’m a Content Creator for an app called Airtime. Amazing App.it’s pretty much a Clubhouse on steroids. I had a situation over at Clubhouse, and outside of Clubhouse I was doing Podcasting on different platforms. I was making a good buzz with that. Then I got hit up from Airtime to partner up to do some stuff with them. I gave it a shot. I negotiated a situation with them. It went from me being an individual to me being allowed to have my own network there. It’s going to be super
SYN MII: You produce music also, correct? SYN: I have been producing for awhile. I’ve been ghost producing for awhile. I’ve got songs that are featured in a couple of films on Netflix. Driver is one of them. I’ve done some stuff for Spike Lee’s She’s Got To Have It. I have work with the late Fred Da Godson (RIP), Cassidy, and more. I just produced, and put out a successful project for this artist that is a poet. Her name is Shavannah. It’s a Spoken Word project with R&B, and Hip Hop types beats. I also dropped the instrumental version of that project. MILI: Do you have a studio? SYN: I have several studios. Right now I have two, and I will be opening up a third one. I have one on Long Island, Manhattan, and we are about to open another one. We’re opening up a new Label office/ Marketing office. We just opened up an Entertainment Firm. MILI: What’s the name of the Entertainment Firm? SYN: SN19 Agency. It’s going to be an agency that does marketing, consulting, and branding. It will be to help artist stay independent, but still have the backing that they need.
MILI: How do you find your Zen and your creativeness? SYN: What I’m doing helps a lot of people as well. This what I’ve been blessed with do do this for a living. Thank God I was able to have these accomplishments. I remember being laid off from a job, and it wasn’t because of anything I did. They had this thing last to hire first to fire no matter haw good you were. So from there I said if I can help it I won’t let anyone ever control my paycheck again. I’m an energy guy. so I like to give back. Outside of the creative side I like to give back to others that might not have the outlets I had. MILI: Are you planning on doing more music: I’m still getting streams off of Crowded room.. I’m going to release a single with Fred the Godson . I’m also working on “now this”… another Love Drugs and you The instrumental dropped 3 months ago MILI: How can anyone reach out to you or get services you offer? SYN: therealsyndotcom on Instagram. People can also download the AIrtime app. I respond to the majority of the dos that I get.
Photo Credit: Nathan Cohen MILI: Did you have any formal education for journalism ? LOPEZ: Yes, I started in Nassau Community College. I was an English major. I took some journalism courses there. Actually I started in high school and my journalism teacher there asked me to be part of the school newspaper. I actually started doing celebrity interviews because I was always into music. I did some music reviews. I wanted to take it a little further so that’s when I started doing celebrity interviews for the little high school newspaper. MILI: What high school did you go to? LOPEZ: I went to Valley Stream North in Franklin Square, but I grew up in Malvern. A fun little fact is that my first interview at that high school was with David Banner who actually was part of a group back then called Crooked Lettaz.
MILI: You were doing music before journalism, right ? How did journalism affect your music? LOPEZ: Once I started writing professionally as a journalist, music took a backseat. I stopped pursuing being an artist, but I was still pursuing songwriting here and there part time. When I wasn’t doing the journalism thing, I was still in the studio trying to creatively still get my songwriting out there. MILI: How many years would you say you’ve been doing journalism? LOPEZ: Well I started in my junior or senior year of high school so I would say over 20 years now.
MILI: How would you describe your style of music? LOPEZ: I would say it’s definitely eclectic, and a good blend. I have one song that’s coming out , Somebody From My Past, but then I have a song called Sleepwalking which is totally in a different direction. It’s more like pop dance. I like all genres of music. I like country music. I love R&B music and I love pop so it’s a big melting pot of styles.. MILI: Were you doing the same music back then that you’re doing now. When you were in Cove Recording Studios in Glen Cove growing up? LOPEZ: It was probably more RnB back then.
MILI: Have any of the interviews you covered impact your life?
MILI: You also have a book out. Headlines. What inspired you to write headlines?
LOPEZ: I would say Wendy Williams has always been my favorite interviews. She’s just so amazing at what she does and it was really just interesting for me to interview her. For me to be sitting there with the “Queen of all media” as she calls herself was amazing. This was when she was on WBLS. We were in her all pink office and she just gave it all. She leaves it all out there. She doesn’t hide anything. She speaks from her heart, and she gave a really amazing interview. I always definitely likened my interviewing style to hers and Jamie Foster Brown. I guess those are a couple of my journalism people that I look up to.
LOPEZ: I was nearing the age of 40 and I said I want to finally start doing some of those things that I always wanted to but never did. One of those things being the book. So I started writing a book that was going to be initially about my adoption and me being a foster. It was going to be about that, and that was like over 10 years ago. I think I was just intimidated by the idea of having to fill up a whole book. As I was nearing 40, I decided to pick up the pen and paper again. I started to write something a little different that was based on part of my life. The book is about a young journalist coming up in the entertainment business. He has his career. He’s thriving in his career, and he travels around all the time on Red Carpet events. In his travels he meets a young male RnB singer and they become friends. Then they quickly become more than friends. After that, it’s the roller coaster of ups and downs of that relationship.
