Ep. 90: TRAKGIRL

Art: Michael Richey White

Today’s guest is a music producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur who brings a versatile and dynamic dimension to the music industry. Her skill within multiple genres, as well as melody alignment, makes her a highly sought-after collaborator. Having worked alongside well-known producer and music executive, Ernest Dion “No I.D.” Wilson, She is the next “it producer”. Her work includes “MAINTAIN (ft. Nav)” by Belly, “Overstimulated” by Jhene Aiko, "Bad News" and “Pearls” with Luke James, “Slim Thicc” by Dawn Richard featuring our guest, as well as collaborations with Andra Day and Vic Mensa. She launched her DJ career at the renowned Soundset Festival and has also scored original music for projects with Rhude Menswear’s SS 2021 Paris Fashion Week short film ‘The Audacity to Dream’, Reebok, Gimlet ESPN/The Undefeated, and the feature film ‘This Changes Everything’ starring Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, Geena Davis, and Zoe Salanda. As an advocate, she encourages women to seek greater access to roles in the male-dominated production and business facets of the music industry by providing mentorship and workshops. And her brand promotes self-awareness and women empowerment through production in music and technology. In 2018, she created The “7% Series,” (based-off the statistic that women producers and engineers make-up less than 7% of the industry) which is a unified and inclusive platform designed to highlight and create a haven for women in music. Additionally, she is a member of the Recording Academy’s Diversity + Inclusion Task Force and on Spotify’s EQL board. She has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Billboard, BET's digital docu-series 'Beauty & The Beats', NYLON, The L.A Times, ID magazine, The Fader, and The Huffington Post. Most recently, she launched “TRAKGIRL TV” on the streaming platform Twitch. The channel features original music and gaming content featuring interviews with DJ Dahi, Stro Elliot, and composer Amanda Jones. And The Writer Is...TRAKGIRL!

Ep. 89: Michael Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M.

Art: Michael Richey White

Our guests this week are two Grammy Award-winning artists, songwriters and musicians who were members of the alternative rock band, R.E.M. Having established a powerful legacy as one of the most enduring and essential rock bands in popular music history, R.E.M. pioneered the alt-rock movement of the ‘90s, influencing the likes of Radiohead, Nirvana, Pavement and Pearl Jam. Formed in 1980, the group enjoyed an extraordinary three-decade-long run of creative vitality and multi-platinum sales before amicably disbanding in 2011. With the massive commercial and critical success of 1991’s ‘Out of Time’ and 1992’s ‘Automatic for the People,’ in just a few years, the Athens, GA, four-piece had become one of the biggest, most recognizable bands in the world, thanks to hits like “Losing My Religion,” “Man on the Moon” and “Everybody Hurts.” Despite great success, the band members never lost track of their core values—remaining outspoken in their views about political, social, and environmental issues, and never wavering when it came to artistic integrity. Throughout the course of their career together—an immense legacy which approaches a 40-year tenure in 2020—R.E.M. released a total of 15 studio albums, won three GRAMMY Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2019 Craft Recordings released a 25th-anniversary reissue of R.E.M.’s acclaimed ninth album, ‘Monster.’ And The Writers are...Michael Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M.! 

This episode is sponsored by Bandzoogle, SESAC & Royalties.

Ep. 88: Nija Charles

Artwork: Michael Richey White

Photo: Nailah Howze

Our guest is a 22-year-old Grammy-winning songwriter, record producer, and artist from Union, New Jersey. She is best known for her work with Beyoncé and Jay Z (“Heard About Us”, “LoveHappy”), Cardi B (“Ring”, “I Do”), and Chris Brown and Drake (“No Guidance”) as well as her releases with Post Malone, Meek Mill, Travis Scott, Anitta, 21 Savage, Ella Mai, Major Lazer, and many more. Most recently she celebrated her first No. 1 for Lady Gaga’s single with Ariana Grande, “Rain On Me”, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. She has also gained attention as a featured artist alongside Beyoncé and Tierra Whack on the record, "My Power" from the Lion King live-action soundtrack album,’The Lion King: The Gift’. This year she was named an honoree in Forbes 30 under 30 Class of 2020. And The Writer Is...Nija Charles!

This episode is sponsored by BMI and ROYALTIES, a new show from Darren Criss available exclusively on Quibi. Watch the whole season now and hear soundtrack courtesy of Republic Records.

Ep. 76: Paul Anka

This legendary guest is an acclaimed songwriter, entertainer, and actor. Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, the enormous success of his first number one hit, “Diana” made him a star at the age of 15. Soon after he found himself traveling by bus with the ‘Cavalcade of Stars’ which featured the top names of the day. He honed his craft surrounded by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Frankie Lymon, and Chuck Berry. And he is the youngest entertainer to ever perform at the Copacabana in New York, as well as the Sahara and Sands Hotels in Las Vegas. The best-known titles of his early career included hits like “Put Your Head On My Shoulder,” “You Are My Destiny," "Lonely Boy," and "Puppy Love," (which also was recorded by Donny Osmond). By age 18, he had five Top 5 hits to his credit. After a few hit songs, he gained confidence in his talent as a writer and wisely knew that being a songwriter meant the power was in the pen. As a result, he went on to write for Connie Francis, Leslie Gore, and Buddy Holly (including the last song Holly ever recorded, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”). Other hit songs include the Academy Award-nominated theme for the 1962 film in which he starred, ‘The Longest Day.’ And he notably penned the longest-running theme in television history for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (“Johnny’s Theme”). In the early ’60s, he became a junior associate of Sinatra and the Rat Pack. Even with the British invasion, he still had chart records. He moved to Italy and outsold the Italians, selling an astonishing 4 million records there. In the late ’60s, he wrote “My Way” for Frank Sinatra and by the ’70s, he had another string of hits like “(You’re) Having My Baby”, “Don’t Like To Sleep Alone”, and “Times Of Your Life” which confirmed his status as an icon of popular music. Additionally, he’s written with Michael Jackson (“This Is It” and “Love Never Felt So Good”) and Drake (“Don’t Matter To Me”). He’s been named the 21st most successful artist in Billboard’s history, putting him alongside music greats Elvis Presley and the Beatles. And he is the only artist in history to have a song in the Billboard Top 100 over 7 consecutive decades. And The Writer Is…Paul Anka!

This episode is sponsored by BMI and ABKCO.

Ep. 75: Jason Robert Brown

He is a composer, lyricist, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, director, and performer – who has been hailed as “one of Broadway’s smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Best known for his dazzling scores to several of the most renowned musicals of his generation, including the generation-defining ‘The Last Five Years,’ his debut song cycle ‘Songs for a New World,’ and the seminal ‘Parade,’ for which he won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Score, he also received two Tony Awards for his score for ‘The Bridges of Madison County,’ a musical adapted with Marsha Norman from the bestselling novel. A film version of his epochal Off-Broadway musical ‘The Last Five Years’ was released in 2015, starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan and directed by Richard LaGravenese. His musical ‘13,’ written with Robert Horn and Dan Elish, is now in production with Netflix to be adapted for the small screen. For the past four years, he has been the artist-in-residence at New York’s SubCulture, where he offers a sold-out concert every month with stars of Broadway and the music world. He is the winner of the 2018 Louis Auchincloss Prize, the 2002 Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyrics and the 1996 Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Foundation Award for Musical Theatre. The New York Times refers to him as “a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical.” And his songs, including the cabaret standard “Stars and the Moon,” have been performed and recorded by Ariana Grande, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Billy Porter, Betty Buckley, Renée Fleming, Jon Hendricks, and many others. And The Writer Is…Jason Robert Brown!

This episode is sponsored by ABKCO.