Icons & Disruptors with Maurice DuBois Podcast

Beyoncé was only 14 when Yvette Noel-Schure walked into her life — and they’ve been a formidable team ever since. Noel-Schure is part PR guru, strategist and trusted friend to one of the biggest stars in the world.   And — an inspiration to her own legions of fans and admirers.

For a multi-million dollar businesses to start off at a kitchen table Brooklyn, with a young woman conducting experiments just for fun - well, that’s a great story right there. To hear Lisa Price tell it - is even better.  Carol’s Daughter is her baby: all-natural hair, body and skin care for women of color.  But becoming the mogul she is, wasn’t even on her radar!

Legalized weed in all of America is a sure thing, a virtual done deal — at least according to Kevin Murphy. After almost a decade in the marijuana business, the CEO of Acreage Holdings thinks the country is ready to join him. Murphy’s got heavyweight support: his team includes a former House Speaker, Senator and Prime Minister. They all think marijuana can help a lot of people's health issues, and the government needs to get out of way. And yes, they stand to make millions when weed gets the green light.

Wanna know what it really means to be "fly?" Or how you get from hustling & gambling on the streets of Harlem - to the house of Gucci? Dapper Dan is living it. Thanks, he says, to the "transformative power" of fashion. And reading a lot. He's at the pinnacle of a career that fully changed not just his life, but fashion itself. And he has the Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire - of all things! - to thank for it. Listen: It’s been one hell of a ride.

Maurice once asked Wynton how he chills.  His answer:  “I’m chilling right now.”   They were actually onstage, in front of an audience!  True to form, this giant of Jazz and American culture never stops working.  He’s produced more than 80 records, won 9 Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize, and has been awarded dozens of honorary doctorates.  Yet he talks like he’s just getting started.  He scored and executive produced the new movie “Bolden,” about the first king of Jazz, and just finished his third symphony.  He sat down long enough to record this interview, just after arriving in town — before rushing off to a gig.  

Ever wonder why they call him “Clyde”?  Or, what’s the story behind his signature Puma sneakers?  Or why he uses all those big words on TV?  Or — why he criticized LeBron James the other day; and by the way, who does he think is the greatest basketball player of all time?   (Hint: it’s not Michael Jordan).  We have all the answers and a lot more in our conversation with this basketball icon.   He takes us along on his incredible journey from the Jim Crow south to the NBA Hall-of-Fame and beyond. 

Misty Copeland was born to be a ballerina. She just didn’t realize it, or even discover ballet until she was 13. And then she had to overcome intense family turmoil, racial barriers and self doubt - before soaring to the top. Now she’s the first African-American female Principal Dancer at the prestigious American Ballet Theater. And that’s just her day job.

If they ever build a Mt. Rushmore for DJs, D-Nice will be right in the middle of it. He is living music history. But not that long ago, he couldn’t even afford to get a haircut! What a journey it’s been for the kid born Derrick Jones: From the streets of the Bronx to Hollywood, the White House and beyond.

Overtime gets millions of views every day, billions every year and it’s growing like crazy. This media empire is at the leading edge of dramatic disruption in the way we watch sports. Maurice gets into all of it with the men calling the shots, Dan Porter and Zach Weiner.

Did a broken heart motivate George Washington to ditch the Brits and lead the American Revolution? It sure looks that way, journalist Mary Calvi tells Maurice, after she logged several years of ground-breaking research. Dear George, Dear Mary is Calvi’s debut novel, a fictionalized account of Washington’s deep love that he lost, before he ultimately won the War for Independence.