Creative Contact w/ Kia Orion

J. Cerrone is an author focused on street literature, and shared some of his most life-changing stories with me this past week. I'm stoked for you guys to hear it. If you want to know what life is like as an independent author this one is for you. Connect with J: https://paperchasepublications.com/shop/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiGWBsrFxl0 https://www.instagram.com/paperchasepublications/ 8...

How do you go from Camden...to school for ballet, and eventually become a professional dancer? By accident. That's how. Kingsley Ibeneche is truly an artist. Now a full-time creative he finds work as a dancer, a singer/songwriter, and an actor. In this episode he shares his story and everything he went through to get here. Kingsley will be performing at the Barnes Foundation in Philly next week, t...

West Philadelphia native Claude Forte doesn't pretend to have it all figured out. But he doesn't need to. After switching his focus from playing ball to making music he's confident it's just a matter of time. And I don't blame him. When I first heard his songs I could tell there was something unique about this dude. His voice carries a certain weight that only comes with years in the game. After l...

They don't call it the city of brotherly love for nothing. Will Toms is a young entrepreneur from Philly who is creating a new way for artists to collaborate. Growing up in and around the city Will saw how often artists were competing for the same shine. RECPhilly, a company he co-founded with his high school best friend Dave Silver, is one of the most prominent start-ups in the city. The goal for...

This man needs no introduction. You can't talk about Philly Hip-Hop without bringing him or his group into the conversation. Spade-O from the legendary rap crew Major Figgas was generous enough to sit down and chop it up with the boy about his come-up and rap career. We talk about what it was like growing up hustling in North Philly, signing to a major label in raps golden era, hearing his song pl...

If y'all from Philly then you've probably (see: definitely) heard of Ill Fated Natives. They were featured recently as one of the city's top 19 young people making noise and I was lucky enough to kick it with their bassist, Bets, for this weeks podcast. https://billypenn.com/2017/08/29/whos-next-music-19-young-pros-creating-the-new-philadelphia-sound/ Bets and IFN are creating the soundtrack for t...

Tommy Rowland is a Born Hustler. You might know him as the hip-hop artist "Rowlan" who has been hitting more than a million streams a month and is working every day on being one of the biggest names in music. Rowlan gave me an afternoon in New York last week to drop some knowledge about what it's like chasing the dream and how much work it takes to get there. We talk about his time selling phones...

ONE OF DEM ONES. This episode is mostly me laughing with one of my biggest mentors and dearest friends, Jerame Hawkins aka Hawkeye Productions. J is the Director of the Youth Advocate Program in Ithaca and also runs multiple online businesses. If you're into old school hip-hop and what it means to be an artist in this day and age this is the one for you. We talk about the definition of success, ma...

Maryam is easily one of the most woke/articulate people I know. If she's not at a rally fighting the patriarchy she's posting ridiculously good looking pictures on social. She's one of those people that just kicks ass at everything. I'm not bitter about it (maybe a little...) Maryam came by the kitchen to talk about growing up Muslim-American and how she has been able to find a balance between the...

This man has seen it all. A young man growing up in North Philadelphia Spiz The Prophet has a perspective unlike anyone I've ever met. Sharing his incredible journey to Hell and back I was lucky enough to sit down with Spiz a few weeks ago during a snow storm in the city. We spoke for close to 3 hours. I chopped it down to a few of the most impactful stories, but when I say this man drops GEMS tha...

Let's talk turkey. Larry Brown is a West Philadelphia native who specializes in residential and commercial property all throughout PA. When his dreams of playing ball got destroyed by a thieving coach (yo fuck that dude for real tho), he turned his focus to business. If you're into property or real estate you're going to want to hear what he has to say. Larry talks about dropping out of college wi...

There's so much I admire about this man I don't know where to start. Dexter Thomas has worked for the LA Times and is currently a correspondent at VICE News Tonight on HBO. If you've ever wondered what it's like behind the scenes of a news company this is the one for you. He was at the Williamsburg hotel for work and was kind enough to give me some time. He also bought me breakfast. We spoke for c...

Hands down one of my favorite interviews I've ever done. I traveled to Jersey City to get this man on the mic. KC is the founder and manager of NuBlack Music Group, a management company established in 2011 that is abandoning the sanctity of convention in life & in sound. I met KC in college soon after he had a career-ending football injury. He turned that same focus he had for sports into creating...

Bruh. This man really does it all. From creating eye-catching visuals to unique sonic landscapes Blue Boy LAZ is a renaissance man. We talk about creating your own reality, the process of finding your own voice, Yu Yu Hakusho, and a bunch of other cool shit that's too much for these show notes. I also butcher some Jay-Z lyrics and awkwardly talk about my family/Thanksgiving. The interview with LAZ...

Yeeee! This is the ONE. Music manager Ian Lewis comes by the kitchen to chop it up. We talk about what it's like waking up in a holding cell, coming back from the depths of depression, and the sacrifices of living an unconventional life. Ian is the manager of the Ill Fated Natives who are playing a show TOMORROW November 14th. Tickets are $10 and found here- https://www.ticketfly.com/event/1579397...

Ay. We back. Welcome to the first ever second episode of Orion Radio. Come sit down with me and Randall as we talk about creating an alter-ego, the Boston punk scene, and how important it is to find your voice creatively. Randall is a singer/producer/engineer/all around creative dude who used to tour the world as a drummer and is now making hip-hop/r&b jams in philly. He's fresh off the release of...

Yeah. We're doing a podcast. It's going to be experimental and about promoting my guests but secretly for me to steal their creative inspirations and take them for my own. Dave Proch stops by to talk about growing up in Philadelphia, Vanilla Ice's hair, and what it's like trying to make a living as a cartoonist. Interview with Dave starts at 9 minutes. I also review the new album Sonder Son by Bre...