The Truth In This Art with DJ Stylo

Welcome to The Truth in This Art. I am your host, Rob Lee. Thank you for tuning in to my conversations at the intersection of arts, culture and community. Today, I'm super excited to welcome my next guest, whose specialty and focus currently is in house deep tech and keeping the crowds packing. He likes to make things a bit chunky, sprinkled a bit of that hip hop influence from his childhood and smooth it out all sexy like.

My guest doesn't grab on to any particular style, kind of does his own thing. Please welcome Steelo. Welcome to the podcast.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you for coming on. Thank you for making the time. And as what has become a custom, I must say compliments on the glasses. Whenever someone is wearing glasses, I gotta point it out. It's just like, oh, we're we're all wearing glasses.

Oh, man. Look at let me do this now.

Then you're just a different guest and had to do a different introduction. But but, again, thank you for for making the time to be here today and join us on this this pod. And finally, a lot of times, we get these bios, and I'll ask folks to send over bios, and I'm always super appreciative. It gives me a starting point. Right?

Mhmm. Mhmm. I I have, like, an interest in the person, but getting those other details are generally in that bio. But a lot of times, things out of that bio. So, you know, inevitably something falls short.

Like I've had people on, it's like, yeah, I'm a painter, and it's like, that's great. Tell me more about your work. It's like, oh, I also am a boxer too. I'm like, oh, that's not in your bio. I wanted to learn more about that.

So for you, could you, inter introduce yourself or give us maybe a few details about your your background?

Okay. So, as for the moniker, I typically go by Stilo. Don't do the DJ part because I do other things besides just DJ. But, yeah, I'm just this nerdy kid that grew up in a working class community in DC DC area. I believe your other job is also who I worked for for 12 years to I was the IT director at Peabody for 12 years.

So I have done that technology thing, and I still do it actually off on the side too. And I'm a sci fi geek. Like, for instance, I'm watched I binge watched twice already, the 3 body problem show on Netflix. It's just just solid on so many different levels. But anyway, I digress.

And that that's that's who I am. I'm a deep I'm an introvert, to be honest. I tend to prefer deep chats, which this type of format, it's great for that type of thing. I'm not into the the the the the the what do you call it?

The small talk the most part. Small talk is is a challenge at at times or what have you. And I've, and I and I've been a bit better at trying to identify that over the last few years. And as I was sharing with you before we got started

Yeah.

Because I don't do the small talk, I'm very much like I'm not back again. What you said to me?

Yeah. You wanna you wanna dive in. I mean, not I'm that way as well. It's like I wanna dive in. I wanna let's let's get beyond the surface stuff.

Let's really let's really get into it.

Let's let's Jules Verne this joint. Let's let's get

let's do that.

Right. So so so, so we have that you're so you're sci fi background, introvert and you're you're you're in music, but you're broader than music.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've done, I mean, as a hobby at one point, I was, I was a pretty decent sketch artist. I tried to develop when I was a a teenager with a buddy of mine who tried to develop a comic book. Sounds like

a solid story.

It was it was sort of, what do you call it? Autobiographical. Sure. It was about these 4 friends, 2 sets of brothers, which was mirrored my, you know, situation at the time with my brother. Actually I have a sister too, but, my brother and I and our best friends at the time were also a set of brothers, but it was a sci fi base thing, you know, space, you know, out in space, all this kind of jazz.

But, yeah, I mean, we developed a whole set of issues. We did we developed about 12, about a 1 year worth of issues.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. Yeah.

So so and we're definitely going to, you know, dive dive into it's going to be heavy on the music component because definitely the this is part of the black music month offerings. Yes. But also, you know, talking about sort of creativity, you know, macroly speaking, because I find like there's always these sort of threads that connect, you know, whether it be on sensibilities, whether it be, you know, just what one's interests are like. Mhmm. You look at, like, a like a rapper.

You look at that album art. It's like, you're absolutely a comic fan. It's this. No. There's no jokes.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, you're a wrestling guy. I can see that here.

Right.

Right. Right. So going into the sort of the the second part of the the intro question, right? Could you describe an early experience or or encounter with with music and and how it impacted you? Was there, like, you know, a specific, like, genre music you you listened to growing up?

Is there a song or a reference that even shows up in your work today?

Well, well, first of all, I've always had a pretty broad musical background, though, you know, it was a situation where we barely could afford some of the things. So I started playing piano at 5 years old. I was taking lessons and, my mom was my, so my dad doesn't have a musical or creative I shouldn't say creative. A musical bone, a rhythmic bone in his body. He just does.

And he's like, what the hell? Yeah. Right.

You know? And, actually, I just had this conversation with a friend of mine over the weekend where she repeated that stereotyping trope about black people always having rhythm. I'm like, yeah, no, that's not true. I could go into detail later, but that's not true. But, so but, yeah, I I grew up playing piano and then public school systems still had music or decent music programs, and so I also started playing trumpet, in elementary school, and I did, piano until my teens, and then I continued playing trumpet through high school.

Jazz, classical music, the jazz thing was really the the the the I was a fan of, you know, Herb Alpert, Dizzy, Miles. But as far as electronic music, I was also a a breakdancer. Okay. My father and I were in this crew called, Wave Motion in the Metro DC area, And it I heard one of the earliest track I mean, we would dance into all the other stuff that people were typically breakdancing to at the time. But it's something that informs music today still and informed me then was from one of the pioneers of techno, which people think is from Europe and it's not.

