Rebel Radio

In today’s episode, Espree Devora is going to teach us about being all-in. She blew through our studio like a whirlwind of positive energy, and told us stories about giving everything she has to her life’s passions, at times, even compromising her health to be “the girl who gets it done.” Her secrets: Outsource as much as you can, never let fear slow you down, and show people you appreciate them....

G-Funk was the sound that truly brought hip-hop into the mainstream. Dr. Dre’s The Chronic ignited a cultural firestorm that would blaze for the better part of the 90s and embed rap music into every aspect of modern culture by putting streetwise, often violent storytelling over smoothed-out George Clinton samples and live instrumentation. We could take you through all of the twists and turns, but...

Jon Levy calls himself a nerd. But his life is anything but nerdy. He’s the author of The 2 AM Principle, lessons gathered as he built his own life of adventure. He’s also managed to surround himself with interesting people, as host of the Influencers Dinner series: Intimate gatherings of highly successful strangers who are prohibited from revealing their identities (last names and professions, sp...

"This job is one of the great loves of my life, so I feel so lucky to get to do it.” What an amazing thing to be able to say about your work. So much better than her previous career: "The thing I hated about it the most was just going to get worse the better I did.” She’s spent almost the last two decades as artist director at The Moth, helping storytellers shape their stories before they get up o...

Mark Sperling is a connector. He connects people to knowledge and each other through his Group Y events and online community. He connects brands to youth culture through action sports and music. For those familiar with the culture, there are a lot of flashbacks here, from the 432F show to the beginnings of the X-Games, Warped Tour, up to last year’s Complex-Con where Mark led the programming of Co...

Reva DeVito: Show up for the people that are showing up for you Strong mind, young grasshopper. If you’re familiar with Reva DeVito’s music, you know she has a beautiful voice and a soulfulness beyond her years. She’s fresh off her first headline tour and collabing with producers like Kaytranada and Com Truise. We have a feeling she’s just getting started. Check our interview and you’ll also find...

Nico is better with people than anyone we know. Famous people, rich people, even people like you. That's because he treats everyone like they're important.  He comes by the Rebel Radio studio to tell us how he does it. We take notes. It sounds like a ton of attention to detail and a bit of being genuinely interested in people. Hear the story of how he went from breaking stuff in London recording s...

Luggage isn’t an industry you’d think of as ripe for disruption. Unless your name is Netta Shalgi. Today’s guest set out to make a better suitcase. He started his journey 11 years ago with an idea and some design skills. Fast forward to last year, his G-Ro luggage launch raised over $4 million on Kickstarter. The first bags shipped at the end of the year. They’re dope. Just making a cool bag with...

Rapper Big Pooh drops by the studio to drop knowledge on us. A lot of people thought his group, Little Brother, was going to be the next generation’s version of A Tribe Called Quest. Then they broke up. Pooh talks about bouncing back and what he learned about making partnerships work. Hint: It’s about listening. He also talks about how he copes with stage fright, which could be a problem for a rap...

If you’re in the hip hop business, you have to be down with A3C. Part festival, part conference, it’s been called hip hop’s family reunion. It’s part of the reason Atlanta is the culture’s capital. Mike Walbert is A3C's executive director. On a recent trip to LA, he stopped by the Rebel Radio studios to give us the lowdown on what it’s like being at the center of hip hop culture in 2017. He gives...

Sam Spiegel tells us how about the time he critiqued Kanye West’s music, and Kanye liked it. We dropped by Sam’s house to soak up some knowledge. He gave us water and let us in on the secrets to his success. - How he built a company that makes music for the coolest brands in the world - How he made a music video for his group NASA (North America, South America, not the space program) that caused a...

DJ Skee has retired from more successful careers than most people have ever had. He's been a DJ, producer, marketer, TV host. Mark Cuban called him the Oprah of music and he's been called the Ryan Seacrest of hip-hop. These days, he's the founder of Dash Radio, which aims to be the #1 online radio platform in the world. They're off to a good start: Dash hosts Rebel Radio on the Theory of Mind chan...

Justin Rezvani wants me to get an Amazon Echo. I don’t want an Amazon Echo. I want Apple to get it’s shit together and make products that blow us all away. What’s great about Justin is that he isn’t weighted down by all of that nostalgia. His favorite DJs are some guys he heard at Burning Man last year. Not some dude he’s been rooting for for the past three decades. In other words, Justin’s only r...

