Musings with Jo Muse

Joel is a working actor (currently starring on The Chi) and artist. Detroit born-and-raised, he joins Jo to discuss how he was reared and raised by his mother, how early acting classes helped shape his passion for storytelling, and how he remains tapped into the culture through his love for fitness, reading, travel, and maintaining the personal discipline to hone his commitment to the craft.

Stic.man of Dead Prez joins Jo to discuss his new book "The Five Principles," on how to live a fruitful and passionate life. He discusses as early as the fifth grade his love for rap and it was his older brother who introduced him to hip-hop. Through him, he learned how to distill it from rap and funk, and how he converted his poetry to his iconic rap lyrics.

Award-winning creative director, Kamal Collins has worked for top brands like Google, YouTube, Coca Cola and Nike - and has also contributed his experience to shows like "Atlanta" and "Snowfall". The Chicago native credits his upbringing in the Windy City as one of the key contributions to his creativity. We ruminate on what makes good storytelling, how the youth moves culture and why their insight helps advertisers influence.  

Historian, Director, Producer, and Writer Sheila Moses joins Jo in this episode. She discusses her work as a playwright and how the day-old newspaper she read as a child fueled her passion for writing. Initially thinking she would go into fashion, a scholarship alters the journey moving her career into corporate marketing, talent management, and more. ALSO: Sheila discusses her chance meetings with Dick Gregory -- and how she became the author of his memoir.

Brand evangelist Chase Conerly is a bright fresh voice in the advertising world and has worked with several major brands, including Toyota, MLB, NFL, and Lexus. We discuss his passion for writing, how he love for poetry makes him a better dreamer, how he got into copywriting and dabbling in creating the burgeoning but controversial world of AI generated art.

Pianist and Artistic Director Chelsea Randall is a Brooklyn native and lifer. In this episode, we discuss her passion for music, how an inherited piano from her grandmother allowed her to learn the power of classical music leading to her studies at Julliard and her commitment to championing underrepresented Black composers. ALSO: how growing up amongst poets, writers and editors fueled her poetry. They inspired EXTENSITY, a new concert series in New York aiming to foster interdisciplinary connections between artistic disciplines with an emphasis on underrepresented and new voices.

Gordon C. James is an in-demand fine artist. The D.C. native and John Newberry Medal winner grew up around drawing superheroes, many lessons taught by his father, who also had a passion for illustration. He discusses getting his first break, inspiration from other Black tradition painters that came before him, his work at Hallmark, and the importance of supporting fine art for and by the Black community.

Nicole Brown grew up next to the studio where she now runs Tri-Star Pictures. Growing up in the industry fostered her passion for filmmaking, storytelling, and performing. She talks to Jo about the mentors who helped shape her passion for producing, how she explored the facets of storytelling and what it takes to make films, including the latest, Whitney Houston: I Want To Dance With Somebody, in theaters now.

Melba Moore is a Tony-winning singer, actress, and dancer. The New York-born entertainer speaks with Jo about being a late bloomer; her entrée to music began in high school and led to her first big break, on Broadway in "Hair" replacing Diane Keaton. In this wide-ranging conversation, she discusses how she negotiated show business, the uniqueness of her vocal style, and how athleticism was key to her success and longevity in the industry.

Dabo Che is a renowned creative whose work in advertising has spanned two decades, but his work in developing multi-platform campaigns started with his passion for filmmaking. Refusing to be a starving artist, he knew he had a passion for entrepreneurship and developed his skill set by developing global campaigns and taking up space to define his creative prowess.

Frank had a childhood filled with wonder, but an influential breakdancer, teacher, and a visit to Paris set him on the path of becoming an artist. His vision is inspired by street art like graffiti and the work inside of the Louvre. Jo and Frank have a spirited discussion about what makes great art and how its proximity to it fuels creativity and mind expansion.

An advocate for African American inclusion in advertising, Walter is a pioneer disruptor of multimedia creative innovation. A self-proclaimed "architect" since his youth, Walter and Jo talk about his passion for Jimi Hendrick and music, his curiosity about tech, and moving into advertising to bring his vision to some of the biggest brands in the world. ALSO: How he tackles solutions by concentrating on figuring out the problem.

Areva Martin, a CNN analyst , super lawyer and partner of her own law firm knows the power of media. The Missouri-born native harnesses the medium to amplify her exemplary skills and advocate for her clients. Here she muses with Jo on the country's obsession with the legal system, how her underprivileged upbringing fueled her drive to become one of the nation's top attorneys. ALSO: How she gets the big ideas, being the parent of an autistic child and how it fueled her passion for disability rights and social impact. 

