2020: Into The Fire

LaBranda Pope is a high-school English teacher in Broward County, FL. You couldn’t be blamed for thinking what she does for a living doesn’t fit the mold of the creatives we’ve been interviewing thus far. Think about it for a second… When your job is to reach the minds and hearts of an increasingly detached and distracted youth, you have to get creative. With her background in education and journalism, LaBranda has become skilled in doing just that— reaching students in spite of a system that seems to do everything in its power to reduce the critical resource of public education to nothing but training for test taking. Showing students all the possibilities and nuances of life when the education system tells you that life is linear. Helping students develop critical thinking skills when you’re told to obey without question. LaBranda Pope is an artist and a creator in her own right. It’s our privilege to share her story, her passions, and her wisdom with you. This episode is sponsored by Bill Beats of noirgrime.com/beats. He’s the man to go to when you need any kind of beats for your next project. When you pick up some beats in his store today, enter promo code NODBALL at checkout and receive 10% off your entire order!

Picture being an artist. Not only an artist, but one that performs in public. Suddenly, a pandemic hits and that’s gone. You figure, “okay, I can just paint at home, no big deal.” The reality, however, is quite different. You have all the time in the world to create new art, but now supplies are getting harder to find. The basic items you require for your craft are dwindling because of supply chain issues and increased demand due to everyone being in the same boat as you— at home with little else to do but dabble in creative hobbies. This was the reality for performance artist April Stevenson. Venues closed, locked out of her studio, and not able to get basic supplies to do what she loves, and what she does to make a living. What do you do when nothing seems to be going right? April tells her story of hardship and overcoming the deck being stacked against her as she finds a way to keep creating in spite of everything. More on April Stevenson: https://www.facebook.com/AprilStevenson06/ This episode is brought to you by Ozeal DeBastos and ozealmedia.com. He’s the one you need to go to when you need guidance on your latest podcast project and help with your branding and marketing. Book a one hour coaching session with him today, and the first one is on us! Just use promo code NODBALL when you book your call.

Imagine bringing a child into this world during these times. The worries and stresses of being a new parent in any times, good or bad, are tremendous, but even more so now. Independent nerdcore/otaku emcee GR3YS0N doesn’t have to imagine this scenario. He became a father of twin boys earlier this year. Now, he has to balance those concerns along with a 9-5 job and hustling to get his hip-hop career off the ground. GR3YS0N talks about being a new father, the evolution of his hip-hop persona, his love of games, comics and anime, as well as the people and places that have helped define who he has become, and how he is blazing his own trail into the future. More on GR3YS0N: www.GR3Ys0N.bandcamp .com https://www.facebook.com/GR3YS0NGNAG Twitter/Instagram: @iamGR3YS0N This episode is sponsored by Bill Beats of noirgrime.com/beats. He’s the man to go to when you need any kind of beats for your next project. When you pick up some beats in his store today, enter promo code NODBALL at checkout and receive 10% off your entire order!

While you may not have to imagine what it’s like to have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic, imagine having to live at the epicenter of it. That’s what independent nerdcore rapper Lex the Lexicon Artist had to do. Months indoors, only going out for essentials, or maybe not leaving your home at all. The eyes of the world are on your city, and the media is telling you the worst of the pandemic is in your city, on your block, in your backyard. On top of that, this situation has taken live performances and tours from you. What do you do when the world is closing in around you? Lex talks about navigating these challenges, gives you an inside look at how touring (and getting paid) work for an independent act, and we also take a deep dive into her latest album, Alter Ego— How she expresses her thoughts on ego (and her own) through her music, and we get her thoughts on several tracks in the album, including Famous, All the Time, and Loss of Ego. More on Lex the Lexicon Artist: www.thelexiconartist.com www.facebook.com/thelexiconartist Twitter/Instagram: @lextheconartist This episode is brought to you by Ozeal DeBastos and ozealmedia.com. He’s the one you need to go to when you need guidance on your latest podcast project and help with your branding and marketing. Book a one hour coaching session with him today, and the first one is on us! Just use promo code NODBALL when you book your call.

What do you do when your livelihood, the stage and the crowds, are taken away from you? What’s the next move? Now you have some big life changes thrown in on top of that. Do you find a way to keep fighting for everything you’ve built up to this point, or do you take a step back and find a new way? These are some of the questions independent hip-hop artist Alfred Banks had to ask himself. He’s had plenty of opportunities— doing a commercial for Volkswagen, had a song featured in the Netflix Movie Burning Sands, Been a finalist in the Vans “Share The Stage” competition— but has yet to find that golden opportunity that launches him past that aspiring independent status. No matter what, he keeps going and keeps trying. His new side project, SaxKixAve, is getting some good attention, and in spite of the challenges, he knows things are always looking up. More on Alfred Banks: www.underdogcentral.com www.saxkixave.com www.facebook.com/underdogcentral Twitter/Instagram: @underdogcentral This episode is sponsored by Bill Beats of noirgrime.com/beats. He’s the man to go to when you need any kind of beats for your next project. When you pick up some beats in his store today, enter promo code NODBALL at checkout and receive 10% off your entire order!

Welcome to the sneak preview of 2020:Into The Fire! Jesse Curtis takes you through his personal journey, the moment he decided helping independent artists succeed is his calling, and what to expect from this series. Guests featured on this episode: Alfred Banks www.underdogcentral.com Lex The Lexicon Artist www.thelexiconartist.com LaBranda Pope Damn Selene www.damnselene.com Make sure you check out our sponsor, Ozeal Media, for all of your podcast/business/branding coaching and consulting needs! www.ozealmedia.com When you book a coaching call, enter promo code NODBALL at checkout and your first session is on us!