MILI: Are you still working with the Black Noir Magazine? LOPEZ: They stopped, as most magazines do, being printed and went online. I’m still kind of technically there but there’s not too much going on right now. I’m still considered the Associate Editor of Blackmore magazine here. We’re still family MILI: He also stepped into the shoes of being a publicist. Who are a few people you worked with over the years? LOPEZ: Early on I worked at an agency where some of our clients were Michelle Williams and Keith Sweat. We did a movie launch with Boris Kodjoe.
MILI: Should we expect any more literature coming from you in the future? LOPEZ: Yes, I’m actually writing a sequel. It will be Headlines II. That’s where the music came back in. I wrote a song for the book, but then I got in the studio. One song turned into another, and then turned into four.
MILI: You talked about being adopted. You grew up with the adopted name Rob Sauthoff, but now moving forward with your music, you decided to go back to your roots with your name Nino Lopez. Do you feel a stronger connection to your music coming out with the music under your birth name? LOPEZ: I think so. I did want a catchier name but, I also figured it would be like an alter ego. Artistically I might feel a little looser and a little more expressive using that name. MILI: Talk to me about the Joan Marie Foundation. LOPEZ: That’s a foundation that I started in honor of my mom who passed away. Actually today is the anniversary of the day she passed away in 2014. I wanted to start an organization in their honor. Unfortunately, we started right in the beginning of COVID. So I am going to be re-launching soon. The organization’s goal is to help enrich the lives of foster kids. There’s over 400,000 kids in foster care which only 3% go on to get a college degree. We want to turn those numbers around through mentorship or buy scholarship programs. Things like that to turn those negative statistics around. MILI: What would be one message you would want to give to the world? LOPEZ: I would say live life with no regrets. I said I don’t want to be 60 or 70 and not have done a lot of the things that I wanted to do. You can stay up to date, and in the know of all things “ Nino Lopez” on Instagram - @Therealninolopez
MUSIC REVIEW
JAMES “KRAZE” BILLINGS
MILI: When was Kraze Media Group born? BILLINGS: I started Kraze Media Group LLC in 2000. Right before I embarked on the whole DVD magazine era. It was a birth child that I had in my mind. Back then I was reading all the magazines. I read an interview one time where DMX said he did an interview and when it came out they changed everything he said. So I said wouldn’t it be cool if you just video tapped them during these interviews, and then they can’t dispute whatever they said out of their mouth. That was the whole idea for me to come out with the All Access DVD. MILI: Would you bring back the All Access DVD Magazine? BILLINGS: I kind of never stopped doing it. To be honest with you ,I don’t call it All Access, but all the work that I do is parallel to what I did then. I never really kind of changed my format. I just kind of extended it to more of a television format now. To answer your question if there was a demand for it maybe, but I don’t have the desire that I had anymore. Back then I had a hunger to really go out there, and be out there on the road chasing behind artists to get the footage. That’s not my life anymore. I wouldn’t do the physical DVD. If it took the same work that it did make then , then no. I have found a lot of ways to build a life for myself. I kind of removed myself out of the whole Music Industry circle for about 8 years now. I got into some other things that have been profitable for me ,and I’m happy about that. I’m embarking on those things. I still love what I do. I still love being creative,and I still love taking footage and turning it into something and then watching people’s reaction. I still have the love for that. So that part of it, yes the grinding and chasing an artist, and getting on the road...no not at all.