Schele Williams is one of the top 10 Broadway directors to watch. The Ohio-born theatrical director and children's author muses with Jo on how working on Aida encouraged her to work on storytelling that centered on Black women and how becoming a director allows her to support authentic stories about the Black experience. ALSO: Her  revelation when a vocal injury clarified the moment she "lost her voice" and the path towards regaining her purpose.

Artis Lane has been for the culture for decades, leaving her mark on some of the nation's most beautiful artwork and installations. The Canadian-American sculptor discusses how she knew in pre-school that she would be an artist. ALSO: what it was like to work with Djimon Hounsou, one of her first subjects, her friendship with Cicely Tyson, how her family migrated from the Deep South into Canada, the breakthrough moment she saw a turning point in her career, and the higher calling that fueled her journey towards success, and the truths manifested through her iconic work.  

Our season four premiere guest is Writer/Director Sheldon Candis, one of the best and brightest to arrive on the Hollywood scene. As an empowering creative mind, his approach toward success remains grounded and rooted in creating content for the culture. In this episode, the Baltimore-native and USC grad discusses how being a youth athlete and weekly movies with his parents seeing films like "Boyz In Da Hood", inspired his focus and pursuit to excel in filmmaking and storytelling. 

Join Jo Muse as he talks to new guests about all things art and culture. 

Poetri Smith a true renaissance man— He is a Tony Award-winning performer. He has written over 350 commercials for radio, TV and print for clients like Nike, Subway and Gatorade. Poetri is also the co-founder of Da Poetry Lounge, the largest poetry venue in the world, which has operated in Los Angeles for over 20 years. Join us as we learn about his upbringing in Muskegon, MI, how he got involved with Def Poetry Jam and why he considers his journey to becoming a poet "an accident."

Carol H. Williams has demonstrated year-after-year success achieving revenue and business growth for her clients as the owner, President, CEO & Chief Creative Officer of Carol H. Williams Advertising (CHWA). Since 1986 Carol has led and motivated more than 5,000 employees and has exceeded $30 million in revenue. Williams has created campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, including General Motors, General Mills, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, The Walt Disney Company, Marriott and many others. This episode, Carol shares the career moves that led her to start her own firm.

Regina Brooks is the founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency— the largest African American owned agency in the country. Her agency has represented and established a diverse base of award-winning clients in adult and young adult fiction, nonfiction, and children's literature. Regina's resume extends well beyond the literary world. Prior to her publishing career, she worked as an aerospace engineer and made history as the first African American woman to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from The Ohio State University. She is a pilot and a cofounder of Brooklyn Aviation and has held senior editorial positions at John Wiley and Sons and McGraw-Hill Co. This episode, Regina will take us through her diverse career journey and what the future has in store for her.

Welcome to season 3! This season we will focus on the nature of “Creative Genius.” Over the course of our journey together we will look into the background and behavior of those in the entertainment industry. With 35 years of experience under his belt, Dave Wooley has done it all— he's a visionary, veteran entrepreneur, best-selling author, educator and producer. We'll dive into the evolution of his multi-faceted career and his work with industry superstars like Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, BB King, James Brown, Run DMC, Snoop Dogg and more.

Jesse Byrd is an award-winning children's book author, editor, and publisher and the youngest African American NPR Foundation Board Member. He started his professional journey as a Silicon Valley techie before pivoting to pursue his true passion of creating stories for audiences young and old. Jesse's been fortunate to perform readings of his children's books to over 55,000 kids and is currently in partnership with Airbnb Experiences to provide families and corporations with virtual storytime experiences during COVID. In this episode, Jo and Jesse talk about mission and community and the traditions that sparked Jesse's drive to make a difference.

Beverly Jenkins is the nation's premier writer of African – American historical romance fiction, and specializes in 19th century African American life. She's a USA TODAY best-selling author, an NAACP Image Award nominee, and the 2017 recipient of Romance Writers of America's Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. She has over forty nine published works, and has been featured in many major publications including the NYT, People Magazine, WSJ, and on NPR and CBS Sunday Morning. She speaks widely on African American history, romance, and writing.  Some of her work has been optioned by Sony Television and Al Roker Entertainment.

Perry Parks is an advocate for his community and a leader in the cable and media world. A former player on the New Orleans Saints, Parks discusses his decision to change career paths and why failure is a key component to success. As a practicing Buddhist, Parks discuses why living in the moment is important, especially for those seeking a path to living beyond their wildest dreams.

