Instrumental Intel - Ep 4 Mental Health & Hip Hop Through the Years with Cinqué Barlow (5-25-24)

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Achickwitbeatz presents ⁠the Instrumental Intel podcast⁠, bringing you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news & tips, insights & interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm EST on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠.
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Instrumental Intel Podcast

Achickwitbeatz brings you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news, insights, interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm ET on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio,⁠⁠⁠ Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠, and your favorite podcast platform.

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Transcript Generated by Riverside

00:01

Hey, I'm music producer Achickwitbeatz and thank you so much for joining me today for instrumental intel. I am so excited to bring this episode to you. Got a lot of goodies on the way, but first off, I definitely need to send a shout-out to my home station, Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And you know, it's just gonna be a great time. Of course, there's gonna be Beats, Music Industry News, and I've got a special guest coming to join me a little bit later.

00:29

mental health professional and fellow Hip Hop enthusiast, Cinqué Barlow. We're going to close out Mental Health Awareness Month with a chat about Hip Hop and mental health through the years. So yeah, it's going to be a great time. So stick around. Got a lot in store. All right, let's go. 

13:40

Hey, I am back with the Music Biz Brief, and today we've got some hot topics that are stirring up the music community, so settle in and let's go. The big buzz that's got everyone from songwriters to publishers rallying together is Spotify's plan to bundle audiobooks with its premium subscription. So if you're scratching your head wondering why this is such a big deal, I can break it down for you. Spotify wants to include 15 hours of audiobook listening with its premium, its duo, and family plans.

14:10

Sounds kinda cool right? But here's the catch, by classifying these plans as bundles, Spotify can pay lower royalties to songwriters and publishers. And we're not talking like any small change here at all, we're looking at an estimated 150 million dollars in revenue loss. So the National Music Publishers Association, which we'll call the MMPA for short, and the Association of Independent Music Publishers,

14:36

The AIMP for short, and the Mechanical Licensing Collective, MLC, are all rightfully up in arms over this new strategy and makes sense. So to add to it, Spotify is actually being kind of slick with it too. So they're automatically opting users into this new plan that includes both audiobooks and music and forcing them to manually opt out in order to switch into a music-only plan, which of course compensate royalties according to the current model.

15:05

So the AIMP advocates for the reverse. They want the default to be the music only plan, requiring users to opt out in order to use the audiobooks plus music plan if they want. Also, the NMPA and the MLC aren't having it with the MLC filing suit against Spotify. So they argue that Spotify's premium plans aren't truly bundles, but it's just a tactic to exploit the loophole in order to reduce payments and undermine the previously agreed upon rate structure.

15:35

known as the Copyright Royalty Board or CRB for short, Phonorecords IV. So this was supposed to secure fair rates for songwriters from 2023 through 2027. So now the NMPA isn't just stopping at opposing Spotify's current strategy. They've called on Congress to overhaul section 115 of the Copyright Act, and this section has been around since 1909, if you can believe it.

16:02

So it forces songwriters and publishers to accept government-regulated rates for mechanical royalties, which means they can't negotiate freely in the market. So the NMPA wants right holders to have a choice between these statutory rates or engaging in free market negotiations, which is rightfully so. So on the flip side of that, you have the Digital Media Association, or DiMA for short, which represents heavy hitters like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more.

16:31

and they're pushing back hard. So they claim that changing this system could actually dismantle the framework that was established by the Music Modernization Act, or what most people are calling the MMA for short. The MMA was designed to streamline and simplify the licensing process for digital music, making it easier for services to secure the necessary permissions in order to stream music. But of course, the DIMA's position

16:59

mainly benefits the streaming services themselves. So they get predictable costs and avoid the mess of individual negotiations. So you can see why they're not thrilled about shaking things up. Sony Music Publishing is also jumping into the fray, siding with the NNPA in exploring all options to enforce the improved CRB phono IV rates. So they've reported a 20% drop in royalties due to Spotify's move.

17:25

and the MLC claims losses nearing 50% from premium subscriptions. Now, of course, we gotta see how this plays out, but Spotify might defend itself by pointing to past plan changes and how subscribers are quote-unquote engaging with audiobooks. So of course, we got a lot in store, we gotta watch and see, and I'll definitely keep you posted as information comes in and break it down to the best of my ability.

