Kinda Neat

Nedarb wears many hats. Musician, producer, A&R, talent scout, manager, and overall connector of dots are just a few of those hats. We spoke on an episode a few years ago shortly after he'd produced an EP for Lil Peep and became a big factor in Peep's meteoric rise. In this episode we catch up on everything that's happened in his life since, and it's been a lot. Peep's tragic passing, not long after our last conversation, obviously had a huge impact on his life, and shortly thereafter Ned found out he was going to be a father. He's now officially a platinum producer, and father to adorable baby Shavo. But beyond all of his perceptible achievements, some of Ned's most important work are the things he might never get credit for: introducing like minded artists to each other, convincing people they have the talent to succeed, being a mouthpiece for completely unknown artists, pushing affiliates toward their big breaks, and just being overall help to multiple scenes (and media outlets) for the better part of

Maxo's "Lil Big Man" was one of my favorite releases of 2019, and really introduced into the scene of rappers I've been gushing about since KN came back. We did a full "life-story style" podcast together last year on the "You Feel Me" podcast I was doing while KN was on hiatus. You can find that podcast here: Maxo on "You Feel Me?", you will get some real insight into his upbringing in the I.E. and his journey into rapping. This podcast was really a chance to catch up, test the waters of podcasting after a 2.5 month Covid break, and an excuse to have him perform in front of the comic book wall and become part of the Kinda Neat legacy. We recorded this before the social uprisings, or I'm sure Maxo would have had plenty of insight on the situation at hand. As is we talked about what he misses most about pre-pandemic times, the process behind "Lil Big Man," and when I saw him at a MOCA event and all eyes ended up on him for a moment. Head to YouTube now to see Maxo perform "Clouds Say My Name."  -Lee

Jonah Mutono's recently released GERG is a deeply personal and beautiful record. Full of movement and life, GERG takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and musical stylings all carried by Jonah's wonderfully resonant voice and impressive range. Jonah's been bouncing around his whole life, raised between Philly, Uganda, Kenya, London, and stints in NY and LA, he's a rolling stone with a big bag of influence. A classically trained pianist, GERG also shows his depth as a producer and instrumentalist. We caught him during the tail end of the (first?) COVID-19 lockdown and he let us know this wasn't his first quarantine, he'd lived through it as a child in Uganda with the EBOLA crisis. Hear us talk about that, where the name GERG, comes from, writing plays as a child, his vast travels, and go see him perform "If You Mean It" live in studio on our YouTube channel now!  -Lee

Lil Lotus is someone I've known about for a while, one of those friends of friends type people who I'd yet to meet. He orbits around a scene in LA that I have a lot of respect for so I figured it was high time we sat down for a chat. To keep it a buck, with my current mindset and musical preferences his style is not something that would generally pique my interest, but I can also honestly say his sound is something I would have been absolutely obsessed with in high school when I was listening to a lot of punk that went on to inspire the pop-punk wave of the early 2000's. Lotus is an open book, wears his heart on his sleeve, and I completely understand why he attracts such a diehard audience. He's magnetic, charismatic, gentle, caring, and easy to be around. Even before we sat down for the conversation, I already knew him as a likable guy from texting with him. Needless to say, this was a good conversation and we dove right into the deep stuff almost immediately. Tune in to hear us talk about his father passin

This week we caught up with Hook, who caught my attention last year with the release of her stellar tape "Bully." Had the opportunity to meet up and talk with her last year on the "You Feel Me?" podcast where I learned she's been gearing up to be a musician since childhood. She was in a girl group some family members as a kid, and the bootcamp-like environment of training to be a pop star has influenced her work ethic as an adult. She seemingly bootcamps everything now, an avid learner that obsessively studies music and philosophy, she'd rather be at home working on something than be out partying. That work ethic has clearly been paying off, as she's skyrocketed into the rap landscape and ended up collabing and working with some of the artists that inspired her in the first place. Hear us talk about endlessly journaling, growing up a Barb, and how being called "weird" is a compliment to her.  -Lee