The Pioneers of Techno, was Juan Atkins. 1 of the Pioneers of Techno is being Juan Atkins. And under the moniker Cybotron, he had the song called Clear. And Clear was like this it was like this life changing song to me because it was futuristic and retro. Yeah.

You know, it was a short people don't realize how much of it was a short short leap to clear from a lot of the stuff that was also relatively futuristic but was considered bunk. Yeah. Like, the by Clint George Clinton, parliament, and all those guys. All those folks. Right?

But, Clear was like the that track was like over here. You know? And then you can start throwing in stuff like by African Bambaata, the Soul Sonic Force, and Nucleus. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

So and then the what I really twist people's heads in is that growing up in DC, I realized now and later in life, but that it was a it was a unique period in modern music history, in US music history where you had this fulcrum, if you will, of punk music, hip hop, and go go. And they were cross pollinating like crazy so much so that you have something that's light clear, but it's a go go track. Right. So, Trouble Funk had this alter ego band called Arcade Funk.

Okay.

And they had this track called Tilt. And it is literally all these high pitched robotic voices, right, like Pac Man type stuff. Pac Man like sounds going through the the freaking track, but then this heavy go go rhythm section throughout.

Nice.

And I'm like, breakdancing to this stuff.

You're right.

Right. You know? So but, yeah, some of those stuff, Clear was also one of our go to tracks as far as when we wanted to be in a break dance battle, what we wanted to dance to. Mhmm. And I was I I ended up putting together the first mixtape that we were gonna use in a break dance battle.

And so that was my jumping off point into DJing, and I'm like, I'm just start DJing more and more and more and more and more. So

Yeah. I I pulled it up. I'm deaf like, as when people start saying certain things, I was like, I know that song. And I was like, I because I noticed it by, like, my Spotify or something, and I was like, I will definitely listen to this in a moment. Well, after we wrap, because they'll be impolite just to have a whole song playing while you're talking.

It's like, yeah.

I mean,

you know what I mean?

I talk over music all the time. I mean, not when I'm DJ, but I'm talking music all the time.

So so thank you thank you for that. That's, that's that's a sort of a good follow-up, and I'll tell you after we wrap. It'll make a lot of sense. So I'm curious, right Yeah. About sort of ideation.

I'm I'm very curious about how people go about their individual creative pursuits. And I and I don't know if maybe when you're you're working with with within music, that's different from some of the other interests that you have. But as far as ideation within your work, does the process, like, change? Is it similar? So let's say if we put it specific to music.

Right? Mhmm. What's that curation look like? What is the sort of scouting of venues, scouting of, like, locations? What does that that look like for you when you're like, alright, these are the dates I have.

These are the dates that I want to do some stuff. What what does that look like? Because we can't be everywhere all at once. That is a movie part of the title, but tell me about the ideation for you.

Well, as far as the music is specifically, it's taken me years. But, I realized that well, some years ago, actually, about 20 years ago now, actually, I'm getting old. I realized that I have an affinity for bass lines. And it may not be the actual notes, but as as distilled down as the rhythm of the baseline. So like many other producers in the electronic music space, I typically start with a drum, a drum pattern.

Or for me, which is unlike other people, sometimes a baseline. Beyond that, there's a lot I can hear something like I just was introduced to this woman out of the Midwest that's doing this electro pop type thing. And I can out here track. And if no, I'm not trying to take offense to the original creator, but I can hear remix literally within seconds. Like, oh, I would drop this and dot that.

And, you know, sometimes I I would, you know, sometimes it's a it's a little bit of a, or a lot of bit of, what's his name, out of Detroit, the hip hop, Jay Dilla

Yeah. Yeah.

Approach. Sometimes the Dilla which is like chop flipped and all this kind of other stuff. Other times, it's not. It's more straight ahead. But it yeah.

It starts with the bass and the and the and the, the bass band or the drum line, the, or the rhythm, rhythm type of section. Beyond that, as far as venues and spaces, I I have a broad idea that house music and techno music is acceptable in a lot more spaces than people typically think of them at. And so, you know, people will they will immediately think of Array, for instance, a big space like that. I'm like, well, no. You know, the intimate spaces is just as good.

You know? It can be tuned, so to speak, to that space. So it's more about, you know, just gathering enough open minded people together to allow me to take them on a journey. Because that's the other thing that I try to do is I I'm not focused. There's a lot of producers and DJs out there that are focused on a genre and within the genre, a micro section of the genre.

I just don't think like that. I just don't. You know?

Well, no. I I definitely because he is a person who discovered house music second secondarily through, like, my partner. Mhmm. And she was just, like, yeah, I'm gonna put this on real quick. I'm, like, yo, what is this?

It it it it is, like, it's like the class it's, like, classic stuff. Right? Yeah. Yeah. It's like that is a hit.

And so I gotta ask you this because

Mhmm. So Okay. Here we go.

I watch a lot of wrestling. Right? They have this term of wrestling, like, the the pop. Right? When you come out there, just, you know, that's Yeah.

Music hit. The stone cold glass breaks. People lose their mind. Is there a house song in your repertoire? Or you make even recent, like, plays that you've gotten that crazy pop, like, yo.

Oh,

well, I I mean, I have a new one of those every week to tell you the truth. I mean, if I get a chance to to play it out. Right? But I mean, so wow. Right now?

We're just gonna be awesome.

I could still go I mean, sometimes here's a here's a good example. Right? I could be something so new. Right? Like I did a couple summers ago, I was challenged to take this.

