The SmartDumb Podcast

Had a really fun conversation with the international poet Masterpiece! We talked about her beginnings, the humbling of slam poetry, becoming nationally heralded before locally respected, being a curator, and FLOW International.

Shiiiii I even have someone on record saying nice things about Arizona!

Juice, a talented artist hailing from Buffalo, NY, talks with me about....well everything we thought of to talk about.

This includes her artist background, understanding and handling of the music industry, releases, and our shared propensity towards lyricism.

On July 9th, 2023. I was the poetry feature for Homebase Poetry. This was the culmination of a poetry journey that began over ten years ago, starting right here with that very platform.

In this episode, I share more of the backstory behind this special night.

I spoke with Emahni, a multi-faceted multi-disciplinary artist from Philly. As of the podcast posting she is a graduate of Temple, and she speaks about her career artistry ambitions.

She also opens up about borderline personality disorder(BPD), how it effects her and bringing awareness to others.

I did a cold open for this episode because it was my first recording in a while, and as part of the rust, I forgot to make sure I knew how to pronounce her name before beginning the interview. Sigh.

The first episode of Season 5 is with Aglowingpoet, an amazingly talented spoken word artist out of Baltimore. We talk about her faith, her writing process, her books, The Woman I Am Becoming, and she shares a Mental Health month themed poem.

She said one bad word so it's "explicit."

Artie Foxx, Cave Gang, Rap Is Poetry, Brandon Leake knows him...

Take a listen, bro has some words of wisdom.

Kay Kiara shares a piece of her stories, and her story in pieces. One hell of a story how she's finding her peace.

I sat down with Ewane Masango of The Society.

Our conversation continues as she discusses her seven(7, VII, siete) books! Talk about CJs Place and where it's going to(...o).

Audio credit:
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

My guest is Carolyn, a Baltimore native. Poet, performing artist, author, event host, and that which is most important to her, a "good person."

We start off talking about her upbringing, how it led to her performance background, and some of her favorite moments acting.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music

Continuing my interview with Grace Love, we talk about the Artist Retreat in April 2022, hosting versus performing, interact with those who viewed us live, and generally shoot the shit.

Audio credit:
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

I sat down with Kandi Turner, the owner of the greeting card company, Black Licorice. We talk about her grandmother inspiring her business, living in Arizona, and her role in uplifting the community, particularly as this was recorded in February.

www.shopblacklicorice.com
https://www.instagram.com/shopblacklicorice/

I had a great conversation with Grace Love. She is among other things a spoken word artist, published author, and the Founder of Poets For Dinner.

In Part 1 she talks about her artistry and creativity, her independence, Baltimore's spoken word scene, and a glimpse into Poets For Dinner artists retreats.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music

December 31st of 2021 I sat down with Divine, a friend/mentor/poetry goddess and overall amazing person. I wanted to make this the first interview released in 2022, so here we are.

Our conversation spans from her poetry, to her performance, to her purpose. It continues into her evolution, and features her young boys/men.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

Continuing my conversation with Nerd. He discusses establishing his identity, networking; meeting and collaborating with DJ Art.is; and his aspirations to expand.

Last episode of 2021 with Nerd, a spoken word artist/rapper/businessman, host of the Refresh DC open mic.

In the first half we talk about him being raised in California; how the LA scene was still "small" for him; making his endeavors a cause for people to support; his poetic influences, styles, and some experiences.

I sit down with the multi-talented and multi-faceted Evie, which means I got to chat with both owners of Evisha. Evie and I discuss how her faith plays in to her experiences, while we cover a wide array of topics. We self-declared a part II, but I am confident that's what the listening audience would want.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

Kicking off the new season is my good friend Brotha Anthony. A spoken word artist who has since become a public speaker, community leader, business owner and published author. Hear him also discuss topics such as his journey, the support of his wife, and the evolution of Phoenix from his perspective as a native.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

What do you do when you have a long overdue guest on your podcast? Have the episode be long overdue by posting exactly 2 months after the recording, duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Sassy. Like many other(read: all) guests, there is a lot you can gleam from her words of wisdom.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

I am joined by my good friends Drae and Whit of the Lit The Write Way Podcast. We talk about their background, me as their producer, me as a guest, other guests, and we even get into a patented J/Drae/Whit debate.

I usually have a lot of fun with my guests, but this one was much needed given the week I had.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

Continuation of a discussion with Kaye. How many topics did we divert to?