Linafornia is a beat maker who honed her craft in Leimert Park. The swing, bounce, and intangible funk of her beats express a true sense of soul that many producers are never able to achieve. She's part of the first generation of beat makers to be inspired by the Low End Theory / LA beat scene mainstays like Ras G, Dibia$e, and FlyLo. In fact, seeing Ras G perform one night moved her to pick up beat making. Finding out he was a friend of her brother's who only lived a few blocks away from her only furthered the desire, and Ras quickly became a big brother and mentor. I saw her perform at his memorial last year and was almost moved to tears watching her fight back her own. Knew then I needed to talk to her and learn more about her journey. Hear her talk about growing up Garifuna, attending and eventually leaving Catholic school, and Pharrell inviting her to the studio.  -Lee

Ovrkast. (stylized period) is a rapper / producer out of Oakland, CA. I started hearing about him in late '19 as he was getting tweeted about by other guests we've had on the show, right before he got a huge beat placement on Earl's "Feet of Clay." Soon thereafter he released his "Try Again" tape and I knew I had to get him on the show. Ovrkast. was super patient and a pleasure to talk with and learn about, even as the episode experienced a disastrous technical difficulty. Our talk was very inspiring, and learning that he makes his soulful, bouncy, beats in FL Studio inspired me to download the program for Mac (yup FL is on Mac now) and start playing around with making beats during the safer-at-home orders. We squeezed this episode about 2 weeks before the world shut down, and the intro almost sounds naive in hindsight. Hear us talk about the changing landscape of Oakland, picking up beat-making in continuation school, and staying at home long before it was mandatory.  -Lee

I found out about Deborah's Child as she released a string of hypnotic singles in 2019 (including "Margaret's Hymn" that she performed for us). Her recent EP "Look, Maw! A baby deer!" puts those loose singles and a couple new songs together in the context of a perfectly concise alt pop project. The level of polish on the songs is mind-blowing, particularly for how relatively unknown she seems to be at this moment. She and production partner Miles are making songs that would sound at home on the Billboard charts, and they are surprisingly doing it from home. I promise when you give them a listen you'll think they were made in state of the art studio with top industry song writers. Needless to say I think she's set for a big breakthrough very soon, and we're happy to be one of the first platforms to interview her. Hear us talk about growing up in Florida, how an ADHD drugs changed her life despite not having ADHD, and moving to LA after high school to make it.  -Lee

San Diego native Jelani Aryeh is a genre-fluid standout from the crew Raised by the Internet. 2019's "Helvetica was a display of heartfelt songwriting, textural production, and an early look at a potential superstar. Hear us talk about quitting a promising football career to pursue music, how "Because the Internet" fittingly changed his life, and scouring reddit for like minded creatives. Head over to our YouTube page to see him perform "Patagonia" live in studio.   -Lee

lojii is part of a rap scene I've been loving the last couple years. Guys like him, Mike, Pink Siifu, Maxo, Medhane, Earl, and a bunch of others are taking rap to places it's never been, while still making reference to and pulling influence from those that came before. The loose style of song structure, and deceivingly stream of conscious songwriting seem to dissect the genre to its most basic needs: a loop and some raps. Songs often come in under the 2 minute mark, and if the idea is finished after one verse, then so be it, don't force more verses. The lack of bells and whistles seem to help transcend to a level of concise depth I've been very impressed by. lojii's January release "lo & behold" is a beautiful record in its simplicity, sense of community, and laser focused cohesiveness. It was getting heavy spins around the time I linked with lojii for this conversation. I hope all of you go check it out and remember to support indie musicians during a time when a lot of their revenue sources might have d