It it was a it's a trap hip hop song. Right? And it was mentioned to me that it couldn't be a house banger. Yeah. And the song is I mean, don't get me wrong.

The trap beat is great. But the song content was like, but I turned it into a band.

I love it. I I I like the response to you. That's the response that I do.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hi.

I turned it into a band.

I mean, so I played it at one of the one offs I had at at the Crown. Yep. You know, and it filled the dance floor.

No. That's that's that's still, like, when I, you know, when I'm looking for like, I always think back, like, growing up here, we kind of had, like like, you know, Baltimore club music. Right? Yeah. And obviously still still got that.

And it's one of those things where when I was younger, didn't appreciate it as much, but definitely would get those references that are in there. And now as an adult, when I hear some of those classics and see or hear, like, oh You took this old ass show and then turned it into this is the degree of difficulty thing.

Yeah, I mean that's the

thing that I appreciate the sort of sample when in that piece of it. And you were you were talking about, sort of having something that's that's new. So, you know, I'm curious as how you stay hip and up to date with it. And it's not a matter of, like, I'm behind. You know, there's new stuff coming out every minute.

There's, like, been 15 songs that have come out as I've said this sentence. Yes. How do you how do you stay hip on, like, what's what's next? It's not even what's on, what's next. And where do you find, like, that that new or that new inspiration?

Well, part of it is a recognition that you can never keep up. You just can't. No. So I mean, there's places that your listening would take you.

Mhmm.

That's gonna be different from my listening. There's differences in the casual listener. Versus the deep listener. You know? So, you know, there there's there's 2 types of Swifty's out there or there's 2 types of, fans of, of of of of Beyonce.

You know? You know? So and they're just the ones that that have been into Taylor since the beginning. I mean, in that deep end to Taylor. Right?

Or they're deep into Beyonce. And they can tell you some things that the the large majority of the fan base don't know, don't care. They really don't. So I mean, I don't think I mean, I was called super hip. I didn't I didn't put that label on myself.

You showed it though. It's in the

I'm building. And, you know, I I mean, just last night, I had this young woman think that I was barely 30, so I'm like, peace to you too, woman. So I will take all those stuff whenever it comes to me. But but but but for but so generally, my listening is all over the map. Yep.

It's not just electronic music. It's jazz. My Spotify play I have a Spotify playlist that I call, look confidential. That is just my random musings of the moment. And it's a deep playlist, and it's all over the map.

It's just, you know, it will go into punk sometimes. It'll go into metal sometimes. You know, there's a lot of neo soul, for instance. There's a lot of, electronica for sure, some house in there, some drum and bass, some jungle, some dub. You know, it's all over the map.

Reggae. But I I just I I'm always curious about all of the things that are not all of the things. A lot of the things that may not make it to the top line of pop, hot media. And so I do a lot less of it now because the the the the the we asked a question about ideation. The inputs are just different now than they were several years ago when you were when I was just reading in the liner notes

Yeah.

Of of an album or of a cassette tape. And so, you know, I will go down that that hole and say, oh, so who was playing with Prince? Yeah. Yeah. Right?

Who are the members of this band? Did they do anything themselves? You know? Yep. And so in that, I have also gotten rid of the idea that there's overnight successes, and I've gotten rid of the ideas that there's one, one hit wonders.

Because once you get outside of the pop world, there's no such thing as a one hit wonder. You know? They they all have these deep, you know, stories that led them to wherever they are, where that one hit bubbles up to the to the top line.

That that's the one that made it to the top line. You're you're right. You know, my my Spotify rap is very eclectic as well. And in a given day, is one dude that I reached out to shot my shot. It's a guy that does the sort of progressive, almost with a classical sensibility to it, like speed metal.

And he's in Maryland. I reached out to him, and he was like, I would love being your podcast. I was like, hell, yes. Let's go. Wow.

Check that out.

In in in his music, in the the songs from this particular album, when I'm working out it almost serves as like a cue. I'm like, oh, this is the song that I run to, so now as it comes on I just have this, like, what is it, cocaine rats, like like, response. Like, I gotta run now. Or or or even this, your your point around sort of the, yeah, that pop line. So

Mhmm.

I I I I dove back into I like freestyle music. Right? Mhmm. Yeah. I love freestyle.

Mhmm. You know? And I was listening to some TKA the other day,

and Wow. We're going back now. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I know. Those scars of love. And, you know, out here, I was I was joking when I still had hair.

I was like, look. I'm gonna cut my hair like Stevie b, and I'm gonna be, like, out here. Okay. Okay. That's a reference for you right there.

Right? But it's it's stuff that it's stuff that I've listened to for years. And, you know, when you think of, like, one of these artists, you're like, oh, they had this crossover, you know, something like, for, like, maybe TKA, it might be Mario, One Way Love, or or something like that. Stevie b is, like, spring love or or something to akin to that on mister Postman.

Mhmm.

And and and mister Postman definitely has a sample from forever going there. That's the thing. But it it but it is sort of like your your your point about the you'll you'll have fans of this, and it's like, how do you get to the other thing?

It's like

you're fans of, you know, Taylor Swift, you're fans of Beyonce. It's like, how do you get to J Balvin from Beyonce? Oh, that was a feature that it was on. Well, you're listening to this. Well, I'm listening to the earlier Beyonce or, you know, however we get to the whole whole Taylor Swift thing.