Today’s guest has seen all sides of the music business. Erik Abel been an artist, producer, DJ, and most recently booking agent for folks like The Beatnuts, The Cool Kids, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and DJ Quik. He stops by Rebel Radio to share some lessons he’s learned along the road, including: - what Chance the Rapper, Kid Rock, and Abba have in common - why you shouldn’t drink all day and eat McDon...

Epilepsy affects one in 26 people. Hapa is one of them. True to his nature, he doesn’t hide from his condition. Instead he uses it as a vehicle to inspire and enlighten. Kind of the same way he approaches his DJ career.  In part two of our interview, Hapa gives us some insight into how he handles obstacles, like being told he can’t go to college because of his epilepsy. And his secret for apprecia...

Calling Hapa a DJ doesn’t quite tell the whole story. Actually, his story is so big that we had to split the interview in to two episodes so we could bring you all of the lessons he has to share. In Part 1, we’ll dig into the beginnings of Hapa’s journey — from early inspiration from the Invisibl Scratch Picklz to becoming America’s first TV news DJ, to launching the LA campus of Scratch DJ Academ...

Mr. Choc is a great DJ. You probably already know that. He’s been on Southern California airwaves and parties for over three decades. He stops by the Rebel Radio studios to explain why DJing is a team sport. Choc has spent the last decade teaching new jacks both the skills and the culture, and has been a part of some of the most influential crews around, including the World Famous Beat Junkies and...

Taso is an interesting dude. Boston street kid with a heavy spiritual side and a powerful positive mental attitude. In our interview, he quotes The Four Agreements and remembers The LOX vs. G-Unit battle. How often do both of those come up in the same conversation? He seems like the type of dude who would find a way to be successful at whatever he does. But he’s also 100% music. As part of the Tek...

Patti Astor is punk as f… She was the star of hip hop first great b-movie, Wild Style. As the owner of the FUN Gallery, she helped to promote the careers of important graffiti artists like Jean Michel Basquiat, Dondi, Rammellzee, Lee, Futura. She never really made a dime. And that’s kind of how she wanted it. In a world filled with opportunists and con artists, we have Patti Astor: "I made a commi...

Slimkid3 was a member of The Pharcyde back in the 90s, bringing us some of the most fun hip-hop at a time when most of the music coming out of New York and LA was so damn serious. Their hits like "Passin’ Me By” and “Runnin’” blew up worldwide, and then everything fell apart for the group. Now Tre is in our studio telling us how he was able to start over and build a career that’s now into its thir...

Bua blends hip hop, graffiti, and fine art in a way that’s completely unique. His painting, The DJ, is among the highest-selling posters of all time. I’m sure a lot of you have had it hanging in your bedrooms. But Bua started out with everyone telling him he was no good. His teachers and friends urged him to give up painting. Good thing for us he didn’t listen. He inched his way out of mediocrity,...

Shira Lazar graciously let us into her home, made us espresso, and gave us her secrets to being a digital media celebrity. More than almost anyone else, Shira has bridged the gap between traditional and digital media. After starting out as a tv newscaster, she learned that blogs and social media gave her more control over her own destiny. Instead of waiting for someone to hire her to report the ne...

This week’s episode is part of our ARTxWORK REBELS series, in partnership with Guerilla One. Check out all of the ARTxWORK REBELS episodes at www.rebelradio.net. James Haunt comes through the studio to tell us how he’s moved from graffiti to streetwear design to corporate art. After spending much of his childhood in jail, he hit a turning point after landing in the hospital from a beating by the c...

Jarret Myer is one of our favorite entrepreneurs. He's built at least three successful companies, including Rawkus Records, which helped launch the careers of folks we love, like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, El-P (now of Run the Jewels), High & Mighty, among others. In many ways, Rawkus kept hip-hop rooted in the underground just as it was breaking through to the mainstream. He also launched and currentl...

Milana is the star of your favorite AT&T commercials (Her character may or may not be called “the cute and funny girl in the blue shirt.”) as well as the hit YouTube show Let’s Talk About Something More Interesting. She’s also the founder of Can’t Do Nothing (www.cantdonothing.org), which doesn’t do nothing. It makes content and raises money and awareness to help refugees worldwide. Josh met Milan...