17:51

But you know, it's important to know this is more than just a legal scuffle. The outcome could actually reshape how royalties are negotiated in the future, which impacts everyone in the music business, especially independent artists like us. So what does this mean for us? We've got to keep a close eye on these developments. Changes in how the royalties are calculated and negotiated, of course, can directly affect our earnings. So it's crucial to stay informed and try to support organizations that fight for fair compensation.

18:21

Alright, and it's also worth noting that Sony Music Notified 700 AI and streaming companies of its decision to opt out of AI training in the efforts to prevent their content from being used without explicit permission.

18:35

So this action is partly in response to the EU's AI Act, which requires disclosure of materials used in AI training and permission for copyrighted content use. So again, another development, it would not be surprising to find out that more labels might follow suit, and of course, something else to keep an eye on.

18:54

Alright, well that's all for today's music biz brief. If you found this information helpful, please share it with your fellow musicians. Hit that subscribe button so you don't miss any future updates. As always, keep making music and fighting for what's right. Now we're going to take a quick pause for the cause and I'll be back with my special guests, mental health professional and fellow Hip Hop enthusiast, Cinqué Barlow, to close out Mental Health Awareness Month with a discussion about Hip Hop and mental health through the years. Keep it locked.

24:38

Hey, I'm Achickwitbeatz, multi-genre music producer and strategist to indie artists and labels. Visit Achickwitbeatz.com for resources for artists and instrumentals in various genres available for songs, blogs, blogs, podcasts, themes, TV, film, commercials, and more. Once again, that's at Achickwitbeatz.com. That's Achickwitbeatz.com Let's make something happen.

25:08

All right, thank you for listening to Instrumental Intel and we have with us today, Cinqué Barlow. And you've been a guest on our music marvel show in the past and now it's great to have you actually on this show with your experience in the mental health field. You know, could you kind of introduce yourself and let everybody know who Cinqué is?

25:33

And yeah, share a little bit about your background in the profession and kind of your journey to becoming a therapist. Oh, wow. I don't think we have enough time. First, thank you for having me on. My name is Cinqué Barlow. I'm an LCSW, which is a licensed clinical social worker. Kind of for aside from doctor, PhD.

25:58

about as high as you can go in the social work field. But I am gonna be looking at that PhD in another field. But anyway, what got me into the field was, it's been a journey. I think I've shared with many and maybe briefly with you. It started with just some personal stuff as probably like as a teen, personal mental health.

26:25

uh, and just some other personal struggles, um, that I overcame, you know, in retrospect, looking back, um, you know, majority of the issues were resolved on the surface, like by my early twenties, which seems cool, but that was really just the beginning, you know, dealing with the, uh, you know, with the substance abuse and mental health stuff I was going through at the time. That was just the beginning.

26:55

Um, but you know, embarked on a career that got to a point where I didn't really enjoy it, enjoyed it. Um, and I really wanted to get into the mental health field. Um, and I, as we were speaking before the show, I kind of dragged my feet as well.

27:14

Um, but actually it all came together nicely because when I was focused and ready, everything just fell into place correctly. You know, I had done school, college at an early age and it just didn't work out. Uh, cause I, looking back, I wasn't, I really wasn't ready. I went back to, and got my bachelor's as a adult. Uh, and I was.

27:38

dead focused. I knew what I wanted and things just fell into place. It wasn't easy, but things fell into place, you know. You know, once I finished my grad program, worked in community health centers, worked for a non-profit, also two local hospitals here in Connecticut, and currently I work for

28:05

I mean, a town municipality as the counseling coordinator for the youths in this particular town in Connecticut. So it's been a cool journey, not easy, ups and downs and everything in between, a lot of frustration and really many points where I wanted to, and there were points where I did, I just gave up, I said, man, forget this.