Audio credit:
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

I have a conversation with Kaye, a woman of many talents. The first part of the conversation regards who she is, where she's from, and her communications endeavors.

Part 2 is also on the way.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music

Today's interview is with Nnenna, the serial entrepreneur. Learn about her background and military experience and how it helped shape her career...paths. You'll undoubtedly learn something along the way; she is definitely built to speak and motivate.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals 

My first podcast of 2021 was with the lovely ladies of the Femme Noir Files.

Audio credits:
Katt Williams
The Ultimate Rap League, Tay Roc
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

On Juneteenth I had the pleasure of interviewing FareRyder, a DMV-based, black-owned ride share company. I was highly impressed by their story and I think you will be too.

Enjoy the interview, and support and share their movement, whether you're local or in areas you'd love to see them expand to.

#SupportBlackBusiness #SupportGoodBusiness

ONE cuss word.

The first interview of 2020 was with Tia of Capital Region Maids.   We talked about her experience as a first-generation stateside Jamaican, why she chose her school, the tired PWI versus HBCU debate(15:10), her corporate life(24:23), entrepreneur focus(34:34), crippling perfectionism(49:40), her business Capital Region Maids(51:35), and a shoutout to the Overthink Academy.

Audio credits:

Katt Williams
Mayor Talib - Mint Hill Music
Glassboy - Spastic MIDI Signals

Hadn't done #WMMW in a while.  First of 2020.

Audio credits:
9th Wonder - Rose Memory.  Zion album.
Chappelle's Show

The first podcast of 2020 is just one quick discussion about your intentions as a professional on social media, and how people manage to find you regardless.

A poem dedicated to the late Bernice Hughes, on her birthday.

Weekly poem.  Dedicated to my frat brother who died March 2018.

I performed at an open mic in DC on 8/31/19.

Weekly freestyle.  Removed from a poem later performed on 8/31/19.

Weekly freestyle.  To the GZA - Mic Trippin beat.

I just had a few thoughts on the Roc Nation NFL partnership, mainly how social media outrage itches my rectal cavity.

This one is very NSFW so please keep your headphones on.

First of the weekly freestyles on Wednesdays.  Over the Jasmine Sullivan Lions, Tigers & Bears beat.

A group of five good friends decided to get together and start a brand new podcast.  This episode serves as an introduction and preview of what to expect.

I haven't created the platforms specifically for that podcast so I hosted it here.  If you steal my name and make it idle, I will not pay you for access.  But I WILL murder you.

Spent some time with my brother and fellow FAMU Rattler los Lauren to talk about his music.  We got to preview a few of the songs on his project.  Additionally, check out Closet Fulla Fresh Lo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OLHOGSubYg

I recorded a second interview on Christmas Eve, and due to life, am just now releasing.  I'm glad the wait is over, because BP is very real, very raw, and very genuine.

This podcast episode has strong language like none other, but also has plenty of amazing messages and stories that I hope people do not gloss over.  We split up the hour interview with a small break in between, so please take the time out to feed your entrepreneurial spirit, and kill your ego and your judgmental self.

I had the honor and the pleasure of interviewing Harold Branch ahead of the Homebase 10th Anniversary weekend.  We started with his introduction and a discussion of his childhood and upbringing that led him to poetry for 26 years; talked about the nuance and layers of the hood(11:59); he recalled his Ghana visit(15:14); we talked about the current generation and their art(18:38); then he gave his viewpoint on the marketability of poetry(22:02); we talked about some ego tripping relative to Phoenix(25:29); then talked about the origins of Homebase(29:15); followed by the business of poetry, and the black business(36:51).

At 47:11 we took a break, and then at 49:02 we talked about THE Homebase Break(a dark period in my life).  At 66:37 I showed appreciation to Foreign Exchange as well as to Homebase for bringing them to Phoenix.  At 67:50, we talked about the legacy of Homebase, as well as the upcoming evolution of the Phoenix poetry scene, which is looking goodt.  And eventually, at some point, I made my way to a conclusion.

Audio credit:

Hit-Boy - Jay-Z interview

Real Housewives of Atlanta

Little Brother - The Yo-Yo

Little Brother - We Got Now

On Christmas Eve 2018, I interviewed Michael Douglas.  Due to unforeseen circumstances(FORESHADOWING), I didn't edit until 2019.  So, we'll start the year off right with another dynamic entrepreneur.