But it's I I I try to pride myself on having pretty decent taste generally, but pretty decent music. And, you know, it's one of those things where give me the aux cord. Let me let me be let me be the one, another Stevie b reference there if you were

Here we go. Yes. That's a great one too, by the way. Just throw

it as TVP references. But, yeah, it's it's really interesting, like, how how people go about it and what they're looking for. The liner notes thing, definitely a big piece. Like, do you remember that song? I know the chorus is and this is gonna date me, but remember short circuit 2 and when Johnny Johnny 5 is bad and we're playing their plan.

I need a hero

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm looking for the guy that's on the keyboard because he goes off on that song. That's the liner notes I'm looking for. I'm looking for, like, what's the part of the song that I enjoy? Who did that part? So when you reference, like like, Pitt Prince, it's so many different musicians that he's worked with that you're looking for these offshoots.

I was like, I know you got another one. I know you got a whole, like, album.

You got, like, a EP or

something, man. Like, this is this is a little too good if you have one.

Yeah. Yeah. And and especially when you talk about someone like a prince who, you know, he only picks. What first of all, he has this he had this habit of playing the entire album, every instrument on the album. He did work with drummer's scenes too.

A lot of people don't realize that. And then putting the band together to play live shows.

And but

those people that he's gonna pick, they were gonna be the best of the best. You know, they weren't just gonna be, you know, you know, trick off the street. You know? So, I mean, seriously, I mean, the the one that I've been meaning to do, for instance, that I haven't done yet was the year before he passed, he did that show here in Baltimore. Then I happened to have a, an acquaintance who had an extra ticket.

So I was 5th row in that show. Right? And all of those he had a it was a it it's much like before Purple Rain. I mean, before Purple Rain, but after the time the band was all women. This was all his band was all women.

They were all young Mhmm. You know, in their twenties at best. And I'm like so one of the things I've had on my back burner for a while now is to go back to relook up all of those people. And what are they where are they today? Whether they're still in music or not, where are they today?

What else did they do in the in between times? You know, what else did they produce before they were were picked up by Prince?

Right.

You know? Because that's where a lot of the jewels in in music are. You know? And And why did

friends become aware of them? It's like Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Because I mean,

like I said, he doesn't he doesn't

pick it. He'd take it off the street. It's

a great way to put it. No. But it it it's it's true. It's just like, again, how did how did we get here? And, you know, sometimes you can I I do this?

I do this then. You know, as we've talked about the style of communication, right? I use 2 things as a filtering mechanism for people. You know, movies. And music.

If you're if you're taste in either of those are kind of mid way different, it's like if I can get a suggestion, I'll say, okay, that was a good one. We can try it. You know, we could do that. But if it's Yeah.

Like, yeah, and I

only listened to this. I'm like, oh, oh, I I don't think this is gonna go well.

And but then also I'm like, I'm judging you.

I absolutely am. But but also knowing the the sort of, at times, what can be disposable nature of stuff. Like, I enjoy scam rap from Detroit. It's great. However, I'm not looking for bars there.

I'm looking for the level of punch lines that I will produce, which are all, like, rap I mean, which are all wrestling references and football references. That's what it is, and that's what they do. And I'm like, this is why I'm here.

Right. Right. Right. Y'all looking

for these bars. It is it's good, but it's also I'm getting the humor out of it, which I think a lot of times when and and I wanna get your take on this, actually. When we're doing something creative, the humor part of it is the fun part to me. But I think when we're with something creative, we get so hell bent on being so super serious about it, and in the fondness of it is gone. Like, I'm sure you've probably seen this.

These, you know, you're online, so you've probably seen this when DJs do those bad drops to troll the audience.

But they're so good.

That's my point. That's my point. It's just like That's

so yeah. I mean, they're so stereotypical, but they're so good. I mean, so on that note, so I kinda hold it in 2 spaces. Yeah. Part of it is is just the raw, which I think a lot of, burgeoning DJs, and producers forget about is just the raw experimentation of it.

Yeah. I I repeat the story about, DJ Pierre in the 303 acid house. People don't understand that it was all a mistake. It was, you know, it was it was just random play, and then it still took, what's his name? Forgot the DJ's name at, the old warehouse.

But he played it 4 times that one night before it actually caught on. So that that that there's 2 things about so that sound that everybody wants to capture now in in in electronic music space was an accident about with a piece of electronic equipment that was being used outside of what it was designed to be used for. Right. And, actually, this entire genre of music and hip hop too is all based on using equipment outside of the lane that it was designed to be useful. But, yes, to your point to the humor of it to I mean, dude, like, last summer, there was the, there was that one I think it was a TikTok.

Maybe it was the Instagram thing of the, of the white woman crying tears about not understanding what a DJ does, blah blah blah. And literally within hours from Tokyo to Berlin to LA, there was people dropping that in, driving bait, jungle, hip hop, house. I mean, they were I mean, they were bastardizing that chick. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

And then

one thing, they just took her for they just owned her straight up. Right? And so and literally, I mean, we if we we we yes. We can get too serious about it and forget about the play in it. I mean, half the time I'm thinking when I hear something, I'll I'll hear news broadcast and like, oh, I'm gonna chop that up and throw throw it into a mix.

Right? I'll have I I I do lift to help pay my bills. Right? I'll sit there. I'll have somebody having a conversation in the back seat, and I will say straight up.

It was like, I wish I could record you so I could throw it in the mix because it's that good.

Oh, yeah.

You know?

But

yeah. I'm I'm totally with you on that point, my friend. Totally with you on that.