Howard Dodson, Director Emeritus of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, was Director of Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and Director of Howard University Libraries from 2012 to 2015.  A specialist in African American and African Diasporan history, as well as an author, curator, cultural activist and innovative administrator, Dodson served as Director of the Schomburg Center from 1984-2011. Under his leadership, the Schomburg Center developed into the world's most comprehensive public research library devoted exclusively to documenting and interpreting African Diasporan and African histories and cultures.  A passionate supporter of scholars and scholarship, Dodson also established The New York Public Library's first Scholar-in-Residence Program which funded over 120 residency fellowships for scholars researching the black experience.  .  In addition, he has published ten books including Jubilee: The Emergence of African American Culture (2002), In Motion: The African American Migration Experience (2005) and most recently, Becoming American: The African American Journey (2009).  Dodson has curated more than 25 exhibitions including “Censorship and Black America” and “Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery” which as adopted by UNESCO and translated into English, Spanish, French and Portuguese and distributed throughout the Atlantic world.  For more than 17 years, Dodson played a leading role in transforming New York's long lost African Burial Ground into a National Monument.  He served as Chair of its Federal Steering Committee.  He was also a member of the President's Commission on the National Museum of African American Culture and History. In this episode, Dodson discusses how to fill up on intellectual energy that is needed for success and how to use libraries to do so.

Known as “the dean of arts and entertainment journalists,” Clarence Waldron is the go-to-guy on American pop culture.  He has enjoyed a distinguished career in journalism for 40 years, including a 29-year tenure as senior editor and senior writer of Jet Magazine. Aretha Franklin once remarked: “Clarence Waldron is one of the very best journalists who has written a story about me. I trust him.” Waldron has been an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism since 1998. His courses include “Reporting & Writing,” “Methods,”Magazine Editing,” Magazine Writing,” and “Covering Popular Music,” a music journalism course that he created for graduate students.  He also has taught at Columbia College Chicago and Loyola University.  He holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Columbia College of Columbia University in New York City. In 2010, the National Association of Black Journalists presented him with the Legacy Award and named him the “dean of arts and entertainment journalists.” His extraordinary life story was recorded by The HistoryMakers during a three-hour interview that is now housed at the U.S. Library of Congress.     In 2020, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Headline Club, the largest association in the Society of Professional Journalists.  He wrote the first Jet cover stories on Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, Steve Harvey, Erykah Badu, Kirk Franklin, Tavis Smiley, Jill Scott, Frankie Beverly and Minister Louis Farrakhan . He also did the first sit-down Jet interview and cover on Prince. 

Known as Aunt Joan, or JB, to her PHILADANCO! family, she's a powerhouse of artistic energy and warmth, and a passionate advocate for Black dancers. As she will tell you, she's nearly 90 years old and has seen a lot.  No pandemic can dampen this woman's spirits or her determination to create opportunities for her dancers to shine. She grew up loving to dance, studying ballet, but finding work in the night club circuit—dancing, choreographing and performing with big name entertainers, including Sammy Davis, Jr, Cab Calloway, and Pearl Bailey.  In this episode she talks about why it's important for her to provide opportunities for young black dancers today.

Dr. Tia C. M. Tyree is a Professor at Howard University within the Department of Strategic, Legal and Management Communications. She primarily teaches students the history, theory, practices and issues of contemporary public relations and social media; informs students about media and community relations; and teaches students how to research, develop, implement and evaluate strategic communication campaigns. Her research interests include hip hop, rap, reality television, film, social media as well as African-American and female representations in mass media.  In this episode Dr. Tyree discusses how her upbringing prepared her to make a difference in the lives of students in and out of the classroom.

Now the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Days spent 10 years as editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, which won a Pulitzer Prize under his leadership. He began his career as a reporter, working in Minneapolis; in Rochester, N.Y.; and at the Louisville Courier-Journal. He worked in the Philadelphia bureau of the Wall Street Journal before joining the Daily News.   In 2014, Days was awarded the prestigious Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership. The McGruder Award is given annually to individuals, news organizations or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder, a former newsroom leader of the Detroit Free Press and Cleveland Plain Dealer. McGruder, who died in 2002, was considered one of the most relentless diversity champions in the industry.  In 2017, Days was inducted into the NABJ Hall of Fame. 