28:32

but no, I didn't. I got back on track, which is the real skill because we all get sidetracked. But, you know, so I've done individual group cycle, individual and group cycle therapy, worked with adults, adolescents and geriatric population, inpatient and outpatient behavior of health, my current position,

29:00

I don't know, it's a mix of everything. It's community-based, it's therapy, it's policy. It's cool. It's kind of like everything I've done kind of led me to where I'm at. So it's all worked out. Okay, that's amazing. And congratulations on your journey. Appreciate it. Yeah, that's really phenomenal. Since we're talking about mental health and Hip Hop through the years,

29:29

Could you kind of give us a little background on what sparked your love for hip-hop and maybe some early memories or favorite artists from around that timeframe? Oh, wow. Yeah. It's funny because it's still to this day. That's my, that's my, you know, go-to, you know, I think a lot of people look at me and say, why are you listening to that? Like it's just me. Like, you know, I often talk to my friends and stuff and just like we grew up in the perfect.

29:58

spot entirely, you know, because Hip Hop was kicking off then. And I just feel it hit me and a lot of my generation differently because I look at it. Okay, I'm 54 years old, put that out there. I look at folks two, three years older than me. And at that time, yeah, they were into Hip Hop. But really, it was more...

30:28

Gap Band and R&B stuff, you know what I mean? Yeah, they liked hip-hop, but that wasn't really... But us, it just, I mean, it was just, it just spoke to us. So, I remember, and this song's corny, but I remember hearing, you know, everyone talks about the song, but it was. It was Rapper's Delight, because it was a popular song, right? It was just like a pop, you know, fun dance song.

30:57

But even that pop song and then yeah, of course there were other Hip Hop songs before that, but that was just heavy rotation you heard everywhere. But as a kid hearing that, it just was distinctly different than other music, than singing. Rapping versus singing. Like when someone is singing, you can misinterpret words or not get what they're saying.

31:26

There's no, you can't miss the message. It was rapping. And so that right off the bat just, you know, hit me. And then, you know, going forward, I always talk, you know, for me, the game changer was Sucker MCs with Run DMC. That song was just, it just took Hip Hop in a whole nother direction. It was just the rawest thing out at the time. And still today,

31:55

You know, it still rocks. But it was just, of course, it was stripped down beats, but just D and Run just talking about what they wanted to talk about, you know, and that was the beauty of it. You know, I think a lot of times just us, just in general, we spend a lot of time in our own heads.

32:23

to ourselves and our own heads and sometimes that's okay but a lot of times it's not. And that's the beauty of Hip Hop being able to express through words, beats, rhymes, your feelings, your thoughts, emotions, all that. But yeah it began back in then you know from DMC and then you know everything again you know the LL, the the.

32:48

late eighties, you know, early nineties with King, BDP, all that stuff. So, and again, let me just frame it as I'm by, I'm East Coast bias, you know, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Philly. I'm East Coast bias. I got to put that out there. I do listen to everything, but primarily, um, you know, I'm East Coast bias. Amy, you know, I know that gets a really, really bad rap.

33:18

But, you know, I don't think that there's anything wrong with recognizing where it was born. Do you know what I mean? Like, you know, I don't, I don't feel like somebody should be made to feel bad because they have a preference for where it originated in that particular sound. It doesn't mean that you don't like the other stuff. You know, it's just, you have a preference. And I don't think that that's a bad thing.

33:48

Right. I just want to be clear on that. I do, you know, so the songs, the artists I've mentioned, you know, I just don't want folks saying, well, why didn't you mention? Well, this is me. This is where I grew up. This is what I You know what, honestly speaking, you could sit there and read a list of everyone and somebody still going to say, well, you didn't name. Right, right, right.

34:13

I mean, it's always going to be that person. Exactly. Until you block them, you know, and my block list is so long. I know. But, yeah, so, you know, just a little bit of that crowd, you know, for anybody listening, that's actually how you and I connected on Hip Hop. And, you know, even though I do laugh at, like, the Google Plus memes and stuff, you know, but I will say, like, you're one of the highlights that came.

34:42

from that very limited era before they went ahead and shut it down. But yeah. It was a very neat social media experiment, Googlebot. Yeah. Very, very small window of good stuff. Mostly, music-wise, good stuff. Right. On Googlebot. There were a few circles that were actually worth something.