Armani White talks losing his father, growing up in Philadelphia, managing himself, and performs "Thanksgiving" live in studio. Armani White has been on my radar a few years now. We've been trying to get this episode together for since then, but every time we got close, something came up where I was unable to get it together. When KN went on hiatus I just stopped answering emails about it because I didn't know what to tell people, and Armani got caught in that crossfire. So now that we're back he was one of the first people I wanted to hit up, and he happened to be in town when I reached out. Could talk to him all day, this was a very easy episode and we went on long tangents (that probably got cut out) because we seem to have a lot in common to diverge into. We both recently lost our fathers, and (WARNING) not only do I cry talking about my dad in the intro, I start crying hearing him talk about his father's passing within the first 15 minutes of our conversation. Nonetheless this one felt really great and I

We’re back.  Feels good to say it. It’s been too long since I’ve made an official Kinda Neat podcast. For the last two years I’ve been working on a corporate podcast that made KN take a backseat. It was close to what I was doing with this, and it paid really well, but I obviously couldn’t have full control of the creative decisions, and that was a strange place for me to be. So it’s wonderful to be back in the house Ben and I built, doing the show Ben and I do.  Our first guest is Zelooperz, a prolific and off-kilter rapper and painter from Detroit who released two full length albums in 2019 and has already released a new record “Gremlin” in 2020. Full disclosure, we had this conversation at the beginning of February, before his new record, and before the pandemic. Hoping at this point it might be refreshing to hear two people talk about something other than isolation. Hear us talk about how Detroit’s changed over the years, balancing his visual art with his music, and showing bullies what a yellow

Omar Apollo surprised me in a lot of ways. Beside dad issues, an ongoing personal theme of this show has been “people will surprise you.” It ties into plenty of old adages, but we tend to paint a picture of who a person is before we meet them. Every time I do this, I come to find out I'm completely wrong in my assumptions. With Omar‘s dreamy vocals, purposefully polished lo-fi aesthetic, and multi-instrumental self-produced musicianship, I made the assumption he might be an “industry plant.” I thought he'd come in to the studio dressed to the nines with a small entourage of label execs. Nope. People will surprise you. Turns out Omar is a really fucking normal 21 year old with an above average curiosity for music. I say that because until 2 years ago he claims to not have had any outstanding musical talent. He wanted to impress his dad so he started taking vocal lessons…on YouTube! It was via that glorious site he learned to play the guitar, make beats, and produce his own records. So what are y

Epic Beard Men is the collaborative effort of Sage Francis and B. Dolan. The two have been touring and working together for a decade now and finally decided to team up for a full length effort. Their release Season 1 was an exercise for the established solo acts. Songwriting and conceptualizing music as a team was a new experience for both of them. Their immense performance chops, and vast knowledge of rap styles and history shine through on the project. Full disclosure: Sage Francis was one of my favorite rappers when I was about 20 years old. He was the second artist I ever opened a show for (the first one was MC Paul Barman). Dudes like him, Slug of Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, and Grouch of Living Legends made me feel a little less weird for growing up as a white kid loving rap music and wanting to participate. Mark and I used to post on Sage's Strange Famous message board. Sage was a known curmudgeon online, blocking people that reached out in even the most polite way. My friends and I were terrifie

Hunnah is one of the purest vocal talents we've ever had on the show. Jaws drop and spines tingle as soon as she begins to belt out notes. Still a relative unknown at this point, she gained traction and attracted music industry insiders via her YouTube cover videos. Having heard a few unreleased originals, I can vouch for her potential as a future powerhouse. Born in Toronto to Ethiopian immigrants, Hunnah's childhood was relatively strict. Raised in church, no cable tv, and a strict regiment of classical piano lessons led to her being an excellent student. While she didn't love the piano lessons, eventually her musicality began to show itself through her voice. Her older sister, who wouldn't directly compliment her talents, forced her to sing in front of the school music teacher. Her sister's vague acknowledgement led to her pursuing her singing and the rest is (the beginning of) history. Hunnah is simply darling. She was a joy to converse with and an easy conversationalist. Her family history is intriguing