MILI: What was your era of Hip Hop like? BILLINGS: For me I’m a 70s baby so the 80s was when I was a teenager. That was really like ‘85, ‘86, ‘87. I think 88 I was like 14 or 15 years old. It was incredible. Even when I think about it now I just think about how untapped it was and how authentic it was. You gotta understand right, I’m from Long Island and I’m from Brentwood right so that back then I was also a Rap artist. I had a record deal back then. I had a lot going on at a very early age in my life so I was very embeded into Hip Hop. You asked me how the era was? I grew up with EPMD. They lived in my neighborhood. We’re still friends to this day. I grew up with Craig Mack. We went to the same high school together. JVC Force, Biz... all of these guys I would see all the time before they were major artists. At house parties you see all these guys rapping at the parties. So Hip Hop for me was a little different. I wasn’t the kid watching it on TV at 14,15 years old. I was actually at the functions you know. My mom told me back then you know that the Long Island railroad was like $2.50 to go to Jamaica Ave you spend $5. My mother said “OK you’re 14 , I’ll let you go to Jamaica Ave.” . Well I used to go to Manhattan. (Laughter). We used to go to Manhattan then go to the arcade rooms and I would get the fake ID’. I wasn’t the kid that watched everything on TV. I was always involved in the studio watching Redman, EPMD , and Das EFX come in and out of the studio. I had a different look on it. I felt like I was a part of it not just watching it so for me that ever with tremendous. I was so into the music, and you couldn’t tell me Rakim wasn’t the best artist ever invented. He’s one of my favorite artists, but my favorite group is EPMD. That era for me means a lot . That’s why I do what I do now as far as the documentaries are concerned. I took a real look into creating these documentaries because if you look at Hip Hop there’s not a lot of history that you can go back to and actually learn things from. There was documentaries on let’s say Naughty By Nature or Queen Latifah or Grand Daddy I.U. I mean the list goes on. These are all guys that kind of paved the way for Hip Hop to be where it is today. Everyone has their little or big contribution to get Hip Hop where it is today. I tell these stories because they haven’t been told. I think the thing about history is that it has no time frame. Something that has to do with history you can watch at anytime. You could watch it in 2010 you can watch it in 2014. The information doesn’t change period. I started a franchise called the Untold Stories Of... It was the Untold Stories of Grand Daddy IU...The Untold told story of Nice and Smooth ..and so on and so forth. I did about 25 documentaries. I created those documentaries so you can then go see what they’re doing now. I don’t really bring you into the futur. “We
tackle their first albums because a lot of their first albums were classics. It just gives you a visual idea of how they got on , who they got on by, and the music that they had. It shows how influential their music was. I think that was important. That is the core of most of my films or documentaries is getting to the core and highlighting their successes and their contributions to the culture.”
“Sort of like what y’all doing now” - Billings
INDUSTRY MUSCLE
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MILI: Will you be distributing this collective series of legendary artists independently or through a major source outside of your company? BILLINGS: This is what I’ve learned. I’m going to answer that in two parts. Television is a great opportunity. It opened my eyes to so many different things. First of all I’ve had three TV deals without having an agent and they were all on major platforms whether it was stars in 2007. I had deals with Starz, and then in 2014 we had the reality showed me and my ex wife on VH1 and then in 2020 did a deal with PBS.
“I did a mini series with them called real Rap Stories. I’m an advocate for ownership. And television they want to take your ideas. For me I’m going to stay independent. I’m gonna release stuff on my own platform because I just feel like why give my power away. If the content is your power ,right ,and you give it to the next person does that makes you stronger or Netflix stronger? It made Netflix stronger right? “ So you come up with something else that’s dope and you give it to Netflix again so all these companies is doing is building the catalog to be worth billions and trillions of dollars but then you get the money right and then you have to come back to them and say OK I have another project I want to bring it through your system they may say yay or nay right? I don’t ever want to be in that position where someone can tell me no. So the only way that I could be in a position like that is to own my own period. To own my own projects, own my own platforms , and to distribute it myself. So I’m choosing to distribute all the projects that I’m working on now on my new streaming platform that I’m launching in 2024.
His platform is Genre specific. “When you go to my platform it’s not like a Netflix, and it’s not like Hulu.. It’s going to come with any type of Hip Hop from ‘85 to 2010. If you want to come and understand those 3 decades of Hip Hop... that’s where you will go” - Billings BILLINGS: It’s a Pay Per View model not a subscription model. So you just pay what you want to watch. I wouldn’t have to keep up with a “Netflix”. I won’t have to keep uploading new content so often. It just makes sense. MILI: What are your top three components or things that help you with your work life balance? BILLINGS: I have to learn this. That’s a great question. So in the beginning of my career I used to work at least 16 to 18 hours a day. That was filming and editing. My success with all access didn’t come over night. I literally worked 16 to 18 hours every day for about two to three years. A lot of my friends could be a testament to that because they would be hanging out in the clubs and then come to the house .. “yeah we’re going to such and such..” , and I had to get the stuff edited. What I’ve learned overtime life is about balance. You definitely have to take time for yourself and your family. You have to be mindful when something is pulling you. You have to sacrifice if you want success you can’t get success without sacrifice. It’s just if you wanna be in this business and you want to dominate in the music or entertainment business you have to put in the time. There’s no part time work period so the only thing that I can say is that what I’ve learned about balancing is that it has to be apparent to you that this is lacking or you’re going to put more time into this. You’re so focused on building and you’re so focused on winning and you’re so focused on just staying on top of your game sometimes you lose sight of that. My daughters when I started there were like two or three now they’re 18 and 15 and we obviously had a talk and she was like dad you were never around when we were young . You were always on the go. I said I was on the go so you can live the way that we’re living now. Then you can look back at it and you say that was a sacrifice I made to be able to be around you guys .Now I’m here to go to College tours with you, help you fill out your applications so all of the time that I put in now those 18 and 16 hour days gave me the ability (now at 50) to sit back and enjoy my children as they got older. So the only thing that I could say is that everything requires a balance. I have to learn that. That causes a lot of conflict in your relationship too. If you’re in a relationship with somebody or you’re married. Back then you’re building a family that takes a lot of hardship on your relationship too so it’s important to have balance. So now this is how I operate today. Now that I started getting back into being out and moving in a different manner . When I fly and go to California I take my kids with me. I don’t leave them behind anymore. Sometimes they go on site with me or they’ll dip off. I learned now , it’s one thing when you go away, come back, and tell your family about this ,and another thing to be able to take them with you and they can see it.