It's the one that I like and it's more of the the expression from the this is lady in the audience, and the guy is like he said, you just had to relax your anus. And she just looks she looks so upset. She was like, what? And I'm like, yo, just it's it's it's inappropriate, but also the sort of context of it, you're like, yo.

It was on the nose,

but it was, hey. You know? Yeah. Cutting those. See, that's the next day.

See, I've had coffee. I've had signature treats. I've had Mhmm. The courts. I've got a an alcoholic drink right now.

Me popping up in a mix. Look, I'm just saying that I

can make it happen, bro.

And this is a recording right now. I can make that happen. So so, so in it, so in it, I got this I got this question here that I definitely want to get your take on based on one of the things you'd mentioned a second ago about sort of the I'll call it the DIY nature of things like this is not intended to do. And I think play as well.

Talk a

bit about taking risks in your your work, and I'll frame it in this way. So when I'm doing this, right we've exchanged a few things here and there. It took us a while to get this booked because I'm freaking goofy when it comes to booking sometimes. But there's a certain risk of we can do the conversation, we can start off chitchat, and then it's just like it's flat. It's nothing there.

There's a risk there. There's a time investment by nature, majority of these interviews are, like, blind dates. Right? So there's a risk that it made a point match. So but I'm always pushing forward, always trying to keep myself interested and keep sort of the conversations interesting.

Right? So risk there. It's a calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless. So, you know, talk about risk as it relates to your creative pursuits and sort of what are the considerations when you're like, all right, and maybe I should move this boundary because you want to keep it interesting.

I grew up as a kid that felt like I still feel like this many times, actually, where I feel like I have something to say, but the the the the way our universe is situated, I felt like I've been overlooked, ignored, not given the benefit of doubt. This is both in this space as well as in, the tech space just in general. But so I I I have come to the realization that it's all a risk

Yeah.

Every day. Maximum risk. Yeah. Every day. And sometimes I'm good about it in in in pushing past that fear of being rejected.

Sure. And then sometimes I need to, you know, digest things like, you know, some snippets of the podcast by, Rick Rubin been Yeah. Spot on like the stuff he was saying about, you know, your your art is your voice first, not what everybody else thinks. You know? So and and it it it it's it's difficult.

It's, there was an interview by, Malcolm Jamal Warner a year and a half ago on NPR that I heard. This is for also where I do my deep dives for stuff, you know, it's, like, all over the map. But, he was talking about to to use a shorthand for and paraphrase, he was talking about the the the the the tension of not caring about what other people think and caring about what other people think. It's been a risk every day. It's been a risk it's a risk right now.

I mean, my my catalog and the catalog of the other people that I have produced on m Groove's music was the the the distributor decided to to to drop me last call. And, it's been up until just literally just a few weeks ago that I come up with another distributor. And now I'm back in the process of reissuing some of the music I already put out, but also planning new stuff. Yeah. Now there's there's there's gonna be a silver lining in this and that some of the stuff that I put out before that I took risk on that was garbage.

I don't have to put back out. But

my ad, I filtered that. It's fine. We're good. Yeah. That doesn't exist.

Yeah. Yeah. Bye bye. You know, if somebody bought it out there and they bring it up to me while I'm long gone, I'll be like, hey. Yo.

Right? But, no. Seriously, Rob, everything it is a risk every day. It is sometimes calculated. Sometimes it's just I'm just throwing spit spaghetti up against the wall to see what sticks.

You know, the the sometimes there's a rhyme and reason behind it. Sometimes there's not. But every day that I'm here and every day that any creator is there, whether they're actively putting something else or it's been a while putting something else putting something out, they are already successful in my book.

I hear you. That's that's good. Yeah. I mean, I think I think one of the other things and I've spent a big chunk of today looking at this because, you know, inevitably, you know, I think I've encountered some folks who aren't serious people at times, not necessarily through this because I have some filtering mechanisms, but there is sort of a a non playing fair atmosphere to it.

Like Oh, yeah.

I have folks reach out and, you know, want to be on a platform and they're being presented by someone and that someone has a marketing budget, but somehow this is not a marketing platform, even though it's positioned as a marketing platform. Now, I had to go too much deeper in it. And, you know, I've been looking at things in this way. You know, something like this. This is an interview that I would want to do, whereas one that's reaching out for, like, a PR firm or something.

I don't know. You know, it's just Mhmm. It has to make a really compelling argument because it kinda falls outside, and it's just like, yeah, you want me to gas your thing up and so on. Right? And the way that I put it is very simple.

Mhmm.

Are the the if it's a guest that I've looked for, those are my people where they have the potential to be my people. Like, oh, because it doesn't take much, I can listen to someone. As soon as she's, like, sci fi nerd, I was, like, yeah, you here. And, you know, there's other people who's just, like, yo, I don't have these these conversations around and and you know where I'm going with this. Yeah.

No spaces and places and just this sort of, like, you're just reading off an artist statement that someone else wrote for you. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

It's just like I look for the alignment. It it makes you know, like, I sent you the questions before we got started. Right? But it what it does with me, it makes me go full improv on my questions because

I'm doing

it on a different way. But I think I'm pretty good, again, goes back to the taste thing I said, that I'm good at kind of figuring out, like, who are my people? Yeah. Yeah. I think when it comes to people who are in music, to people who are in front of an audience, people who are you're you're helping folks navigate, you're directed into a place, I think DJs and using that term very loosely engaging in in in that sort of space, they are community organizers in many ways.

