A&R and Producer Pusha Rod is a Los Angeles Native dedicated to shifting the culture.  Known as a former A&R of Urban Music at Interscope Records, the young executive got into the industry by being what he calls a “professional homie”, giving his advice to artists about their music and then working to get their music in the hands and ears of the people.

 

About a year ago, the Producer left Urban Music at Interscope to start his own recording studio, Creative Soundz Recording, where he hosts a number of very notable recording artist and does A&R work independently. He even recently produced his best friend and Rapper YG’s newest hit album “I GOT ISSUES” .

In an interview with the L.A. Watts Times, Pusha Rod took some time to discuss the path of his career, and how it led to the opening of his own business.

“I didn’t really know what I was doing when I started in the music industry. I just thought I was being a good friend,” Pusha Rod told LAS.

“At one point in time, a few of us were all trying to figure out this music stuff, so we were all staying with YG. I had just dropped out of college, and we were all just living at his house.”

Rapper YG is a close friend of Push Rod. Rod shared that, while living with the rapper, he’d already came out with his first project. He’d sit in the back of the studio while YG was recording, not doing too much, until one day they started asking his opinions on the music.

“Then that switch happened when someone asked me why didn’t I like the music. I said what I thought and gave my honest opinion, and they’d be like ‘you know what? I feel you. I was feeling the same way.’ And it went from that to starting to ask other questions.”

Pusha Rod assisted Sycamore (the A&R on YG’s album “My Krazy Life”) in finding producers and artist to work on that album, and he was the one who told him the work he was doing was A&R.

“I just thought I was doing what real friends do. I’ve never been a Yes Man in my life, so I just thought I was doing good by my friends…So then, I started trying to play in {A&R] a little more, build my relationships a little more, and then Joiewas actually President of A&R at Def Jam at the time, but he ended up going to Interscope and moving to LA.

He told Sycamore he needed someone on the ground, who’s connected with everybody, who could get in contact with the biggest artists to the smallest producers to writers. Sycamore was like that’s Pusha Rod. He’s that guy in LA”

He continued, “I met with Joie and then the rest was history.”

Pusha Rod worked at Interscope for about eight years before he decided to venture out into his own business. He shared that he “learned a lot.”

“I’m very grateful for the time I spent there, but I always at some point felt I was missing something.” He said, “ I wanted to figure out what that next step was in my career, and I have a lot of relationships with a lot of artist that’re signed at different labels across the board, who I give advice to, who call me and might need help getting a feature, so I asked myself what’s something involving music that I can do, but also doesn’t have any specific holes or ties to anybody.”

This led to the start of Creative Soundz Recordings.

“I knew if I opened up a studio, anybody could come. I could go into anybody’s session and talk with anybody for hours. When I left Interscope, I was like ‘alright this was a great chapter of my life, but what’s the level up? I’m not gonna leave Interscope and go be a senior director at a different label. Like that mean’s my life is staying consistent.’”

The recording studio, located on Melrose, was originally the home of Buzzfeed Studios in the early 2000s and 90s, and was already a “landmark” in entertainment. Pusha Rod made it a point to give it a different light.

“I’ve traveled to hundreds of studios, and one thing that I have learned over the years is that a lot of studios that we use as Hip Hop artist aren’t necessarily Hip Hop studios. Studios are made for like pop and rock, and the sound is literally built to build a different type of music.”

Pusha Rod shared that “even the structures of the rooms” aren’t made for Hip Hop music. He also shared that, in some studios, artists are forced to used equipment that’s almost thirty or forty years old.

“Over the years, while working with the artist I’ve worked with, I’ve seen the things that they ask for, and I took that knowledge and brought it to my own because I feel that there’s not too many Hip Hop studios in Hollywood. There’s a lot of beautiful, amazing studios that Hip Hop artist use, but there aren’t too many studios made for us.”

Born and raised in LA, Pusha Rod shares that making this business opportunity in his hometown feels amazing. He’s assisted in bringing out some of the “dopest artists in the West Coast who’ve pushed the culture over the last decade.” He also voiced that he’s an avid advocate of his city.

