I get it, I may just be the absolute last guy you think of when you think of a hip-hop podcast host. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I needed a way to express myself. As an outside salesman for JRS Mar/Com, not being able to network, lunch, and socialize was unbearable. Not being able to see live music and feel the vibes was damaging to my health. A recommendation from a friend, a few ideas later, and Beats, Beds & Browns was launched. A podcast around emerging hip-hop artists, gardening in all its forms and brown spirits (think whiskey and bourbon).
Great, now what?! Well, you’re not going to see me start rocking grills and chains, because I am ‘keeping it real.’ I’ve been a hip-hop fan since LL Cool J’s Bad cassette tape, after that, I couldn’t get enough. While I don’t like every artist, the list of those that I do is a mile long.
Starting with LL Cool J and going to N.W. A and Public Enemy, some KRS One, then Digable Planets and A Tribe Called Quest. The hooks were in. Later, I found Mos Def and Talib Kweli, then found Common and have been a fan of lyricists ever since.
Two kids later, and I lost my connection to the art and artists that
always meant so much to me as I was growing up.
Gardening was something I was raised around, I spent summers ‘tending’ goats and roaming the back 40, always trying to get closer to the crick. A favorite tale includes the Farmer coming out of the bramble that was his garden, fully covered by plants, limbs shaking, then emerging with some ‘squash for supper.’ Where’d he go? How’d he get that?
I was unwittingly hooked at that point. My first attempt at gardening came when I lived in Texas, just North of Dallas. The first homeowner project was digging out a garden and planting seeds. Nothing extravagant, zucchini, tomato, some leafy greens. It all went well until a work trip had me away from home (and watering) for a few days. That didn’t work well in Texas, you can imagine the dried, crispy, brown results…
Brown spirits is another later in life passion. I’ve gone light beer, craft beer, gin, scotch, and now whiskey. I haven’t gone all in and become a beer snob or a scotch afficianado and I don’t imagine that will happen with whiskey/bourbon either, but I’m interested to learn more about the rich history that surrounds us at distilleries all over the world. How can someone’s need/desire to enjoy the occasional nip have been the start of a global spirits industry?
We cover the people more than the product and ask questions about how our interviewees got started, where they’ve been and where do they envision themselves going? As part of our journey, we’ve been sharing our interviews on Youtube, with audio podcasts set to stream shortly. We enjoy ‘cuttin’ it up’ with folks from all walks of life and probably won’t confine our conversation to any predetermined notion of what makes a good podcast, we’re just talking about others’ passion and what interests us.
If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, check us out, subscribe on your social media of choice and support us by buying a t-shirt or some stickers. If you’ve got a green thumb, then buy some seed packs, or better yet, register for your free, organic, heirloom seedkit. Currently we offer Acorn Squash, Carrot or Dill on our website.
We love sharing our passions and hope to continue ‘keeping it real’, however we choose to define real. Remember, like Oscar Wilde always said, ‘Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken!’