They're bringing folks together, united by a beat. Sounds corny, but I meant that when I wrote it. What is, for you, the common trait of your people? Who are the people that are going to see and and gonna engage with you, gonna be buying those that that music that you put out there that are like

Wow. When I saw that question, that was that it was it was like, wow. That's a pretty good one. I haven't encountered that one at all. Actually, in the Internet, EMVs I've done.

I would say that the people that have been excellent. Super fans have been advocates. Mhmm. And there there's something there's something about them, you know, not that I'm their their their their only patronage either, but, for instance, many of them are involved in volunteer efforts in other spaces that they take pretty seriously. It's not like just a casual thing.

Oh, I I gave at the office type of thing. And so the the other element is that I I have fully embraced and I didn't have the language for this until recently when I came across this quote. But the spirit of it is what I've fully embraced a long time ago, As I continue to, to, to, because this is a practice, this is both a spiritual practice, as well as a pedagogy. But, you know, there's a the quote is anonymous, but it says a good DJ will play you music that you wanna hear. A great great DJ will play you music that you did not know you wanted to hear.

And I have found that most of the people that have continued to follow me are appreciative of that second thing. And it's not it's a two way street. I mean, they know that I am not a sugary top line listener. So they will present to me things that are deeper than that. And I'll be like, oh, I'm glad you pointed that out too.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Right? So for instance, you know, a a a good friend of mine last fall bought this record maybe last summer actually, bought this record from this funk band. The I can't think of the producers right name right moment. But his the producers on all these other funk records out there.

Right? But this was his his project, and this band was his project. Right? And, I mean, talk about diving for samples. You know?

You know, it it and this person let me borrow the record, and I gotta return the record to the person. But, you know, it's it's that doesn't happen with with with with a lot of people. You know? So and that person is also well, I mean, that person has will will freely share, oh, I really like this track. Oh, I really like that track.

You know? You get get decent feedback, not just, oh, this is kinda good, which is like a low key disk. I've gotten some of those. I'm like, oh, this is kinda good. I'm like, so kinda good.

What are you doing out there? This is this is what I wanna think. This is what I'm thinking in my head. Right? But, yeah, I would think that my I would think that my people are are advocates.

Yeah. And to everybody's not good at being an advocate. I will you know, that's a knowledge for 2, but, you know, we can all work that muscle. Yeah. I've I've tried to become a better advocate through my life as well.

So, you know, again, being a two way street, being an advocate for other people and in their, in their creative, musings. So, yeah, that's how I

would describe my people. Yeah. No. No. I think I think advocacy is is important.

I like to look at, you know, what I look for is evangelist. I look for for for that term. I'm one of those. I look for folks that are, like like, curious, and they're interested in the story thing. Like, when I I do these, and folks will reach out, and they will describe, like, oh, what you do is this or you do is that.

I'm, like, yeah, sure. All of it is valid. Right? And I was, like, my intent is this. And it's like, well, it's just an art podcast.

It's like, well, it's it's not. It's, you know, I say it at the beginning of the episodes, it's arts, culture, and community. It's, you know, I don't wanna be pigeonholed in a in a way and I don't know frankly if I'm qualified too because I don't have an art background. I like art, you know, And, but but having having conversations with people to try to get to the root of what's behind it, that's what I do. That's what I drive at.

That's what I'm curious about, And I think the folks that really like this, they get that. And I think the folks that really support what you're doing, they notice that sort of reciprocal nature of what you were describing, the sort two way street of it all. And, you know, people get it, and there is something to be said when you're doing something and a lot of times off your own steam. It's a galvanizing that happens. It's like the people that are there, they're like, yeah, I love what you're doing.

That has so much more value. Yes. Those instances where you might take a l might be a bad l, but when you like I had one of those instances where someone saw me in the street is like, yo Rob Lee. I was like someone. How you how you?

And that spelt really cool and I think at the same week, I was just down. I was down bad. I was, like, dubbed out And, you know, having that was enough to kinda keep it rolling. I was like, yeah. That's that's my people.

They get it. That that's so good. So I got I got 2 more questions. Sure. I think this first one is relatively short, and the second one is more of a sort of conclusion thing.

So the first one Okay. Like this. I'm very, very, very, very curious about the sort of anxiety component related to stuff that's not actually the creative work, but the stuff around the creative work.

Like, when

I do these interviews, right, I'm like, yo. Especially, like, I just started adding video, doing a little bit more video, and I have to be aware that, yo, do I got a boogie? Like, what what we good? You know? I'm not gonna do that because it's just me and you.

Only you would know. Now it's just like, yo, that's a really good clip. If we can, like, get my my nasal situation out of there, that would be great. Yeah. But it's the stuff around it that sort of having deadlines, having when, you know, for me, maybe I didn't get a file back in time or maybe there was a weird sound in there that I can't take out or something like that or even when I'm doing something live or even just social media in itself.

And a lot of times we were in this spot. Mhmm. I I got some people working behind the scenes. I got a couple v a's and you know freelancers. I don't have, you know, like that 200 grand budget to hire people to have my own micro economy.

So

Yeah. Yeah.

So talk talk about that for you, like, some of the anxiety around, not necessarily doing the thing because we can do our thing. We're happy to do our thing, but the stuff around the thing.

In general, I think it's well established that a lot of people don't understand that there's a there's a lot more happening to deliver something for consumption. Mhmm. We even use in here in in in in the states, we even use phrases like turn it on like a light switch. And that totally ignores all the things that happen to get the power to the switch. I am frustrated by all of that stuff that you just mentioned the social media, how I look on camera, how I look live.