“I rep LA everywhere I go,” he enthused. “I’m very proud of being from here, and I’m very proud to help shed light on LA because a lot of things get misconstrued. It’s dope to be able to move the way I move throughout the city and throughout the music industry and interchange some of those relationships.”

He continued, “I introduce dope people to other dope people because a lot of times people come out here and they meet the wrong people, and they get the wrong impression of LA. I’m trying to be the correct impression.”

For those looking to follow in Pusha Rod’s footsteps of working in A&R, his key tip is to “lock in with an artist or producer, and really work to understand them. Help them make the best music possible based on themselves and what they’re willing to talk about.

And be honest because, a lot of times, people get into these positions and feel like they have to say yes. But when you say yes to things that you don’t believe in or don’t love, people start to second guess you. So never second guess yourself or your opinion for a like. People are going to respect you for your honest. Not for falling in the room.”

To keep up to date on Pusha Rod, check out his Instagram (@pusharod). You can also visit Creative Soundz Recordings website: https://creativesoundzrecording.com.

The 2022 Midterm Elections were a center of Black Girl Magic, showcasing a number of powerful, brilliant, and shining Black women dedicated to being active leaders in their communities on every level.

 

Black women’s difficulty in politics is not new news. We have spent centuries playing an active role in the struggle for suffrage, often excluded from getting a seat with ‘big dogs’ at the political table, since the beginning of time.

 

 

 

We were forced to march separately from White women in suffrage parades, and our opinions and rights were ignored in passing the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, even though Black women played key roles in getting them passed.

 

 

 

 

In the 2020 Presidential Elections, Black women saw the scrutiny that Vice President Kamala Harris faced in her election, and more recently, the pointless victim blaming that Congresswoman Karen Bass faced when strangers went into HER home and took HER personal valuables.

 

 

And even with this, Black women have refused to stop their fight.

 

From politics to entertainment and beyond, Black women are refusing to go unseen and voiceless in a world that’s tried to shut us out again and again and again, but can’t.

 

The 2022 Midterm Elections were a prime example of this, especially in California.

 

Black women are making their mark, running for leadership positions to better their cities and communities, not just for themselves, but for everyone around them.

 

 

 

In their campaigns, each woman’s efforts provided a comfort and inspiration where Black women could see themselves, as well as the future of not just the state, but the entire Country.

 

Some Black women and girls took some time to speak with the L.A. Watts Times about their feelings in regard to so many Black women running in the 2022 Elections.

 

“There is a visible change happening,” stated Destiny, “…seen within the midterm elections.

 

It is inspiring and a new mark in history to see so many women of color, with merit and quality, representing in local government.”

Camille shared with a big smile, “I feel such excitement and pride when I see so many dynamic Black women running for office and leadership roles.”

 

“Black women are always at the forefront of change and unafraid to take action,” reflected Alex S.

 

“It’s phenomenal to see so many Black women at once get involved in politics at a high level. Political engagement and representation matters. I think seeing all these women run has been really inspiring and provides a sense of hope for what the future might look like.”

 

“I feel great! It’s time for a change,” shared Kaelin.

 

Jelani said, “I think it’s amazing, considering where we started. It’s also very inspiring to our young Black girls.”

 

Tamela M. rejoiced, “This is the most proud I’ve been to a Black woman in my whole life. Just see how much we accomplish when we support each other!”

 

As Black women, we are now getting the privilege of seeing ourselves at the table, but we’re also noticing how the table looks better.

And that’s because the women we’re seeing in these positions are doing it for the right reasons.

They’re doing it with the same strength and support Black women have had from the beginning of time.

Now, they’re just demanding they be heard, too.

Congratulations to the following Black women who worked endlessly in their campaigns to better this state and the people in it.

Your representation is an inspiration. We’re watching and we see you!

Karen Bass

Shirley Weber

Malia Cohen

Tina McKinnor

Lola Smallwood-Cuevas

Maxine Waters

Sydney Kamlager-Dove

Heather Hutt

Patricia Marshall-McKenzie

Michelle Richardson Bailey

Holly Hancock

Grammy-nominated recording artist Kenyon Dixon is a Watts native who proves that R&B is anything but dead.