MILI: Your daughter Briya also became involved in the interview scene with her show Rap Classics. Did that create a stronger bond between the two of you? BILLINGS: My daughter is funny because she comes from a background from where her mother and father both work in the music industry. So that for my daughter gave us a great time to work together but Briyah has been involved with the music industry from 10 years old we’ve been trying to push her. That’s something she told me she doesn’t want to do. That was like pulling teeth for her . But that really was my era, and she was more comfortable talking about artists she liked. I told her she doesn’t understand the magnitude of taking a girl that was fifteen 14/15 years old and taking about artists from the 80s that’s unheard of. They were like how do you know all that stuff? She just couldn’t get it. So what I decided to do is when you’re in this business you get a lot of people that want to help you and they’ve been someone I realize this I just made a conscious decision to invest in my children at some point. I was not gonna put my energy into other people I’m going to put it into my children. So over the last several years that’s all I really have been focusing on with my children so at that point bria had some interest in it she told me that I don’t wanna do it no more. This is not something I really like even though her mom told me to keep pushing her she’s good. Even though she was good it just wasn’t something she didn’t wanna do. I’m proud to say now she’s going to be a doctor . She just graduated and got accepted to UNC so she’s going to the medical program and I’m just happy. But , yes it brought us closer and gave us the opportunity to work. My other daughter used to fix the lights and stuff when we did it so I had my other kids there while Briyah was on camera . We were kind of working as a family. I kinda teach them little things about the business and my youngest one is 7, Elijah. He’s probably more like me. It’s beautiful when you can raise your children and it was always a blessing that I was always in that light. There was a lot of time that I was there and I’m proud of that.
A lot of his money and success didn’t come from the Music industry. The Music Industry was a way for him to build with companies outside of it.. That sparked the idea for him to start a marketing company. Around 2007/2008 he started a marketing company. He had his hand in Audi commercials.
BILLINGS: Love and Hip Hop. There was an episode with me, Jim Jones, and Juelz Santana. I got Jimmy an Audi A.L. L. He had the Chrissy and Jimmy show , and in the beginning , it shows that car. I started to build relations with brands i’m the music industry was a way to help me realize that there was more to me than than just filming artists and so when I realized that I started my marketing company like I said which opened doors that was very successful for me then I decided to leave New York in 2015 I bought a house for me and my family in Charlotte. I thought I could give them a better opportunity. Now I have several other businesses and I’m going to build a film company here. The first Black Owned Film and TV Studio here in Charlotte within the next 3 to 5 years. I also got into Real Estate here, and I’m launching a Cannabis company. This will be the first month I got into it. We are still working on it, but it will definitely be out this year. Charlotte was a blessing for me. It gave me a chance to look at things differently. in the sense of opening my mind to opportunity. Everything in NY was super expensive. Even though I was making money, the money didn’t go far. I wanted to change the trajectory of my family. I wanted them to grow. Here I was able to expand, and buy rental properties. That’s where I’m at now. I never left the core of what I wanted to do. I just expanded what I do. He also has a platform on Facebook where he talks about relationships. He asks his followers to engage in questions about real life relationship issues , and situations.. He goes by the name of Dr. Phil Good. He is for sure a man of variety.
As you can see. He is more than music, and definitely about family. He invests in his children. He invested in business for each of his children. They all have business licenses BILLINGS: I want them to understand we’re not just consumers.