35:08

Absolutely. Yeah, that's how you and I connected, you know, the love for Hip Hop and whatnot. And so, you know, later I learned that you were in mental health. And so, you know, it just kind of made sense to have this conversation with you, especially with your background and mental health. How would you say that that's influenced your perspective on Hip Hop, especially with, you know, themes that kind of mirror struggle and empowerment and whatever may have occurred? Yeah. What are your thoughts on that?

35:39

Yeah, exactly. Everything you just said. I mean, it's a suit. It's always been comforting. I guess that's the key point. And why has it always been comforting? Just everything you said, the empowerment, the storytelling, the themes of resilience, not giving up, keep pushing, being really down and out and about to give up, but...

36:08

No, you keep going. You know, social issues, you know, political, religious, just everything is in there, which is why I have such an affinity towards the art form. And I just feel it is a powerful medium that I think all artists need to just really take to heart before creating stuff.

36:37

Not to say everything needs to be profound and have a message, but just understand that, as I said at the beginning, what you're saying is directly impacting whoever the listener is, positively or negatively. And I think both you and I have experienced both. I mean, we can be in a bad place and hear a song and that can, you know, not just necessarily, you know, lift us up, but just...

37:05

You know, make us feel heard, like, okay, someone else is going through this type of thing. Yeah. Music is powerful, you know, the arts are powerful. And hip-hop is always, for me...

37:20

Been kind of like a mirror at times. I identify with so much. I'm kind of a introvert, extrovert thing, whatever you want to say. No, I can be quiet, but I think a lot of stuff, you know, that's in Hip Hop, I think it's things I feel, I've thought. Sometimes I want to say, but don't.

37:50

So I identify with so much and I do listen to a wide variety of music outside of Hip Hop too, but you know, I always come, I mean, that's the number one. I always see all my playlists. I look at all my playlists, but it's always a look at my favorites list. It's all Hip Hop updating, you know, this week new list. It's always Hip Hop. Yeah. You know,

38:18

been admitting lately that, you know, it's been a certain era in my car, just about every time I get into it. Every now and then I try to, you know, brush up on some new stuff and keep up with what's going on. But just like you said, like my heart goes right back. So, yeah, I typically stick within the golden era and maybe like a little bit of early 2000s. But yeah, so golden era, classic Hip Hop. We're talking

38:45

80s to 90s timeframe. So in the early days of Hip Hop, do you think that mental health themes were as openly discussed as they are now? Like whether it's blatant or, you know, kind of understated? Absolutely not. You know, the 80s, and I'll even argue, was already in the 90s. For folks from, I was gonna say folks who are not part of the masses,

39:12

who came from different communities or did not look like the masses, black and brown folks and other, you know, minorities. You know, it was not something that was talked about. I'm even going to go into, you know, how you identify gender-wise, you know, LGBTQIA.

39:40

Well, like none of that stuff was talked about or acknowledged. It was looking back, you know, retrospectively, I can sit here and say that was a problem. But that's just how it was. So I know for myself going through what I and I'll keep it to myself going through, you know, my challenges, you know, as a teen young adult in the 80s. Like I went through that pretty much with my family and knowing maybe one or two friends.

40:09

It just wasn't something that was talked about. Nobody knew about it. I was ignorant about it. My parents, we had to dig and find information. So I don't know. And I didn't know anyone who was really in tune with it. So the music I was listening to, I think folks were making music and maybe, you know, I don't know if anyone intentionally said, yeah, I got a, I'm feeling this way. I want to get this out on paper and, you know,

40:39

get some beats to it. I don't know if it went like that. Maybe it did. Because a lot of I know in the 80s, a lot of it looking back, we just dealt with it however we could. And it wasn't always a healthy way dealing with stress, anxiety. And then, you know, there's other serious, more serious mental health conditions, you know, aside and not that depression and anxiety aren't serious. But

41:05

You know, we get into, you know, schizoaffective, schizophonia, bipolar, all that. That's real stuff. And then if that was going on in the 80s, no one had any clue about that. You know, the average layperson, you know what I mean? Right. So, you know, it's a common thing with creative folks, with artists. There's a lot of struggles with mental health for various reasons, you know?