Coming from a family with a musical background, Dixon was born with a love of the arts. He’s the youngest of seven children, all who are musically inclined, and born from musician parents (his dad a guitarist and quartet singer and his mom a singer).

Music is a family business for the young artist making his mark in R&B, and he’s continuing the legacy. In an interview with the Los Angeles Sentinel, Dixon discussed his artistry, the projectivity of R&B as a genre, and his new single, “Getting Late,” from his most recent album “Closer.”

“I’ve always been in the arts via church,” shared Dixon, “but I’ve explored some different lanes of artistry, and like, just entertainment in general. I got into sports, I was dancing, I was doing all types of stuff.”

He continued, “I didn’t want to sing because all of my family could and I was the youngest. I was experiencing that youngest child syndrome, and just wanted to be different…And here I am.”

You may have heard the statement or rumors that R&B is dead. When asked if the artist believes this to be true, he shared that “there’s no truth in R&B being dead, but there’s truth in the sentiment that people are expressing, which is really just the disconnect from the R&B they love to the more progressive R&B out now. I think they just don’t know how to express that correctly.”

Dixon believes that R&B is present, and always had been. However, due to shifts in technology, R&B gains more profit when it’s more forward, producing a different version of the genre that we see today.

The artist explained, “I think you have to do a little more digging and searching, but I can tell you it’s out there because I’ve never stopped making it. And I know tons of other artists who make that music. But, I also think we should give newer artists a chance to be expressive. Because in every era, there are people who like what was in the past, and now those artists are some of our favorites. We should just let creatives create and take what we like and ignore what we don’t.”

What’s different in today’s R&B songs from ones of previous generations? Is it the lyrics?  The theme?  The overall quality of music?  Dixon believes it to be the emotions that a song could extract from the listener.

“The biggest thing is the feeling,” said Kenyon Dixon. “I think there are certain feelings that come with listening to R&B music and usually feelings of love and vulnerability. But the life experience and love experience in 2022 looks a lot different than it did in the 90s and 2000s. Creators, now, are only detailing what their experiences are like. They’re not living like their parents did.”

He continues, “[Artists] are being honest in their music, and that’s not translating to the people whose souls are yearning for nostalgia. They want what we once had.”

Dixon feels as though his music still fits in the realms of those who may want “nostalgia.” His newly released single, “Getting Late,” is ironically a symbol to this.

“‘Getting Late’ is a nod to R&B. I’m talking about the R&B we love that felt good. That R&B like back, back in the day when we used to be able to watch ‘106 & Park’ and see the countdowns…that kind of nostalgia,” said the singer.

“Getting Late” is inspired by Donnell Jones’ “Shorty Got Eyes on Me” and other works from artists like singer/songwriter Craig David. Dixon’s goal was specifically to touch on nostalgia from R&B from the early 2000s (one of his favorite musical eras).

Kenyon Dixon’s most recent album, “Closer,” is also a salute to classic R&B.

“Time and feeling are a true gauge in that. When I think about classic R&B, it needs to be able to evoke the same feeling every time you listen to a record.”

To write this album, Dixon listened to artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Anita Baker, and took note of the feelings that he felt when listening to their music.

“I tried to match that feeling in what I was creating,” he expressed. “And if it did, that’s how I knew the song would make the album.”

A second release of the album, “Closer (Deluxe),” is also set to come out soon. Dixon shared that he really listened to his fans when it came to ameliorating this album.

“There’s an interlude on ‘Closer’ called ‘Expectations’ that they were on me about making a full song. There’s a version two of the song “WYTD ft. Gwen Bunn.” And then with “Getting Late,” there’s a flip at the end of the song where the song slows down and we extended that. There’re also three brand new records, one of them being ‘Friendzone.’”

More than anything, Kenyon Dixon hopes to solidify the question of “Is R&B Dead” with his music.

“R&B is alive and well,” he stated. “There is a lot of music that does not reflect the R&B that we love, however, there is enough music to still solidify that R&B is alive and well. I want to be a leader in this space, and make sure people know that artists still care about music.

“I still care about the quality of R&B. I still care about its core elements. And I want to make sure that my generation does not get counted out when it comes to this.”

For more information on Kenyon Dixon, and his music, check out his Instagram (@kenyongotsoul).