Do I look cool enough, super hip enough to, you know, compare it to x y z. You know? I I I that comparison, I struggle with all the time. The the the the the the the workload there's a, there's a there's a track by hip hop track by, Jazzy Jeff, and the Philadelphia rapper. I can't think of the name is.

But he talks about in this in this song that the sample in the song is using, Allen Iverson's we're talking about practice.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Here

I am, the franchise player, and we're talking about practice. You know? So that's the the the the anchoring of the track. But he talked about one line of the track, he talked about being the CEO, COO, accounts payable, account blah blah blah blah blah. And literally, as you just described, that's the way it is for for me and obviously for you and for a lot of people that are below even well, they may even be considered mid tier.

Yeah. Artists and get mid tier, distribution. I mean, I I know of several people that are known worldwide, more so out of the area than in the area, out of Baltimore City than in Baltimore City. And they get some really decent bookings both here and abroad, but it's like a 2 person show. Yeah.

Yeah. I I don't know, man. I just it it's it's a I mean, I've been struggling most of the day with trying to create because I've done web development for a while too, but it's not being formulated the way I want to. Yeah. I have rereleased the song, and I wanna get the information out there about it, but I can't seem to deliver him my website the way I want to.

So I've I've, you know, it's been 12 hours between yesterday and today with me goofing around with this thing, and the thing has been out and available since Saturday.

Yeah. And and that's that's the thing. It's the these pressures to do this stuff and put it out there, you have to do pre release and post release, and you you talk to folks, and you're like, alright, I know these things. It's just I don't have these things available because it's person power, if you will, and everything can't be AI'd out, You know, certain things can, but, you know, you still want that human touch. And I'll I'll leave this thing because I think we're on the same page with it and move into this question, but I'll say this last piece about it.

Mhmm. How many times have you heard the word Delve pop up in the last few years? Uh-huh. Yeah. A little IT humor for you.

Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. As we delve into this shut up. Yeah.

Stop. Just stop. Just write it yourself. Just have the typographical errors in it, but write it yourself. And, you know, there's a little bit in mine just to make up for the time, but I find myself going back in and just editing it.

I use it to help ideate. But when it comes to what's actually going out there, it needs to have that human touch and that here. Yeah. It opens you back up to the anxiety, the pressures, and all of that stuff. You know, like, look, I just wanna make my thing, move on to the next thing, make my thing, move on to the next

thing. Yeah. I do. I mean, I do. You do.

I do too. I mean, that's it just but all these others, it's it's I mean, like and really for what? You know? Or maybe if, you know then on top of that, we ended up having to pay Yeah. For the clicks.

You you get your 4.3 likes, and then, you know, and then it's that. And then you're trying to, you know, look through like, all right, which one hit so you could try to like replicate that and think like a marketing person, think like using the the IT background, like

Mhmm.

Oh, this worked. I could iterate this and just make this a script, and we could find a way to automate it. Nah, we're gonna change this. Alright, cool. So so next week, I just gotta relearn this all over.

All over again. Yeah.

Yeah. So so this is the last last question I got for you. It before we get to the rapid fire ones, because I got, like, 3 of those for you. But Oh, okay. So here here's the last real question for you.

So, you know, as I touched on earlier, this interview is gonna be part of sort of Black Music Month and you've you've touched on different pieces of it and it's throughout within the conversation. It's not in my head, it's not out there being very demonstrative. He is the true lines, but Mhmm. To it, you definitely hear the the references that are there. So what are your thoughts or or insights on being a person in the music industry and and and around, like, what is black music?

Where you fit at within the comment, canon, rather, whether it be regional. Talk a bit about that, sort of your thoughts, your musings, if you will, on on Black Music Month.

I will admit to not being not enough of an advocate, which this transformation for me has occurred in earnest over the last, oh, I will say 5 years, 6 years, certainly after or during COVID. But I see myself, I I I I'm first of all, I'm very appreciative and grateful of the accident of me being born generation x in Metro DC during when all of the foundings of this of of these new musics were happening in the 20th century, the the extension of funk because they had already been born, but the extension of funk, the birth of hip hop. I grew up with hip hop. The birth of house and techno music now all wrapped into that EVM umbrella. And the unique inputs that the DC area had in those various genres Yeah.

As well. So, I I mean, I I try to make sure that I'm a student first. Yeah. And then 2, wherever possible and not necessarily over your head type of thing, but to constantly put out there how many times the music oh, oh, various different types of music had these different, through lines that you like you were talking about before. You know, the banjo is a instrument from Africa.

The, there's a great clip out there with, Dave Grohl is being interviewed by, Pharrell. Right? And he's talking about how he took that that drum hit from, disco music. Yep. You know, and he's using it with Nirvana.

It's like the Gap

Band or something. Right?

Yeah. It was Gap Band. Yeah. Not just Gap Band, but, yeah, Gap Band is one of them. Tony Thompson's, drum lick.

Yeah. And and so, you know, I just try to, you know, just casually constantly point out that stuff when it occurs, when people are like, oh, blah blah blah. It was like you that that's the other thing. I try to be a student of what makes a sound attractive. Yeah.

You know? So, you know, from the from the, that robotic talk machine vocoder type thing, you know I was big in the gap hand. You know, of course, right? So you know, you you you just like, oh, so I can take that sound and do you know that sound came from this? And they didn't really mean for this blah blah blah blah.