MILI: Where do you find inspiration to have cutting edge content to crown yourself as The King of Content? BILLINGS: That’s simple. That’s the Most high. The most high gives me all those great ideas. All of these projects that I’m writing. Over the last two years I’ve been focusing on my writing. That’s why I’m launching my platform in 2024 because right now over the next two years I’m producing like 3 Series, and two mini series. It’s a lot of work. A lot of them are around 13 episodes. I don’t follow a lot of stuff on social media and I don’t watch a lot of stuff. I don’t watch TV like that, I don’t listen to the radio like that. I stopped doing that for about three or four years now. So I really try to be in tune to what I think the industry is missing and I try to fill up that gap. So it’s easy to emulate it out without their right but it’s hard to actually say I’m gonna go in this direction. . I think I was blessed’. Honestly, I think everyone has a gift. Mine was to tell other people’s stories with my own narrative. I think that’s what I focus on. He has a new series coming out this month called Giving Them Their Flowers. It’s hosted by Parish Smith from EPMD and Super C. The concept of the show is focused on all of their peers. Each episode they will focus on a different artist, and they highlight their career on camera doing commentary as well. You’ll have to stay tuned, follow, and keep your eyes out for this series! “Which people have never seen Parish in that light before.” - Billings Instagram -@indusrtymuscle Youtube.- Kraze The King of Content Facebook - Industry Muscle
The atmosphere has changed. Long Island is going up in smoke! Wait! It’s a good thing. We linked up with a young, Black Entrepreneur that strived to make her vision come to life. Chereese is the epitome of hard work and determination. She recently opened up her own Smoke Shop in Shirley, NY. The town rests on the Eastern side of Long Island. Through a long process, road blocks, and financial losses, she was still able to come out on top. The original business model was set for an online CBD company. (2019 October ) called Bedford Remedies. She came up with the name since most of her family is from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The Covid pandemic quickly made her plans come to a halt along with failed business agreements. That’s when she decided to open Xotic Smoke Shop. Her most interesting pieces in the store are Weed Clips. The store also has a mascot. A Diamond Bearded Dragon, and yes it’s totally alive! @53seuss is the creator of the mural gracing the wall in her store. He worked for Black Ink. Chereese is also big on supporting other businesses. She opens her doors to other entrepreneurs giving them the opportunity to sell their products there as well. So stop by her spot, wink at the Dragon, and support local!
423 William Floyd Pkwy, Shirley, NY 11967
MILI: How was it growing up in New Cassel at that time? What was the Culture? Doctor Dre: We being the African Americans multicultural people that lived there it was an endearing and engaging entertaining community feel. We had a lot of people from all over that lived there. We worked, and did many different things as a community. From social functions, Park Jams, BBQs, community cookouts...we did everything there. MILI: Before becoming Doctor Dre, what did you aspire to be ? DD: Doctor Dre. It sounds funny, but I’m going to tell you why. My name Doctor Dre came from playing sports. Especially basketball. I grew up when the New York Nets ( before they became the Brooklyn Nets) were the New Jersey Nets played at the Nassau Coliseum in the ABA League. I used to go there all of the time with my Godmother and my cousins. I went to all the ABA Basketball games, and I was there so much I actually became a NY Net Ball Boy. One of my favorite players on that team was Julius “Dr. J. Erving from Roosevelt, Long Island. So I kind of emulated his style of playing basketball, but I didn’t emulate his height. I would play with the same amount of determination, aggressiveness, and finesse. “ CAN YOU DUNK THE BALL LIKE DR. J? IN MY MIND I CAN”- DD DD: So that’s where Doctor Dre came from. I just absorbed Doctor Dre rather than Dr. J MILI: What were you studying at Adelphi? DD: Women ( Laughter) I graduated from Westbury High school, at that time my father had passed away, and my mother worked at Westbury high school. I went to Nassau Community College for two years. I ended up on the Dean’s list. I studied Biology Chemistry, Women’s courses, and I was in the African American studies program. After I finished at Nassau, I went to Adelphi University. because I was enamored by this beautiful young lady I was dating and she was going to Adelphi. I had a scholarship to go to school upstate ( Cornell) academically, and I chose Adelphi. I studied education, I studied business, and I studied communications. MILI: What sparked your interest in coming aboard on Adelphi’s campus radio station? DD: Adelphi’s WBAU 90.3 FM 516-747-4757. I still recall it. I was in a black music class with the late great professor Andrei Strobert, and my classmates were Bill Stephney, and a gentleman named Carlton Ridenhour. A.K.A. Chuck D. We were in this black music class together, and we were talking about music and its inception in Africa. Different nations and different cultures that were coming to the United States and being in black music. Certain artists like James Brown.. and I was always discussing Earth Wind and Fire. So they always turned and looked at me because back then I would go to school with a tie on sweater vest or sweater. You know, very dressed up to the nines. Bill and Chuck grabbed me and said, “Well do you know about the radio station here? “I said, what radio station? “I ended up doing the radio station at Westbury high when I discovered the room there for a while. I said I heard about it but I didn’t think WBAU was at Adelphi, and they brought me to the station and the rest is pretty much history. It’s in my book, I’m writing about that.