Busy is the only word to describe Flo Anthony. A multi-award winning journalist, Flo is a bestselling author of three novels, Keeping Secrets Telling Lies, Deadly Stuff Players and One Last Deadly Play. Flo hosts a daily radio show Gossip On The Go With Flo, which is syndicated by Superadio and heard in 20 markets. In addition, she is the Publisher of blacknoir.nyc, pens a weekly column Go With The Flo, which appears in the NY Amsterdam News, Philadelphia Sunday Sun and Columbus Times. In addition Flo is a contractual freelance reporter for the NY Daily News. A veteran newspaper woman, Flo was the first African American woman to work in the Sports Department of the NY Post, and went on to become the first African American in the Post's Entertainment and the world renowned Page Six Departments.  Getting her start on the Emmy award-winning Joan Rivers Show, Flo's career includes an extensive television reporting stint where Flo appeared on over 25 talk and news programs including Geraldo, E! Entertainment TV, Joan Lunden, Ricki Lake, Sally Jesse Raphael, Fox News Channel, Entertainment Tonight, etc. She revolutionized tabloid TV by bringing Michael Jackson on Inside Edition with her.  

For over 20 years, hundreds of thousands of people, both national and international audiences of all sizes, have experienced the passion, creativity, storytelling, unshakeable positivity and mind-shifting power of Dr. James Smith, Jr. CSP. Dr. James is a lightning rod in the professional and personal development spaces, creating performance breakthroughs for organizations, teams and individuals looking to improve in the areas of authenticity, diversity and inclusion, personal power, leadership, presentation and/or facilitation skills. He is the author of three books that showcase his “no excuses personal accountability” revolution. 

From a young man in Sonora Mexico, to becoming recognized in the Advertising Hall of Fame, Hector Orci is a thinker, builder, teacher, and one of the most successful admen of his time. Hector has remained successful through lie lessons taught by his father that led him to constantly bring people together and staying true to his values. Take a listen as Hector talks dreams, intentions, and clarity of purpose.

Will Campbell is Chairman & CEO at Quantasy, LLC. He has co-founded and led the growth of the agency to what now amounts to more than 50 people as one fully integrated, cultural marketing force. Since founding Quantasy, named by Inc. Magazine as one of America's fastest growing private companies in 2018, Will has used his unique method of blending advertising, technology, entertainment and culture to deliver business growth results for world-class clients including Google, Lionsgate, American Honda, the State of California and Wells Fargo Bank.  Will talks about growing up in Pasadena, California and always striving to achieve success and how to deliver.

A longtime community health advocate and media pioneer, Denise Pines is a trusted resource for women as they pursue midlife wellness. She's the founder of WisePause Lifestyle Summit, a tour for premenopausal women and the FemAging 2020 Tech Index, a report that combines key trends and survey data focusing on diverse women's preferences for products and services in the tech sector. Pines is president of the Medical Board of California and serves on the Martin Luther King Community Hospital Foundation board. She is a member of and serves in leadership positions in the California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM) School of Medicine, the Triple Step Toward the Cure, and the Taiwan Tea Manufacturers Association. Pines is an award-winning marketer and serial entrepreneur, and she has participated in 10 startups, including multimedia companies and foundations. For PBS and NPR, she has been the creative consultant for several talk shows including one with a 14-year run and 11 documentaries including the award winning film “PUSHOUT”. 

Jimmy Smith is the CEO And Chief Creative Officer of the award winning ad agency, Amusement Park Entertainment. Named by Fast Company as one of the Top 100 Most Creative, his work has been revered for it's innovative and fresh advertising approaches.  

Jerry Pinkney has been illustrating children's books since 1964, illustrating over one hundred titles. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and published in fourteen countries. In addition to his work in children's books, Jerry has had over thirty, one-man exhibitions. His works have also been featured in The New York Times, American Artist Magazine, The Horn Book Magazine, the CBS “Sunday Morning Show,” and on PBS's “Reading Rainbow.” Jerry has illustrated for a wide variety of clients, including the US Postal Service, National Parks Service, and National Geographic Magazine. 

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Rod Gillum has earned a national reputation for successful corporate diversity and public interest initiatives.  His unique array of legal, crisis management, and corporate governance and compliance experience has engendered the trust of company leaders, judges, politicians and attorneys as an effective, thoughtful and creative problem solver. On the show he discusses how he still carries the drive he attained at a young age taking two busses to get to school to remind him of what he can continue to accomplish today.

Dr. Julianne Marie Malveaux is an economist, author, social and political commentator, and businesswoman. She was the 15th president of Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina and has long been recognized for her progressive observations as a labor economist. She has been described by Dr. Cornel West as “the most iconoclastic public intellectual in the country.” Her contributions to the public dialogue on issues such as race, culture, gender, and their economic impacts are shaping public opinion in 21st century America.   

Ed Dwight, the first African American to be trained as an astronaut and the sculptor of major international monuments. In Episode One, Dwight and Jo Muse discuss what led him to his successes and why his upbringing and a strong mother prepared him for a life during segregation.