I'll tell that story.

Yeah.

So I try to be an advocate for the stories and for the through lines wherever possible. And, you know, I don't know how it may touch the next person. Sometimes I get some feedback. I've had recently, for instance, a casual fan who's more of a into funk music, but she enjoyed our conversation so much that when I ran into her again, she was like, oh, yeah. And I went down this rabbit hole blah blah blah blah and she, you know so, you know, then, you know, she's on her way.

Yeah. You know? But, yeah, I just try to be I just try to be a constant student and to shine up no matter where the voices may be because there's a lot of people who are from the, queer community now, non binary community, etcetera, that, you know, they're not getting the the the the the their their voice is not being the focal point, and it should be. Yeah. You know, let's elevate those stories.

So I just try to keep elevating other stories. You know? And and it's like, oh, yeah. Well, you know, so and so and so and so got that from this. The other thing is I use all the time is, like, that whole I I pushed back against that song that was by Maroon 5, moves like Jagger.

Yeah.

That's like, why don't you go look and see where Jagger got those moves from?

That's good.

You know, the whole Rolling Stones didn't have a Rolling Stone sound until they came to the States and they toured with Tina Turner and, James Brown.

Yeah. Yeah.

Now the stuff that they're famous for Yeah. Is their take on the Tina Turner, James Brown sound. Yeah. But, yeah, I just keep trying to tell us keep telling the stories forward. No.

And I think it's a good point you you included there because, you know, what, Black Music Month is, it's in June, it's also Yeah. In this area, what have you at least. So there is that intersection that's there that sort of those voices that are in both of those communities is like, you know, there's moments and opportunities to acknowledge sort of the contributions in in both of those areas and where they overlap. And, yo, music be gay sometimes, but also it's just like, yo, it's just kinda what it is. And I think being able to acknowledge sort of what the roots of things are, as you touched on earlier, you know, check those line of notes out, you know, and see who did did what and go down that rabbit hole a little bit.

So now

I wanna go A rapid fire. Yeah. Yeah.

A rapid fire. Rapid fire. So as I tell as I tell people all the time, don't overthink these. Alright. First one, this is this is this is this is easy one.

Might be political, though. Okay. Thin or stuffed crust? Oh, thin. Okay.

You're watching me garb this thing. You know? What is what is the, your opinion? And and this can go down, so resist going down this rabbit hole too deep. What is the best science fiction fandom?

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, We're next time Oh, dude.

That's that's gonna cut deep, bro.

I understand. You could just say it. Like, look. I said what I said. That's that's just what it is.

Oh. Big fan of

I don't like fans. That's that's the type of fan I am, but I don't like fans.

Well Oh my god. Because I I mean, I I have my foot in several buckets here. I'm listening. And myself, but, I'll let let's just put Star Wars out there. Okay.

Oh, let's do it. Because it because the question was initially, it was gonna be, you know, Star Wars or Star Trek, and I was just like, no. That's too that's too That's

too easy, bro. I mean, I could've gone Marvel. I could've gone a whole bunch of other things. You know? I mean, like, for instance, right now, the the Fallout series, on Prime Yeah.

Is dope. That is a dope rendition of that of that of that game. So, you know, then just the whole thing, the extinction game, or what's the one with the, the zombies and the, The Glasses? No. The actress in most of the movies is, blue eyed, Emilia Jovovich.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. From, Resident Evil. Yeah.

Yeah. Resident Evil. Sorry. Resident Evil. You know, there's and there's been terrible games made.

I mean, there's been terrible renditions of games made in the movies. Most of them are in my opinion.

Fuck, man.

You know? Yeah. I mean and I really like some of the games. You know? So I was like, yo.

How did you do this to the game?

Like, what Dude, Street Fighter? Oh, god.

So earlier, you mentioned baselines. Right? So I definitely wanna have this. This is the first thing that comes to your mind. You think of a song that has, like, a dope baseline, and you're like, yo.

This is an example of a dope baseline. You're pitching it to somebody else. What is that song?

Oh, here's something that maybe kinda like left field. Killing in the Name of.

How's it going? How's it going?

It's underrated, the baseline, in Killing in the Name of. Actually, most of, most of the band's pieces have dope bass lines. Good.

That's a good one.

But, yeah, killing in the name of yeah.

Alright. We got it. That's a good way to kind of wrap it up. 2 things I want to do to close out on, you know, sort of 1, again, you know, thank you. We appreciate the time for you coming on us and making it.

We did it. And 2, I want to invite and encourage you to share with the listeners where they can check you out, your work, social media, website, anything that you want to plug in these final moments. The floor is yours.

Alright. So, I do have a Spotify profile out there, but best thing to do is connect with me on Instagram. It's stylo the DJ, s t y l o the DJ. I have 2 reoccurring live events happening this season during the warmer months. 1 is rooftop of the Lord Baltimore Hotel, 1st Saturdays of the month.

Had a name for it and that just escaped me at the moment. And then I've been, part of and one is coming up, relatively recent here is the, 3rd Fridays of the month, in front of Mount Royal Soaps, with the Ekibin food truck out there too. It's night market. I'm providing the music in the tunes for night market. So, yeah.

And then you could also check out my latest, reissue. I reissued, the track that I originally produced in 2015 called Fridays Along. Is out there on the streaming media of your choice.

And there you have it folks. I wanna again thank Steelo for coming on to the podcast, and I'm Rob Lee saying that there's art, culture and community in and around your neck of the woods. You just got to look for it.