MILI: Did you face any diversity during times of touring with the Beastie Boys? DD: Yes, we had a couple of incidents that happened in Boston. We had an incident where I couldn’t walk through the front door across the street from Fenway Park. To their allegiance with me, we all walked through the back door. We did what I like to call one of the quickest sets we ever did, and then we just left. It was like a quiet ride back from Boston to New York. We heard stories about that from Frank Sinatra bringing Sammy Davis into Night Clubs in Las Vegas, and saying, “If Sammy can’t go through the front door, I’m not coming in.” When you experience it as an artist, and especially in the infancy of their careers, and my own, you kind of really just reflect and say wow we really haven’t gone anywhere. MILI: Was your special guest appearance on The Fresh Prince that moment that you broke into acting? DD: That was like the fourth role I was in. I was on NY Undercover, Juice, Crush Groove. Some of the things I was in hit the cutting room floor. That was the first individual acting because I knew Will ( Will Smith) for a long time since he did Girls In The World Ain’t Nothing But Trouble. I was Dj’ing with the Beastie Boys, and my group Original Concept. We were doing a show down in Philly. That was the first time I met Will. As a matter of fact I was interviewing him at Hot 97 with my partner Ed Lover, and he said “ Dre, I want to know if you want to come on the show. We got a part for you.” I said,” Get out of here..Get out of here... you’re joking.” When Will asked me I said of course I’ll do it! Why not? MILI: Over the years you’ve interviewed numerous people. What would you ask yourself? {DD: So just how many white women did you date? (Burst of laughter) } DD: What would I ask? What was my greatest passion for music, and why did I stick with it when things didn’t work out? MILI: The impact you’ve had over the years on the lives of not just adults but the kids growing up over the years rushing to the radio to hear you entertain... How does that make you feel inside? DD: A blessing because the one thing about what I got an opportunity to do is when we started DJ’ing in the parks, peoples houses, and bars carrying speakers and equipment with records everywhere. We couldn’t imagine all of the things ahead. You couldn’t tell me, “You’ll go on the television, you’ll go on New York Radio. Being at WBAU ( and I state this in my book) was one of the greatest experiences. That incubator was the greatest time of my life. We knew it was purposeful, and we knew it was a great thing. It helped even when we got to Hot 97. One of the blessings I have had is that I have been on every radio station in New York.
MILI: Doctor Dre has graced the airwaves in NY on stations such as Hot 97, WBLS... Power 105... the list goes on. He and Ed Lover had the #1 Morning Show in NY beating out Howard Stern’s cast.
MILI: From Adelphi Radio to Hot 97 to Yo MTV Raps. Can you talk about how that happened? DD: Adelphi University happened first. Then I became a DJ for the Beastie Boys. While I was at Adelphi we became friends because I knew the owner of Def Jam, which was Rick Rubin at the time. I played their records at my show the Operating Room. I worked with Bill Stephney when he did the BeatBox for CMJ ( The College Music Journal) and through that evolutionary process me and my group Original Concept wrote a song for RUND.M.C on their Raising Hell album called “Proud To Be Black” I couldn’t Dj for the Beastie Boys anymore so I was asked to do some filming dates. From there when I came back, and completed the Original Concept’s album - Straight The Basement Of Kooley High, and we actually went on tour. The Executive Producer at Yo! MTV Raps, who I met when I was with the Beasties. He met with me while I was Dj’ing in the city at a Loft party. He asked me if I had seen Yo! MTV Raps. At the time Fab 5 Freddie was hosting the weekend show. He gave me a card with a Shamrock on, and it said MTV. I just laughed and said “Yeah right.” But ironically the pilot that was done for Yo MTV Raps was done by run DMC and the late, great Jam Master J. was at the Nassau Coliseum. Public Enemy was going to perform, and I introduced them on the stage. So I’m actually in the pilot of Yo MTV Raps. You can see me on stage, and I always laugh about that. Then Peter asked me to come back, and talk to them about expanding Yo! MTV Raps to a daily format. He said Fab didn’t want to do it so he thought of me. First he asked me what I thought Fab needed for his show. I said there should be some personal segments that deal with the culture, and maybe some comedy. Keep it light along with the interviews. So he asked me to show him what I could do. Doctor Dre got together with T Money who went to school at NY Tech for film and television. So the two got together, and created a Barber Shop scene. A guy was supposed to sit in a chair and do the part that Dre was directing, but failed to show up. So what did he do? He got in the chair himself, and did it. The tape landed back in the hands of MTV, and he was asked to host the daily show. All the deep details will be in his upcoming book.
MILI: During your interview days in the 90’s, was there any rapper that you wanted to interview, but didn’t get the chance to. DD: I can’t say I didn’t. I was blessed When we first started doing Yo MTV Raps we were doing it all around the country except in NY. At that time in NY, the boroughs didn’t have Cable. They had Ralph McDaniels with Video Music Box. At the time Ed, and I were populer outside of NY. No one really knew we were on. Only little pockets, and on Long Island where some people had Cable. If we didn’t get someone on Yo, we got them on Hot 97. Howard Stern was even on Yo! MTV Raps with us. He was on the phone, but he was on there with us. Mel Gibson , The Godfather of Soul... James Brown , Pam Grier, John Ames... so we had an eclectic show. We had many different people , and that’s what we wanted.