Tucker Pillsbury, soon to be much better known as ROLE MODEL, still has a boyish charm. In a movie he'd be the artsy kid next door the cheerleader secretly has a crush on. At 21 years old, he's only recently begun leaving his quaint Maine upbringing to explore the world. His songwriting is already world-building and impressive. I can only imagine how the music will develop as he continues his personal growth. Raised the son of a “ski bum,” Tucker picked up a video camera initially to film his friends skiing. This led to him learning to edit short films and music videos. Despite terrible grades in school, his talent with a camera didn't go unnoticed. He was accepted into the film school at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. It was there he had his first drink, first smoke and eventually made his first song. Like many humble beginnings on our show, ROLE MODEL's first song attempts were in a dorm room. He admits his early work was derivative auto-tune reliant rap that didn't really feel like him. Working out t

phem is the latest and most permanent iteration of Liv Marsico's creative alias'. She's been making music for years in the LA scene. Cutting her teeth in the Low End Theory world, I first heard her on Nocando‘s “Little Green Monsters.” At the time she was making waves with her band Liphemra. She also as a hired gun drumming for studio sessions and touring acts. An accomplished jazz drummer, phem went to a creative arts high school where the emphasis was on musicianship. But while working on Liphemra, Liv felt uncomfortable in her own skin, and living space. Renting a dingey recording space, and living illegally in it, her life hit an uncomfortable low. Thankfully a strong support group helped her out of the situation, and she emerged stronger. Now more comfortable with herself, her art, and her sexual identity (“I just like people, man”), phem is ready for her moment. “Blinders” is a fantastic summary and, in turn, elevator pitch of her music and personality. I was instantly drawn to the song and think you gu

a l l i e is a soulful sultry singer from just north of the border in Toronto. I stumbled on her thoroughly groovy “Bad Habits” video. That led me to her debut LP Nightshade. It's a laid back journey of modern soul with nods to the 90s R&B sound. Hear us discuss her Toronto upbringing, and her half Jamaican heritage. We talk about the Toronto music scene that's bubbling. We talk about coping with depression and what works for us. She also tells a touching story about the revelations of growing her natural hair out for the first time. –Lee

IDK grew up in PG County, Maryland, a sprawling suburb of Washington DC. It's one of the most affluent predominantly black counties in America. He lived in a safe neighborhood. He was raised responsibly by hardworking African immigrants. They expected him to thrive in school and work ethic. Yet and still, he ended up as the first member of his family to go to jail and eventually prison. What could cause a seemingly good kid to end up entangled in the law? His new record IWASVERYBAD tries to unpack that question. IDK's technical ability and the scope of his vision are nearly unmatched in his generational peer group. His records are dense, concisely thought out, and often paint clear cinematic visuals with his descriptive lyrics. IWVB is no exception. The record has a cohesive “press play and let it ride” feel, with high production value and attention to detail. Songs pivot on a dime and topics are explored from many angles with a precision that might make his easiest comparison Kendrick. That's a lofty st

Wes Period is a product of the nondescript Orange County suburb tucked between Whittier and Fullerton. La Habra is one of those places that people ask “where's that?” It's probably why folks from the OC just say their from Orange County. The only other person I know from La Habra is Jonwayne. I only know that because of La Habra's Wikipedia page. But Wes made the most of his OC upbringing. As a mixed race youth he often felt like an outsider in his city's distinctly white and Latino sociological makeup. Searching for a way to find his place in life, and satisfying his early musical dreams, he started local bands. Frequently playing local punk venues like Chain Reaction has given him stage chops many peers his age lack. Turns out his band even performed with your favorite podcast host and VerBS at the Glasshouse way back when. Now, as a rapper and producer, Wes has all the talent and charisma to be a real threat. His beats are polished and catchy, his smile's contagious, and his raps are triumphant and joyous.