41:30

So no, I don't, to go back to what you said, no, absolutely. I don't feel like that was really focused on, you know, just from what I heard. I could be wrong, but I don't know. What do you, what do you think? What are your thoughts? I also kind of have that instinct to say no, but then sometimes, you know, when you think about, and, you know,

41:53

bringing up Tupac and Biggie because no matter who's listening, they know who they are. So, you know, like they're kind of the first ones that come to mind when you think about some of their lyrics and some of their songs, they're telling you they're dealing with depression, but not saying it. So I think at that timeframe, even though those topics were kind of addressed, we didn't really know how to recognize or identify those feelings and, you know.

42:22

Maybe this might be a little lesser known, but I think this is something that most people would know is my mind's playing tricks on me. Like, I mean, Skirrface basically laid out like, you know, textbook, hey, this isn't cool. I'm having these thoughts because I feel guilty about this. So, you know, even though we wrapped along, nodded our heads or whatever, I don't think that the awareness was on us that they were actually kind of

42:51

dealing with mental health themes in some of these particular songs. I agree, I agree. You know, I, you know, you know, the last joint on Big's album, you know? Yeah. Like, I remember when the album first came out, I went to the store, got it, played the whole joint, and that came on, and I was just like, wow. But...

43:16

I listened to that probably, I don't know why, it came on probably six months ago. And I had heard it prior, but it's just, that's some heavy, heavy, like real stuff. And I remember being that age and listening to it, I'm like, wow. But today, I guess through my journey and what I do for a profession,

43:44

It just hit like a ton of bricks. I'm like, wow, you know? Yeah. So many tears. Yeah, yeah. You know, like that song, you know, like, yeah. Yeah. No, but that's, uh, what is it? Suicidal, uh, duh. Geez, I can't think. The last track on... Yeah, I believe it is actually Suicidal Thoughts. Wow, yes. Thank you. I'm happy. Yeah. These, yeah.

44:10

So these songs were out there. We knew them. We knew these weren't good things, but yeah, I don't think at that time frame, you know, that's just not what the environment was like. Oh, maybe he should see a mental health professional. That wasn't even something we would say at that time. Right. Yeah. It's like that's life. Deal with it. Right. You're like, yeah, that beats hard. Man. I bet it felt good to get that out.

44:39

Yeah, but it's real. And I don't know. So, and I always say, I think in terms of mental health and awareness, like you said, in 2024, I think we're in a fantastic place. Everybody's aware, talking about it. But it can still get confusing. There's a lot of buzzwords and terms and, you know, everybody's a Google, you know, therapist, doctor.

45:08

You know, I have this, I know how I should be doing. You know, it's a lot of that too. Yeah, word trauma has been thoroughly abused and thrown around. Yeah, which is all, you know, trauma is all legit, but I'm just saying maybe there's, no, I think we're in a good place. Let me just stop there. Because awareness is step number one, you know, and that wasn't even there. You said go back 20, 30 years ago, you know, particularly in our communities, it just was not.

45:38

Yeah. Um, so I do appreciate that aspect. Excuse me. Of, um, you know, the whole wave of mental health, uh, and so forth. Yeah. But I mean, with that being said, I still think it's a good thing that you brought that up because mental health is so important.

45:59

You know, we might want to steer away from people who just throw around buzzwords and make sure that you're connecting with an actual professional Well, I was kind of ticked around that but I guess I won't. Oh my yeah. No, put it out there. Yeah Yeah, you know, I have this conversation with a good friend of mine a lot. Um And it's great that the awareness is out there, but I just you know, you really got to look at the source. Um

46:28

Cause it goes from one thing from being an opinion, something you've read or seen. But really, I just say, check your references. Look who's giving you that information. And it's really important because unfortunately I've seen a lot of folks putting out different

46:54

monikers or titles and it's really like, and I won't even put it up, but just you have to check the references. You know, what are the individual's credentials? Are they licensed? You know, really dig into that. Because a lot of folks, you know, it's motivational speaking, it could be coaching. But that is that person licensed? Because if they're not, it's a lot of it could be just,

47:23

or what they've experienced, you know, is it evidence-based, you know, what kind of interventions, modalities, like, you know, so all that stuff matters. And I'm not saying everything is bad, absolutely not. I watch videos, you know, by whomever, you know, of course there's good stuff everywhere, but it is important to check the sources, just leave it there. Yeah. If you want to get better, you want to make sure you're taking the right medicine.