MILI: Is there anybody you want to shout out, and acknowledge? DD: My children, the ones I know about, the ones I don’t know about.( I’m kidding, I know all of my kids) Big shout out to my daughter who’s graduating Law School this year. I’m so proud of her. So proud of all of my boys. Their mother’s because they put up with a lot of my nonsense. My family, my brother’s, my sister, my nephews, my extended family. Shout out to Original Concept, and The Concept. From Rushmore Street to Broadway. From New York Avenue to Prospect Avenue, and everybody that was involved with our rise. It took forever to get here. We are still fighting to stay and do what we love. My biggest shout out is to New Cassel, and Westbury. I put it that way for a reason because people became dismissive of New Cassel when I was growing up. It was where all the Black people lived, and the Spanish people. We had a Railroad in our backyard, and Westbury was a different side of town. I had friends in Westbury, and there were a lot of great folks in Westbury. I just have a great appreciation for being born and raised on Long Island in the “Boondocks”, and “ Y’all ain’t good enough to be in the Boroughs... you’re not from Queens” I used to fight all of the time about Queens and Long Island. Queens is on Long Island.. Look at the map.. Brooklyn is on Long Island. MILI: Yes. That is the great debate . They will never acknowledge that. DD. Yes, but Big Up to all my people in the Bronx, Harlem, Downtown,Midtown . Thank you. So my biggest Shout out is to New Cassel, Westbury, the love of my family, friends, and enemies.
Q DA BOSS
MILI: You’re more than a businessman. You’re a business!. You’re a lot of businesses. Q: Yeah a hustler man.I’m a hustler. Where I’m from either you make it or you fail. There was no other option for me if I was gonna make it or I was going to fail. I put myself in every lane and I figured one of them was going to hit. MILI: What was your first business venture? Q: The first ownership I ever did by myself was owning the barbershop. The barbershop gave me courage. It gave me a platform to talk in front of a lot of people. It showed me that I can be a community activist and have a voice in my community. As I did that, I learned that space was something that made me who I am today. It molded me rather. MILI: Who are you today? Q: My real name is Quentin Brown, but everybody calls me Q da Boss. That wasn’t a name that I named myself. I never even went by Q. I had a different nickname. Q just came, and they started throwing the Boss on the end. I stayed with it. I actually liked it, and it has grown on me. I never grew up as a “Q”. Fastforwarding to the next venture, he also had his hand in music. He created a company which proved successful enough to land one of the artists in the right places. Projects reached everything from visual entertainment to video games. He mentioned how much he enjoyed the Music scene. He was surrounded by creative, and colorful people. He’s very much into Art overall. He goes to Museums, and collects. He has purchased pieces from Rembrandt, as well as a few different African Artists. “ When you’re in a room, and you’re seeing creativity being created, it’s just amazing.” - Quentin
MILI: You also have Empowered Dynasty. There’s two different entities. Q: I actually own a nightclub also. I noticed ever since I started in real estate a lot of people were not getting their fair chance as far as investing...90% of millionaires come through real estate and real estate is where I tell a lot of people they should put their money. It’s where you are watching money working for you as far as being invested in a tangible asset. As your equity grows your savings and your finances grow. Many people don’t understand Real Estate, but Real Estate was one of my most lucrative businesses I got into. I created a company called empowered dynasty. I pulled together about 150 people. People I grew up with, people I knew, and I told them listen this is what we should do. I noticed that a lot of cultures have done that to the point where they have changed economical status. I said to myself how can I help the people that grew up in my Barber Shop. How can I give back and that was my way of giving back. MILI: So you don’t just empower who also are an influencer as well. We see a lot of your posts and follow you on Instagram. You have some very uplifting posts. Most times a lot of people that are involved in so much business activity can’t even keep up with that. How do you keep such a positive vibe? Q: it’s simple logic it’s impossible to receive positivity if you were negative. It’s impossible to allow your life to enter positivity if you’re always talking about negativity. Most people don’t see the good in their life at no cost. They can’t see how blessed they are because they’re too busy watching other people’s windows. The moment I started watching my own window, I started seeing how blessed I actually was. I didn’t grow up with a father, but my mom was such a strong woman. God didn’t give me a good father, but he gave me a good mother. Once I started appreciating those things I started looking at things differently. I would think.. I know it’s raining, and I wanted to party this weekend... The rain might have prevented me from doing it, but maybe it kept me in the house because I could have died that day. I pray for people. I think I’ve prayed for people now more than I have in the last ten years. I pray that they find peace and happiness. MILI: Where do you get your inspiration for your content? Q:The things I say online I feel it’s God using my voice. Everything is freestyled. It’s just talking. I don’t just write content. I feel like when you speak from your heart, you’re speaking the truth. MILI: What’s your daily routine? Q: Every day I wake up between 5:00 and 6:00am to I hit the gym first. Health is wealth. There is no point in getting wealthy if you’re not taking care of yourself. You have to take care of yourself, that’s mandatory. I meditate, I pray and I thank God for another day. Then I start my day with phone calls. My phone doesn’t stop ringing all day long. My girl got to hang out with me, and saw how hectic my day was, but that’s what I want. I like it, it’s for me. MILI: What influencer do you admire? Q; I would have to say I follow more celebrities. I do like 50 Cent. I see Content Creators, but I try not to focus on them so I don’t try to budge into their lane.I don’t study people too much on Social Media. I read more books. Robert T. Kiyosaki if I had to say somebody.