47:52

Right. Cut right to it. I can ramble. No, we hear the chat about it though. So yeah. So we've talked about, you know, golden era, the, I guess, kind of transition period, what would you say that that was like, so like from the 2000s to 2010s?

48:19

Did you kind of notice any mental health themes evolving or changing within the culture around that time? From 2000 to- Yeah, like the 2000s to 2010s, yeah. That was a weird, like I was in it. I'm gonna be honest, I was like, I was kind of disheartened with some of the stuff and I was kind of in, like there were certain artists I paid attention to and then I didn't pay attention to-

48:46

everything. A lot of the popular stuff I wasn't feeling. So I think the 2000s were a really good period for music. It had already expanded, it got polished up, cleaned up, it was everywhere. You walk in the store, you hear jingles and all that stuff.

49:13

You know, the stuff I was listening to, yeah, there was still, there's always a consciousness to it. You know, some real stuff happening. I don't know. And part of it was just, I guess, where I was at during that period of time. I didn't like, and I'm just, yeah, I didn't like or enjoy a lot of like, the quote unquote, like party.

49:40

you know, have a good time club type of music, which is cool. Like that's great stuff. But I just wasn't in that space at that time. So I feel like, yeah, from especially in the 2010s, a lot of party club music wasn't what we identified as party club music, you know, before that era. So like it really slowed down.

50:06

It might have like a nice hi-hat for you to bounce to or something, but it started getting really slow. And that's what DJs were spinning. Like it was kind of, I don't know, it was a unique era. Yeah, so I was kind of like, I mean, there was some good, there was definitely good stuff. But to me, it was a very small kind of, a few artists I paid attention to.

50:36

That's why I said like the main street, the big stuff. I always... Go ahead, sorry. Yeah, I feel like there were a lot of themes in the 2010s that either outright mentioned or just alluded to a lot of, you know, like class A type drug use openly. And so like, I feel like there were a lot of themes, but not necessarily...

51:04

You know, again, one of those things that people should be like, Oh, hey, maybe you should see someone about this. It's just kind of like, Oh man, they really opened up on that song. Yeah. Talk about one. Give me an artist like, like, cause I'm drawing a blank here. Like, okay. How about, uh, Kendrick Lamar's, uh, Swimming Pools, for example.

51:25

Okay. And honestly, I wasn't listening to a whole lot of mainstream around that timeframe, but that was one of the ones that broke through and I'm like, Hey, that's kind of nice. “Poor up, drank, sit down, drank,” you know, it's basically, you know, that's the whole essence of the song. And don't get me wrong, like, you know, it's a jam. But yeah, I wasn't listening to it like, oh, dang, he should talk to somebody.

51:52

It still was, yeah, it still, I mean, the awareness was better then, right? Yeah. You bring up the theme too of just substance use, and it's not just Hip Hop, but you know, as you said, things kind of started to progress as we go on, and then into the 20, you know, into the heavier, quote unquote, substances and so forth.

52:21

Um, yes, I know for a while they were calling some stuff like Xan rap, like towards the end of the 2010s, you know, It was interesting I just had to like think real quick like one thing that kind of Not spun me out of but there were certain albums that really hit me and it wasn't I had to I just You know I had to get the exact year. It wasn't 2010. It was 2011. It dropped

52:51

Um, the album Undone by The Roots, um, a fun, to me, a phenomenal album by them. Um, it was a concept album and just, I know I missed a lot. I don't know. I, folks I knew didn't really dig it. Uh, and I guess I kind of get that because for me, that album has to be listened to start to beginning. You can't skip tracks. There's no, you know, really.

53:20

You just can't. Anyway, so that album for me was really a great experience. I remember, if I remember correctly, it came out, I know it had to be winter or late fall. I can't remember exactly. But that was a great experience. And I say experience because that album just took me places sonically and, you know, emotionally, spiritually.