MILI: What would you tell any up and coming influencer that listens to you, and would want to move in the same lanes as you? Q: Be original, speak your truth, and make it natural. Don’t force it because people can tell fake. MILI: Your follows, do they ever reach out to you looking for help? If so, do you contact them back ? Q: I’ll be honest with you, I respond to people all the time. The one thing I realized as being a Barber, those personal conversations are between you and that person. I’m not a licensed therapist, but you know as a Barber or a Beautician that is the closest thing to a therapist. I have a kid out in Boston. I gave him my personal number, and I’ve been his mentor for the last 6 months. His grades have actually picked up so much. He just needed a male influence in his life. I realize more men need more positive men in their lives. I commend, and tip my hat to the women, because women have done a stellar job, but I feel these men need to step up to the community more. MILI: Are you planning on expanding into other ventures: Q: Yes I’m actually looking into buying a Papa John’s. Everything I have, I’ve earned. I’m not a handout type of guy either. I’m like one of those types of people that says let’s work together. I notice a lot of franchises are doing very well. I follow and study guys like 50 Cent, Rick Ross, and Nipsey Hussle. I actually got to meet Nipsey a few times. His team actually gave me a plaque. These people are the ones that I idolize. Their legacies had an impact on the culture. I’m definitely looking into ventures that are going to be pulling opportunities to have unity as a unit. Individually you are only so strong “As an influencer... you’re nothing without the people you are influencing” - Quentin Brown
INDUSTRY 21 MAGAZINE
MILI: What’s your take on Long Island music then and now?
INDUSTRY 21: It’s not good to compare the new artist to the old artist. Their promotion team was the streets.( Back then) People had to believe in you, and have that passion for what you were doing. They wouldn’t have made it in that era.
MILI: What is your roll in the company? INDUSTRY 21: Everything I do all OF my own work. MILI: When did it all start? INDUSTRY 21: It started back in 2010. Actually it was my childhood friend Ricky Allan. We started off as Exit 21. He decided he wanted to move towards photography because the magazine business can be overwhelming. He went on to do that, and he handed the magazine over to me. Being that he wasn’t my business partner anymore, I changed it to Industry 21. The internet was starting to break. Most of his inspiration came from being in the industry. He’s attended events with big hitters in the Industry like Jay Z’s 26th Birthday Party. MILI: Tell us a little about the magazine: INDUSTRY 21: I give opportunities with the magazine to back entrepreneurs, Nail Artists, Comedians, etc. Its an entertainment magazine all around. The spin off to the magazine is the merchandise for the magazine. MILI: What are some of your hobbies? INDUSTRY 21: I enjoy traveling in and out of State. I’m into sports. Sometimes I go to the games. I’m heavy into boxing. My real hobby is covering the events, and getting content from the event. Big events, and small events.
INDUSTRY 21: Way back in the days when we were kids ( going back in the 70s and 80s) before hip hop there was disco. The fashion, and how we dressed and all of that were different. The future things are changing. We have the internet now. People don’t know what or who came out of Long Island. I remember Chuck D brought Ice Cube out her when he went solo. People don’t know Chuck D produced his first solo album. He came to the east when he went solo, and he came right to us. Chuck D even named Busta Rhymes. Prodigy from the heights… Method man from Terrace…they shouted us out, and let people know where the come from. MILI: With the combination with every you do, what was your biggest highlight? INDUSTRY 21: I think it was 2016 I think it was Summer Jam, Troy Ave on the cover and Drewski on the cover from Hot 97. Also a couple of years after that., 2018 I had Itbitzkit on the cover. A lot of people got to know me. It was a good issue. Shout out to Don Q from the BX, and young MA….. shout out to Hot 97 too. Special Thanks: INDUSTRY 21: I just want to thank you for supporting me, and all of the other supporters especially Long Island. That’s where I’m from, Exit 21. Everyone that gave us a shot. I grew up in a time where it was word of mouth. You had to be who you were. You couldn’t just take a picture and post a caption. Shout out to the people that got it out of the mud. Instagram: @industry21mag Apparel: i21apparel.com Photos: Facebook ( D. Whethers)