53:49

I looked at it when it came out, they explained the concept, you know, about all of this. But just listening to it was just phenomenal. And that just took me on a journey just through all stages of an individual's life. And to jump back, as I do a lot.

54:17

You know, resilience and everything in Hip Hop, like, my all time, one of my all time favorite, like motivational Hip Hop songs was The Planet by Gangsta, right? That song, when Hard to Earn dropped, was the first song on that that just, not just Hip Hop song, but it just hit me. And that song has always been like a mantra for me. You know, I'm gonna make it.

54:46

You know, that whole song just talking about how an individual decides to stop staying stagnant and, hey, I'm going to go out on my own. And then the song just talks about all the trials and tribulations Guru went through on his way. He felt like giving up at times, you know. And then there's a piece where he talks about

55:10

Well, I'm thankful that I have this, but this is happening. And then at the end he wraps it up, like, you know, I'm gonna keep writing and I'm gonna keep doing this. And I'm, you know, and it's just that, you know, keep pushing mentality that I love about Hip Hop, about that song in particular, but about Hip Hop. It keeps, good Hip Hop just pushes us, the community forward, you know.

55:38

It's inspiring, it's uplifting, it can be. And when I say uplifting, it doesn't mean like we need to be singing, but it can put us in a conscious mind state, you know, a good place. Yeah. Well, you know, since you said that and looking at the clock kind of winding it down, can you give us a few or, you know, even if it's just one?

56:05

or a couple, so I don't want to limit you in that way. But what are some Hip Hop songs that instantly put you in a good mood? Like no matter what you got going on, you pop these songs on, you good to go. Stuck in traffic, people blowing, what you putting on? Yeah, really, not anything, but a lot of Tribe Called Quest. Particularly the first, I mean, the first, you know, People's Instinctive Travels. I love youthful expression. That's my joint.

56:32

That whole album though, really, any of the native tongues, jungle, man, and I just, you know, I think you know, everyone knows my affinity for Dead or Soul. They can do no wrong by me. So, and that's, you know, and again, they're timeless. I mean, they just have been consistent with it.

57:02

go through everything, because they're around the same age, you know, as myself. So watching that group just go through everything and rest in peace, Dave, you know, everything happen with Dayla is just like, again, that's kind of, I see that as a reflection of me and I think everybody can identify with just being young and full of ideas and then being hit with reality and then trying to figure things out.

57:33

Yeah. But any of that, what else? I don't know. There's just so much and I just had a whole playlist I listened to on my way home and I can't even think of a song. But I always go back to Hip Hop. A lot of that era, even newer stuff. I'm like, you know, I'm a big, it's interesting now, today's stuff. I'm more into producers than artists. So follow a producer.

58:02

Like I'll follow, you know, of course, Alchemist, all the stuff he does, like Apollo Brown, all the stuff he does. I know I'm missing a bunch of people, you know, but I think for me today, it's easier and more effective to follow producers in today's music, because, you know, I come from a place where I used to be so locked into groups and bands.

58:27

And that's really gone away. It's like all these singles and stuff. So I really find that if I latch onto a producer that catches my ear, you know, I get exposed to, you know, some good stuff. That's just. Excellent perspective. Well, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your perspective with us. Definitely appreciate that.

58:55

I'm thinking this could just be the first part of a series. We gotta do something like this again. Oh, Eddie, I told you, anytime you just call, I'll work it out. I'll definitely have time to talk. Awesome. Well, thank you. I definitely appreciate you. I know the listeners do too. And yeah, till next time. Thank you. Appreciate you. Thank you.

59:20

Alright, and that does it for this week's edition of Instrumental Intel. I've been your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz. I thank you for joining me and I hope that you found this particular episode helpful and entertaining. Again, I'd like to give another shout out to my home station, Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And I hope that you'll be back to join me next week. I've got another great show lined up for you with special guest

59:47

Wright Way Jay. We're going to talk a little bit about sinking success and strategy. So make sure that you come back next week. Thanks again. Until next time, you know where to find me. Tune in, tell a friend, and I'll see you then. Peace.